INCREASE REVS with 1 small adjustment!

Getting your hand to the inside of the ball is the most well-known tactic to increase your rev rate, but sometimes adjustments can be difficult. Full credit goes to JR Raymond for giving me a different way to think about how to accomplish this. In this video, you will see me further explain how I implemented this tactic, and you will see my results!

[@squidly2112]

I noticed another little tip, after watching hours of slow motion professionals like EJ Tackett and other very high rev rate players, they do 2 very important things in addition to the cupped wrist and bent elbow, they snap their right should (closing the open shoulder quickly) and at the same time they release their elbow and wrist .. like snapping a wet towel with the anchor point being your shoulder. I am doing this type of technique now and concentrating on relaxing my arm, wrist and hand at the same time, so I can SNAP my arm from the shoulder on down very quickly. I am a 61 year old guy who just started bowling less than 2 yrs ago. My rev rate is now right up with a whole lot of our high rev rate players in leagues. The trick here though is timing. When you unload, starting with your shoulder, you need to snap it into place so it finishes square. It will begin quite open, with a relaxation and pause at the top of your swing, and use this point to get your hand and elbow into the inside of your ball, get your bent elbow primed, then as your downswing approaches the bottom, you snap your shoulder closed (to square) with a relaxed elbow and wrist, allowing for the infamous Yo-Yo release with your elbow almost snapping straight (not an actual snap, that could hurt your elbow). This is a very difficult technique to master and takes a lot of work to perfect, but once you do it, power and revs become pretty easy. You will also notice with the pro's .. almost ALL of the pro's have their index finger pointed directly down (pointing to the floor) at the very bottom of their release. Kegel has a great training video showing much of this. That's how far inside their hand is to the ball. They get 100% of their rev rate in less than 1/4 of rotation of the ball. Their thumb is already out of the ball in less than a 1/4 rotation. Again, the best way I can think of it is like snapping a towel. Some people say it is akin to throwing a frisbee, and it is like that too in a way but starts with your shoulder and working its way down. Keep in mind though, the actual movement of the shoulder is quite small, but it is very very quick and sets up the start of the snap that travels down your arm to your hand and subsequently the ball). If you open your shoulder (which I think is a better way to do it) you MUST be VERY careful NOT to pull from the top, it cannot work if you pull from the top. You MUST allow the ball to start falling by itself before you begin the rest of the action or it becomes very difficult to get your should setup to snap into a square position at release. I have used this whole technique to increase my own rev rate by about 100RPM and 3-4MPH faster average ball speed, all with less overall effort than I have used in the past. Was able to throw a nice 252 game a couple of weeks ago and my average is starting to go up again. I am becoming much more consistent as I get better at this technique. It is starting to unfold itself automatically (muscle memory, and what we want). I hope this long winded description is helpful for someone, if not, I apologize for the long rant. .. FYI, that JR video you mentioned here is a real good one. Kegel Training Videos also has a lot of really good content on this topic.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Definitely not a rant! You are just giving more information which is always welcome. We are starting to do more educational videos, and some of what you are discussing will be addressed as well. A lot of the items you talked about are things I have worked on myself, and have had some roadblocks here and there as I am sure others have also. As you said, it's not easy and takes a lot of work. My goal is focus on 1 small thing (like the knuckles in to the calf), and get to the point to where I don't have to concentrate on it anymore, it just happens. Then I'll move on to the next things (like the things you bring up). These are all great tips, so I greatly appreciate you sharing. I am 100% all for sharing info. I am glad that it is working for you, especially at age 61. I appreciate you watching and especially commenting! THANK YOU!

[@squidly2112]

@@baldbrothersbowling - I am looking forward to more of your videos on these subjects. Personally, I often suffer from trying to concentrate on too many things at one time 🤣. You would think I would have learned better from 30 years of competitive golf. It is interesting how many things in golf transfer to bowling. At least that part has helped me some. A lot of the same principals apply, like "don't pull from the top" (a natural thing your body wants to do). Also, the more you can utilize your larger "core" muscles the better, with as little use of your smaller muscles as possible, this is especially critical for consistency. Anyway, I enjoyed this video and looking forward to learning more from you. As with golf, I find the learning journey of the sport the most interesting. The "puzzle" you try to unravel .. LOL

[@michaeldufton360]

Great content. Good luck with the channel growth. Here’s 1 more subscriber at least. Be well!

