L atelier du bowling

Adding arm swing speed is an easy skill to learn and a valuable tool for dry lane play.

Ball Speed is largely affected by the speed of the arm swing.As we have stressed in our past tips, remember if you want to achieve an affective arm swing, you to take the time to isolate this portion of your delivery and practice the fundamentals until you have a comfortable feel for it.One important factor to keep in mind about the natural gravity arm swing we’ve discussed in previous lessons is that this “ideal arm swing” can be too slow for certain lane conditions, especially dry.Therefore, knowing how to accelerate the arm will enable you to bring the swing to the speed you need for conditions. To learn the basic feel for arm swing acceleration, we suggest you use the help of an assistant. To get started, stand in a balanced position like you were going to release the ball at the foul line, and let the ball hang by your side (Photo A).Next, have your assistant take the ball back to a comfortable height (Photo B) and release it so the ball naturally swings forward to just in front of your knee, where your assistant will catch it (Photo C). This represents the natural gravity arm swing. Repeat this exercise until you get the feel for the gravityswing’s natural speed. Now, repeat the same exercise, but instead of merely releasing the ball at the top of your back swing, have your assistant tug or flick the ball forward (Photos D, E) to simulate the increased momentum of an accelerated swing.Acceleration begins at the top of the back swing and continues through the release. Only slight pressure from your shoulder is all the effort you’ll need to increase the speed of your delivery. You don’t want to tense the muscles in your arm in any way to increase swing speed. Regardless of arm swing speed, your timing, tempo and rhythm should remain the same. The only variable you want to introduce is a slight change in the swing speed.It’s an easy technique to learn and a valuable weapon to have in your bag.