Learning the Yo-Yo Release in Bowling: This Helped Improve My Release (Commentary)

One of the key things to developing an effective yo-yo release in bowling is to have a snug thumbhole.
Throughout my journey as a self-taught one handed bowler, I realized having a loose thumbhole created inconsistency with varying degrees of grip pressure and it hindered my ability to increase my rev rate.
Once I started to have that higher tolerance of tightness by gradually adding pieces of tape in the thumbhole, I was able to keep my hand more soft and really get more snappy with it.
With the different types of tapes you can wear on your thumb, both inside the thumbhole and on your thumb, to interchangeable thumb inserts like JoPo Grips, having a really good fit is a key characteristic a lot of elite bowlers have.
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[@gigeo48]

I totally agree. the first thing I check when I put my ball on the return is the tightness of the thumb hole.

[@bowlersoup]

Yep. It gives me a forecast of how everything could potentially go 🤔🤨

[@rob13773]

What did you do with your fingers? Did you put some pressure or loose, did you finger tip or pass it a little more to try to create a vacuum seal? I think it called Semi-Fingertip Grip

[@bowlersoup]

For my grips, I have finger tip right now and they're pretty snug. I tried vacuum grips, they felt really good but I prefer normal finger tip 👋🏻

[@rob13773]

@@bowlersoup what happened with the vacuum grips? I think that’s going to be my next step but I’m not sure 🤔

[@bernardkoey4087]

is it just me, or this is extremely gatekept by the one handers bowlers, I practically need to figure it out by myself when i started to bowl. Everyone was like "its ur form" " its ur fingers" "its ur this is ur that" "MaByE u HAvE A weAk WriSt" well i can wrist curl half my body weight and i weigh 85kgs lol the day when i decided to buy my own ball and got my thumb drilled to my size, was the day I start to hook the ball. tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk

[@bowlersoup]

I know where you're coming from; it definitely makes a huge difference 🙄😁

[@StephRenee812]

I also learned from another channel how to push with the thumb and pointer finger but enough that im letting the ball fall off my hand not me letting go and helped so much. Great video

[@bowlersoup]

Thank you! ☝🏻

[@IAmTheEggMan111]

EJ says his thumb hole is sorta loose. He actually squeezes it a bit. But EJ is EJ

[@bowlersoup]

He's an exception 😁

[@oscargarcia2011]

EJ is goated

[@louispounds7486]

it seems that for me, i have always struggle with a good fit (span, pitches, etc.) it seems like it is never comfortable enough.

[@bowlersoup]

You’ll find it!

[@paulparker4010]

I've always had a tight thumb hole and recently had too tight and had to have it opened as my thumb swollen and then I had to have a new insert and it's tight again and my scores are going back up

[@bowlersoup]

Nice! That thumb will sure determine whether you bowl good or not 😅

[@patersongalupe5099]

having the tape closer to the outside of the ball mildly increases the span and causes the fingers squeeze a bit more, hence causing the feel of tightness. best to layer it like step inside the thumbhole. there are videos here on youtube that teaches how to do thumb tape layering. it's pretty effective. you can place a thumb tape at the back of your thumb near the outside of the hole to help straighten your thumb at the release though to prevent or slightlyt lessen chicken winging.

[@bowlersoup]

Yep. I agree! Took some time to play around with. Gotta fine tune that feel! 👋🏻

[@rob13773]

@@patersongalupe5099 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqrRdaiQoc95sKcsi=yQGdrQd2ai2jZily

[@clowny2396]

I currently use several layers of white tape on the front of the thumb hole similar to Joe Slowinski's tiered-tape method. Also, I have three or four layers of tape positioned where my thumbnail sits. The tape on the front of the hole is too fill in the gap of my thumb end so that my hand feels. It helps me relax my grip fully and stay that way through the entire swing. I slide the tiered tape down into the hole quite a bit and the second thumbnail tape is quite a ways down into the hole as well.

[@rob13773]

I used the same method in the front , but I used black tape to make the tiered-tape and one white on top ( I think it is more stronger than only white). In the back did you use black tape one on top of each other, layer down with a little gap (1/8) or make the tiered-tape too ?