[@baldbrothersbowling]

@@michaeldufton360 thank you

[@briguyinsi]

I always hated the “yo-yo” analogy. I personally equate it to a spider man web shooting motion, this takes the confusion out. IMO anyway.

[@kapitan6]

Subscribed!!! 65 yo here and I'm gonna try and apply the simple knuckle-in method on my only league tonight. I tried the whole open shoulder routine a few weeks back. It did increase my revs but I noticed I was spinning the ball. I had a good set (600+), but like you pointed out, there's just too many factors to incorporate vs my normal delivery. Wish me luck 😄and I'll update with the result.

[@jyee2217]

Thanks for the tip on the knuckles inside. I've been looking at the yo yo release but this looks easier w/o practicing a hundred games.

[@thebigeasy8609]

Good stuff sir. Very helpful and great mental visual tips. Can't wait to try it out.

[@maqmigh4746]

Great video! Thank you. Very similar throw as you. Very helpful to see you talk about all this information as I've been working on very similar things all year. I'll be saving this video. 👍🏻

[@user-qd7no7zg7o]

Great trip for keeping fingers on the inside of ball. And your explanation towards the end to push your palm forward and to lift your fingers makes sense to improve your release. Thanks!!!

[@aalkhoori1]

Thank you so much for this informative video 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@jasev587]

I am in the same boat ! Great video !

[@user-zc8ni6tk5x]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@dartagnanv8der613]

Excellent video! Gonna take some of your tips to work on increasing my rev rate with the mechanics I am capable of. I’m at of age where this lovely sport always remind me where I “squeak”. So my body send that signal to my mechanics to simply slow down. The kid in me say, just throw the ball…HARD! But remember to do this, that, this, oh and don’t forget that…inside of 2 seconds, 3 tops for me. Keep up the great lessons and thank you for making these lessons easy to understand. Not too much heavy bowling lingo to try and decipher along the way.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Appreciate the kind words.

[@pappyb2073]

Excellent instruction. Happen to be working on precisely the same thing and your analysis is right on. Thru experimentation, I discovered: -Increasing my backswing height + opening shoulders led to the dreaded wrapped swing. -when moving to a deeper inside line, we have a tendency to have too much separation between the slide and the target which I believe is the main culprit preventing keeping the fingers/elbow inside. So as a drill, choose a target and set up that is uncomfortably tight and the chicken wing disappears. -When the pros move left, they slow down the ball speed so that's a good thing as long as the inside fingers technique is producing more revs. -Straightening your elbow just before or at release promotes arm/hand coming thru the ball rather than around. We can be deceived with this bent elbow stuff when watching the pros. Slow down Belmo and you'll see a straight elbow at release (as is true with the majority of pros). So now, just like increasing the height of your backswing, and opening, closing the shoulders, we have another difficult manuever to get right if we're going to bend the elbow to get under the ball and then figure out the timing of straightening the elbow back out at release. For mere mortals, you can throw a very effective ball, concentrating on keeping the elbow straight at release. -Cocking (more so than cupping) promotes fingers inside of ball and creates better ball motion (without cupping) than cupping without cocking. -the pro release is dynamic rather than static. They cup and or cock so they can uncup and or uncock at release. None of the high rev guys are maintaining cup or cock thru release. -Do the fingers/elbow in slowly or you are risking tendonitis and sore fingers. All in all, your instruction is on the right track.

[@jamesnoon2102]

This channel is growing on me. I took one thing and it helped me a ton “knuckles in the calf”. For some reason it raised my tilt a good bit. It was a different hand placement than my normal low tilt up the back. Look forward to more vids.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thank you so much! Appreciate the feedback. Spare shooting video dropping tomorrow.

[@jamesnoon2102]

@@baldbrothersbowling look forward to it.

[@brigham2250]

Believe it or not, as a two-handed bowler, I have the same problem you have about my natural arm position and it being uncomfortable having to keep it in a different position (just like you showed in this video). When I bring my arm back as I come forward it is all too natural for my elbow to go out (chicken wing) because that is natural to my anatomy. So, for a long time now, I have tried to think in my mind on the down and forward swing to have the inside of my elbow facing out. That puts my knuckles in towards my leg automatically. Even knowing that I need to do this, I don't always get it right because it does feel like an unnatural thing to do. The other very important detail is to have the correct launch angle. I have found something that is working pretty good for me, at least as a two-handed bowler. In order to open my shoulders and get my hips out of my way, I take two steps left from my set up position (4-step approach) before turning back to the right on my third step. This sets me up with open shoulders towards my target and gets my hips out of the way. To be more precise, let's say I want to target 20 at the dots on the lane (about 6 feet down the lane), I will start with my left foot at 15-16 on the approach, take two steps left, turn and I'm in a great position now to aim for my target with open shoulders. If I want to target 29 at the dots and hook the lane, I start at 25 on the approach, take two steps left and turn. This places my left foot near the gutter and now I'm in a great position to hit 29 at the dots. At 57, I'm not the most confident and agile player (I don't have a long history of bowling to draw upon) but when I get it right, it works.

[@arcadesunday4592]

Really like your 'new' release. Good video.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thank you

[@doyoufeelucky]

Great info. thanks

[@blakeearnest4002]

Awesome stuff!!

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thanks Blake!

[@phillipjones3466]

One tip that I got was to have your middle finger and index finger form a V and make sure that V stay pointing towards the 10 pin (or 7 pin if you're a lefty). That way you can focus on just that and that's helped me a lot

[@jefferydaniels6717]

1 additional suggestion to try, reduce your slide. You have a long slide and getting to a leveraged position at the foul line consistently can be a challenge with your slide. I'm older myself and heavy to boot and was always afraid my knees couldn't handle less slide and I was totally wrong. It actually lowered my leg fatigue.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thank you. I want to slide less. I tend to lose a lot of speed without the slide, so that is my challenge there. To keep speed up as a small guy, it would require quite a bit of change in my timing. It can be done, just need to dedicate the time to work on that. Appreciate the idea! Thanks for commenting.

[@Jesusfanatic0711]

Figure 8 swing will help bring that elbow in toward your body

[@energysifu]

Totally agree, work only on one element at the time from the worst to the best.

[@Bowlstan]

I think you and I share some similarities in swing. Hopefully nobody who knows me thinks I’m insulting you. I was working on opening my shoulders and struggled with accuracy and staying behind the ball. For me, it came together when I began my stance with open shoulders and thought of my open shoulder as coming down and under my head during its downswing instead of closing left to right like a door. This kept my upper body pretty quiet from a left to right perspective, despite being open and freer. I was following Joe Slowinski’s Drop Your Damn Shoulder and that’s what clicked for my mind. Just my own experience, if you ever want to revisit opening the shoulders in the future. I’m focusing on keeping my knuckles next to my ankle right now; so fingers crossed we both get our hand inside the ball into our muscle memory.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thank you. I love hearing this added tip to open shoulders while keeping the upper body quiet. Once I get this wrist change down, I may revisit the open shoulder idea as you see. I always appreciate extra ways to look at changes. People are not exactly the same, so having a lot of tools in the arsenal is good, both for myself and for coaching. I appreciate the watch and the comment!

[@surfboardshack3327]

This was an awesome video. Looks like you’re more up the back in your new release and looks more pro type. Do you have a video or tips on how to get more under the ball? Been struggling with this for a long time.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

I don't have any videos of that, but it's a good one to shoot. My quick tip, without having video help, is to try cocking your wrist vs. just cupping it. I mentioned it very briefly in the early part of the video. Additionally, and this is hard to explain without video support, but it has to do with how you use your thumb to grip the ball. You don't want to bend your thumb. You want it to fit in a way that you can press in at the joint where your thumb and palm meet. This makes it easier to cup your wrist without as much effort. I will add that to my list of videos to shoot so you can see what I'm talking about. Appreciate the watch and comment. We have a few others filmed that we will be posting in the coming weeks, but I'll make sure we get this topic filmed also.