[@bowlersoup]

I definitely remember trying that before. I did it on my looser thumbhole balls and I thought it was pretty cool 👋🏻 Tape is definitely a game changer to help find that feel 👍🏻

[@clowny2396]

@@rob13773 I cut the end off the white tape in about 3/8 inch pieces and laid them on top of one another.

[@BigJim5754]

I recently went through a thumb fit journey myself to also increase release consistency and revs. I have large hands and a fairly long span so a pso 6ish years ago set me up w a 1/2" away thumb pitch. I use "it" thumbs so I had my new pso change the pitch "in" an 1/8" at a time till I'm now at 0 pitch (had to fill redrill to get to 0) and wow my revs are increased and my overall game has increased in short time. Just hit my 1st 700 series. I like my front to back of thumb fairly snug with alil ovaling side to side to get around the ball when needed.

[@bowlersoup]

Congrats! Great accomplishment 👋🏻 I've got some oval in my thumb as well. Feel definitely is everything! 👍🏻

[@frankschmidt8001]

I agree this is an important topic, seems crucial to me.

[@jonathanthomas8574]

Thank u

[@bowlersoup]

You're welcome! 👋🏻

[@bert42889]

excellent information, would you be able to create a short close up showing just how snug your thumb hole is and how it can still exit smoothly

[@bowlersoup]

There's a cool compression trick where you take something thin like a bag and you put your thumb in it then you stick your thumb in the ball for a few seconds, you take it out and then it fits. Definitely can take a couple tries but it always works 👍🏻

[@51187corey]

Looks great! I would also try to work on having slightly later timing. Most crankers have late timing. It allows you to have more time at the bottom of your swing to manipulate the release

[@bowlersoup]

I agree! It's funny you say that because I literally had this conversation last week... word for word 😁 But yeah, gotta get into that slide a bit earlier 👀👟

[@51187corey]

@bowlersoup haha I just know because I'm dealing with the same thing. I did a virtual lesson with Mark Baker and he gave me some pointers to help. It feels so much smoother

[@jefferydaniels6717]

Agree but also check pitch.

[@bowlersoup]

Yep. I know a few people who did pitch changes and like it better 👍🏻

[@Sevendeucegroup]

Thank you 🙏

[@bowlersoup]

You're welcome! 👋🏻

[@rhegafd]

I really struggled with my thumb hole as my thumb swells and shrinks drastically. I just moved to the JoPo system. I got three drilled from snug to a lot of room that way as I swell I can move up. It takes some getting used to bc it defintely does not feel like a naturally drilled ball. But overall I really like it.

[@bowlersoup]

Yep. That was the deciding factor for me as well; my thumb does the same thing 😅 I definitely contemplated it for a long time but it was a great choice 👍🏻

[@rob13773]

Did you use tape ? If yes, did you use in the front and back? How much did you use inside front and back?

[@rhegafd]

@@rob13773 I only use tape on the pad of my thumb. I put one piece in regardless of fit (bc of feel mainly) I use the white round at the top, flat on the bottom tape. I do not put tape anywhere else. I will add a piece if the hole is feeling too big. The real benefit of using the JoPo system is you can have as many thumbs drilled as you want so you could go up a micrometer for each thumb and keep changing as you swell.

[@rob13773]

@@rhegafd my proshop doesn’t have YoPo, they have Turbo and Vise, it’s the same?

[@rhegafd]

@@rob13773 Yes and no. There are 3 main companies that make inserts (maybe a 4th) and the difference is how they lock in place. The JoPo is the most bullet proof and is a lot less likely to break. The other two are perfectly fine, but there is less material that connects to the slug. If you are really hard on your thumb, you might see if they can get in the JoPo system for you. Otherwise its all the same. They all will feel and function the exact same way but the JoPo is less prone to breaking. Thats the only reason I went with it. I didn't want to get used to a thumb insert and then have it break and have to get another one. Keep in mind, a new insert is like 10-15 bucks so its not expensive if it breaks.