[@surfboardshack3327]

@@baldbrothersbowling thanks for the info. What’s the difference between cupped and cocking your wrist?

[@surfboardshack3327]

Nevermind, I see what you mean by cocking the wrist aka ulnar deviate. Thanks for the info

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Sorry, I thought I answered this, but don't see my reply, so if this is duplicative, I apologize. I don't currently have any videos on staying under the ball as we just started the tutorial videos, but it's on my list. Be on the lookout for some future videos. We have a couple recorded already on spare drills and slowing down, but we'll get to recording more, and I'll put this topic on the top of my list. Thanks.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

@surfboardshack3327, Ha, I just refreshed and saw my response, and then your responses. Sorry for the duplication. :)

[@clintonkahler2082]

liking this video...new to your channel..but got a question...how do you know at 16.6 and 338 revs you're matched??? thanks

[@baldbrothersbowling]

That is a great question. I admit, I had to do a little research myself. There are several "opinions" out there, and in my case, Tenpin Toolkit (the app I used to get my speed and rev rate), assigned my designations. The best thing I could find was on Motiv's website which says the AVERAGE person throws it 17-18 mph and 300-350 (please note that this is an "average speed," not the speed your bowling center's scoring machine shows. Those only record the very end which is slower than at your release. This is why TV and Specto show higher speeds than you might see at your bowling center). If you take the low speed and high revs of that range, a 17mph throw at 350rpm is still considered balanced. I think this is why 16.6mph and 338 still falls in "matched." But then dropping speed and upping revs, 16.1mph and 386rpm, makes me "rev dominant" now because my speed is below the low end of average, and revs are above the high end. If both speed and rpm's go up (like if I get my speed up over 17mph), you will stay matched which is ideal. Same is true the other way. If you have a slower speed and lower revs, you may still be "matched." Speed dominant can often mean if there is some oil, you may throw it through the breakpoint more than you'd like. Rev dominant can mean you can't get it far enough down the lane before it reacts. This means that me now being "rev dominant" is actually not ideal. I am at risk of it hooking too early. That said, the 2 things I personally wanted to accomplish was 1.) just gain revs without losing TOO much speed so I can score on heavier patterns, gain pin action, use urethane as needed, etc., and 2.) I am hopeful I can increase my speed some eventually as well once this release becomes new muscle memory. I can still go back to my "normal" release when lanes are hooking too much. In the meantime, my personal experience is that 16.1mph and 386rpm, while technically rev dominant, as long as the lanes aren't super dry, it works pretty well, and if anything, I am BARELY rev dominant. I hope this helps.

[@michaelfinley9988]

Great tips. My coach is big on a free arm swing with no muscling. Sounds counterintuitive but when done correctly one actually gets more ball speed and more revs. It’s not easy, as it takes constant mental thought to not muscle it. When done correctly you can feel the weight of the ball at the bottom of the swing. Now if you can incorporate the tips you have demonstrated your rev rate will definitely go up. Takes a lot of practice for it to become “non muscle memory” 😊

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Absolutely. Less is more, and if I didn't spend 40 years bowling bowling with a very cupped wrist, I could probably more easily have my wrist be a bit more free, and really gain revs. I have so much muscle memory built in, and now arthritis in my wrist, that getting more free with the wrist is extremely hard. But if you can do that, great. A free arm swing can also help loop the swing some so that the elbow can come inside more. Something I'd love to work more on, but again, I like taking 1 thing at a time, so this knuckle trick is the current focus. Once I got it down, getting more free with the arm may be next. Thanks so much for the comment and for watching.

[@michaelfinley9988]

@@baldbrothersbowling thanks for the reply. I was also speaking in general terms, not aimed at you. I only managed a totally free swing a few times and it is great when I do, not only more speed and revs, but overall timing seems to be better as well. Great tips. I need to take another lesson as my push away needs some work. We are all a work in progress.

[@shanenorthrop1969]

Do you think it’s a good idea to switch camera angles in the middle of your swing? It’s hard to see anything you’re doing. You should keep the angle from the rear so we can see the whole motion

[@baldbrothersbowling]

​@@shanenorthrop1969 thanks for that input. That rear camera was lowered, so you couldn't see my full approach, but that's something I can do different on future videos. Appreciate the feedback.

[@davidhopewell9454]

The hand is the end of the whip. Timing is the key

[@davidaronson9475]

I brought my elbow in to my side on the downswing and it automatically put me on the inside of the ball.

[@IAmTheEggMan111]

You get under the ball really well Opening your shoulders is more dependable if you put your left arm out in front of you ala Chris Barnes or PDW

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thanks. Something to add to my list of items to work on.

[@IAmTheEggMan111]

@@baldbrothersbowling I had a lesson from Kegel where they do a good job of explaining the maneuver using video and drawing lines and such. The net result is that it allows you to be able to tuck the ball closely to your ankle which makes it easier to keep your knuckle closer to your pant leg. It also allows you to get more ball speed effortlessly

[@StephRenee812]

My problem is my trail leg. I was/am dragging my trail leg behind me like i am pitching a softball understand, grew up alingshot fastpitch pitcher. I would drag my foot behine me and forward. I am having the hardest tike breaking that. I thibk if i could get my trail leg, i think the arm swing and everything would be great

[@baldbrothersbowling]

I see this a lot with some of the high school girls I coach. One thing that helps with that is start with no-step drills with trail leg what you want it just to get that feel. Then go to 1 step where you really concentrate hard on kicking that trail leg out to the side. I still have issues at times falling out of the shot to the right, and I do these drills to work on keeping that tail leg down. It does help. I fall into old habits, so I have to keep working on it. Good luck

[@daviddeiss7907]

As an amateur bowling on a house shot week after week, I question, do I even need to increase my rev. reate? I mean shur it's nice to be able to do a more elite release but really I feel like I don't need more revs mainly cuz I don't need more hook, more revs just forces me left way more than I want to be. I suppose if I was bowling on heavy oil conditions then I would need that, but where I bowl I feel like it's medium to medium dry conditions and trying to rev it to the max is just for show and not for scoring the best but just looking cool. Chicks really don't dig the big wheel like the guys think they do but what they do like is high scores and dominating their opponents, at least that's what my chick likes.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Lol. One of the kids we coach says throwing a backup ball is how you get the ladies. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. But you are absolutely correct. High scores is the main objective, and that doesn't always mean more revs. More revs can result in more power, more messengers, and ultimately more strikes, but not if it pushes you into a zone that doesn't work for you. I was just having a similar conversation about equipment and how if you only bowl league on a house shot, you don't need a huge arsenal. The whole Rev conversation is mainly for those that need more on a house shot, or those that do bowl on a lot of different conditions where it may be needed. Only implement the changes in your game that you feel you need. Thanks for the comment!

[@kvas2420]

Link to that Jr Raymond video? And does the tape help at all with keeping your wrist from going too far back?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Here is JR's video link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bauwg4Vsq5Khnac As for the tape, not 100% sure I understand your question, so apologies if this doesn't answer your question, but the tape I put on the ball is simply for visual reference so I can count the revolutions. It is needed when calculation the actual rev rate. As for the wrist, it actually is GOOD for the wrist to go from cupped, to relaxed and back as the release starts, and then back to cupped after the thumb leaves the ball (if you use a thumb) and as the fingers rip thru the ball. This is all part of the Yo-Yo technique. I am not good at it because I have kept a cupped wrist the whole time for 40 years before learning the Yo-yo, and it's a hard one to master the timing. I will be doing future videos on this and other ways to practice the release. If that didn't quite answer your question, my apologies, and feel free to re-ask it another way and I'll do my best to answer. Thanks!

[@kvas2420]

@@baldbrothersbowling my bad…I didn’t see the tape on the ball but I am trying to figure out the yo yo release as well and have a hard time snapping my wrist back up. So I was wondering if the tape on your wrist helps with that.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

@@kvas2420 Ah, the Kinesiology tape. Not really. I have arthritis in my wrist, so the 2 pieces I put on there are just to help stabilize it so it doesn't hurt. For getting your wrist to snap back up, it's about lifting your fingers and timing. The ball should be off your thumb (if you use a thumb), before you start snapping it back up, so the ball is just rolling off your hand. If you are having a hard time with that, it sounds like it MIGHT be timing. Perhaps either you are trying to snap back too soon which is hard with such a heavy ball, or too late in that the ball is off your fingers. A couple of tips you could try is 1.) use a football (video coming about this) and just practice the timing of throwing an underhand spiral. It's the same motion. You will cup your wrist, then uncup it as your arm moves forward, rolling the ball off of your thumb/palm, and then cupping back again ripping the fingers thru the laces (which act like your finger holes). Don't roll your hand over. That will cause the ball to not spiral, rather it will flutter. If you flick up with your fingers properly, it should be a somewhat tight spiral. You can do this with a partner, or if on your own, just throw it straight up. Work on the motion first, and then when you have a spiral, work on flicking it harder so it spirals faster. Doing this over and over again will help you get used to the timing. I used to literally do this in my work office while on calls with clients, just to get that motion down over and over again. 2.) Another practice is to put your knee by the foul line, and left foot in the left gutter, and just work on the yo-yo motion, rolling it off your thumb as you uncup, and then flick back up with the fingers, spinning the ball right where you are in the oil just over the foul line (not down the lane). This can look funny to onlookers, but it does help you master the motion. I hope these work. Again, I will be creating a video on these tips sometime in the near future.

[@kvas2420]

@@baldbrothersbowling Thank you

[@BowlingHeyday]

I watched your video and thought so many things that you are trying to do to the ball make it very complicated to repeat shots. Keep it simple I use in bowling to get the revs I need. You can no doubt get the ball revolve better by your methods. There is an easier way to get revs that I use. It uses the simple technique of stroking the ball to release point. The sliding knee leg is more bent to get lower to lane surface. Then as I feel the ball coming to release it. I make sure to have thumb exit near to ankle of slide foot. But I extend the arm to make a flat spot in the swing. This point the fingers are in finger holes and will lift ball out to 10” past foul. This action gives the ball a lot of revs. My arm/hand follows through the ball out past the dots at 7 feet on lane. That is easy because they are so close to me and the sight I see is so simple to roll the ball over.

[@brandoncrittenden3939]

There really doesnt have to be so much thought into this that youre starting to overthink. Cup the wrist, stay under the ball slightly to the inside, firm grip specifically in your two fingers at the bottom. Use your legs. Once the ball feels comfortable off your hand you can start practicing your accuracy

[@baldbrothersbowling]

It's really not that much thought and the exact opposite of overthinking. The thought is literally just thinking about getting the knuckles in towards the calf at the release, and that's it. The issue I find when coaching is that people try to do too much at once, and this video is about stripping out all other thought, and only thinking about the 1 thing right at release. It's actually a super simple technique that works pretty well. What you listed above is 1. Cup the wrist, 2. Stay under the ball slightly inside, 3. Firm grip with the fingers, and 4. Use your legs. All of that is correct and will work for some, but 4 things for people to think about is too much for a lot of people. They have to pick 1 thing and get that down, which is why this video focuses on that release point. I certainly appreciate the comment, though.

[@scottbrown7348]

Isn’t that more or less creating that figure eight motion to get the knuckles closer to your leg?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Sort of. The issue I have with the "figure 8" in the arm is that it introduces additional movement causing potential consistency issues getting to same spot and hitting your mark. It does accomplish getting the hand inside, but if you can get there without the actual figure 8, I feel that is better long term. Some teach the same thing in golf to get the inside out swing, which I feel is a short term fix to get the feel, but not the ultimate fix. By me concentration on getting my knuckles in at the last second, I accomplish this without the extra movement in my arms. But if it works for some, I say go for it. Thanks for watching and for the comment.

[@jamesbarlow300]

EJ doesn't open hos shoulders. In the back swing, his fingers are around the ball. As he starts his down swing, his fingers come inside. Basically, he does the same as you, but earlier.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

I agree that he has his hand behind the ball, and he brings the fingers inside on his downswing as you say. You are right in that he doesn't open shoulders to get his hand inside the ball, so probably not the best example. He definitely does open his shoulders (I just watched a slow motion video of EJ, and I paused it a the top of his back swing, and if shoulders parallel to the foul line = 0 degrees open and perpendicular = 90 degrees open, he is probably at 80 degrees), but his open shoulders is more to generate the power that he does, not to get his hand inside. Pete Weber is probably a better example of someone whose hand is inside the ball at the top of the swing with open shoulders. I was trying more to make the case that many people think you have to open shoulders and get your hand inside all the way through, and that's just very difficult to do. EJ certainly does it the better way. Thanks for watching!

[@dijigo1587]

Great video, and wonderful discussion in the comments as well. In my mid 60s (fit) and after ~ 35 years away from bowling it's been a tremendous learning experience. Working on much of what you've covered here. The first few times I managed to get that feeling of the arm and hand 'uncoiling/snapping' at the bottom, like @squidly2112 alluded to, the feeling of extra revs and power has become an addiction I'm chasing now, haha. Feels so effortless and natural when it comes off. SO different from the way I used to bowl all those years ago, but loving the challenge. Thanks and subbed!

[@Jedi-Ken]

Is your PAP going to be changing now that you're changing how your hand is positioned on the ball? This is something I'm worried about because I'm new to bowling, and I always try small changes to see how it affects the way the ball moves.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

It certainly could change a little bit, but you always hear the pros talking about changing hand positions based on the pattern. Their changes to how they throw it will change their PAP, but not so much that the ball doesn't work anymore. They don't bring different balls with different PAPs typically. I think that the change in the PAP would be so minor that it won't make a drastic difference. If I end up going with this permanently, I will remeasure the PAP and make any necessary adjustments to future drillings, but I'm not too concerned about it. I appreciate that excellent question!

[@Jedi-Ken]

Thanks for responding! I did buy the jackal ghost per your recommendation (still haven't purchased the venom shock or primal shock, but I'm leaning toward the primal shock..). I bowled my new personal best at league two weeks ago (245) and then last week I nearly got my first 600 series. Next week I'm going to get it!

[@baldbrothersbowling]

@@Jedi-Ken Yeah you are!

[@deadman96tv]

What app is that to measure this?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

It is the paid version of Tenpin Toolkit.

[@williemorrison5006]

Where are you located i use a glove is that possible to do that release as well

[@baldbrothersbowling]

We are based in Omaha, NE.

[@williemorrison5006]

Okay

[@eXploital]

Could you please link jr video?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bauwg4Vsq5Khnacsi=uoJINIFsq2Zggro8

[@MrsSunshine75]

Can somebody please explain, nicely, why increasing rev-rate is helpful?

[@econley001]

More hook.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Absolutely, thank your asking your question. A higher rev rate really helps in 3 areas. 1.) If your speed, tilt and angle of rotation are good, a higher rev rate will cause the ball to "rev up" at the breakpoint and actually increase speed and drive thru the pins. This causes more pin action, especially on slightly off hits, and it will lead to more strikes. 2.) In addition to the ball revving up, the increased revolutions actually spin the pins a little bit more when they make contact, also leading to more pin action. 3.) On typical patterns, it can create a greater angle into the pins. When you see higher power players throwing messengers off the wall and taking out 10-pins, for example, some of this is speed, but much of it is also creating that steeper angle while revving up and throwing the head pin off the wall harder. Additionally, on higher volume patterns, it can allow you to hook the ball when you otherwise may not be able to. At the very end of the video, I threw the urethane a few times and showed how much of a difference it made in that ball reaction. At 338 rev rate and my speed, I found that on short patterns with higher volume, I often couldn't get the urethane to come up, and when it did, it often left a 10-pin. I had to go with weaker solids with surface, which worked, but are not quite as a controllable on the backends. Being able to get a urethane to hook a little more on the appropriate patterns allows me to better compete with many others, especially in these PBA Regionals. I hope that all helps and answers your question. Bottom line, it's not NEEDED, especially if you only bowl house shot patterns in a league, but it can help. I have used my 338 or so rev rate for years and been very successful, but by getting my rate up to 386, it opens up many more options for me. I still have the ability to rev down to 338 if the lanes need it, but I like having the added ammunition in my arsenal.

[@MrsSunshine75]

@@baldbrothersbowlingThank you so much, and yes after you explained it it does make sense! Good Luck Bud! 🎳

[@maxxbenzz7842]

When u open the shoulder it looks like you bend over too much at the waist also.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

I 100% do. Open shoulder or not, I am pretty bent at the waist. It's something I work on, but it's been a lot of years of that becoming muscle memory, so it's challenging to fix quickly. Working on other things first, hoping other changes can lead to easier transition to not bending so much at the waist. Always a work in progress. Thanks for the watch and comment.

[@maxxbenzz7842]

@@baldbrothersbowling I do the same thing. Knees are shot. Lol

[@baldbrothersbowling]

@@maxxbenzz7842 Getting old sucks. I tore my patellar tendon in my slide knee end of last year and missed 6 weeks. Now, I am too scared to do leg routines when I work out, and I wear a knee brace on the left leg. I actually sold my hack squat rack right after tearing that knowing I would probably never do those again. I need to at least do some lunges and maybe leg extensions to build a little more strength. I know I can get down a little more on that knee, I just have to dedicate time to work on it. Maybe another topic for a future video? Working on getting more knee bend? I like it! :)

[@squidly2112]

I just came across one of Brad & Kyles latest videos "Breaking Down Kyle's Best PBA Performance" .. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZvZq4OAjZeLqpo .. go to the 4:08 mark (or there about) .. and watch his release very carefully. Slow it down and watch it .. THAT release is almost perfection .. something that I believe is actually obtainable for a lot of people (unlike EJ Tackett release, which is just something from outer space). I thought you might find this interesting and perhaps useful as well. Notice his hand positions, his arm positions, his elbow positions and as I indicated before, watch a few times paying attention to his right shoulder, it is the "trigger" that triggers the rest of the release process. I'm telling ya, if you can get that sequence down and develop the muscle memory for it, that "trigger" sets everything in motion, almost automatically. Man, that release is absolutely awesome! .. THAT is the release I am trying to acquire ...

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Oh yeah, I have OFTEN said that Kyle Sherman is the model for exactly the swing I want. I love Prather's swing and hand position also, but Kyle is just power in a buttery smooth package. Effortless power, as I call it. My hand has been so far outside for so long, that getting to what Kyle does takes a LOT of work to deconstruct 44 years of bowling, and get to this. This is also my goal release, but I just need to take it 1 step at a time. Wrist first, get it feeling natural, then move on to shoulders and other things he does to create that trigger response. That's a great find, and I am 100% in agreement with you on that!

[@squidly2112]

@@baldbrothersbowling - indeed, Prather is another alien from another planet .. LOL .. his smoothness is just unobtanium .. remarkably smooth. Kyle gets his elbow and hand inside of the ball really really nicely. I think your approach to learning this is spot on though. You definitely need to take a little piece at a time, especially when you have already developed years of muscle memory. I am familiar with this from years of swing training and analysis with golf. You have to take a small piece at a time until you repeatedly perfect it. They say in golf that you have to hit 10,000 golf balls consecutively with the correct movements before it can become muscle memory. I suspect something similar in bowling. I have probably hit a couple of million golf balls over the years trying to perfect my swing. I got it pretty darned good during the height of my golf career. Was a LOT of work .. thousands of hours training. Good luck to you sir! .. I am confident you will achieve the goals you are looking for.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

​@squidly2112 it has been an absolute pleasure chatting with you on this. I could talk for hours about bowling (and golf for that matter). I appreciate the discussion!!!!

[@squidly2112]

@@baldbrothersbowling - thank you, it has been a pleasure for me too. Thank you for enduring my rants 🙂.. take care and keep up the fantastic work!