Examples of specific things that lead to mental disorientation

[Aslan]

Not a "huge" fan of the mental side of the game discussions. I think many times they get blamed for people just not focusing or making bad shots. I know I'm guilty of getting WAY more upset at cosmic bowlers acting like buffoons when I'm shooting a 137 game versus when I'm in line for a 200+. :)

BUT...I figured I'd start this thread to talk about SPECIFIC mental things that have really ruined a game or series for you. Not a bad shot and then just bowling bad after that. But SPECIFIC things. Here are my 3 examples:

1) Early on when I started bowling I had a HECK of a time getting my thumb out of the ball. And to this day...even though I've gotten better at getting my thumb out...if I go to release and the ball carries me over the foul line or sticks and goes up towards the ceiling...something like that...I probably can't recover from that. I'll spend the rest of the night worried about it happening...taking too much tape out of the thumbhole...gripping it too much, etc....

2) Speaking of the foul line...my home center doesn't have the foul line buzzers turned on. People pretty much can slide onto the lane if they want and nobody calls them on it. BUT...every now and then...if I go to a center where those buzzers are ON...and I trip one and it goes "BZZZZTT!!" and gives me a "0"....I'm done for at least a game. It gets in my head...I alter my approach, my timing gets "off"...and it takes about a game of not tripping it to forget about it.

3) ..and this happened in practice yesterday...never happened quite this bad before....but I hit my ankle with the ball. Now, I've hit my "leg" before and it doesn't really phase me. But hitting my ankle...with a 16lb ball on the downswing...HURT. It hit my ankle and bounced directly into the channel. For the following game...I was "off"...especially on that lane. I was so conscious of that ball hitting my ankle...that i'd swing too far outside...I'd turn my foot inside...just all kinds of "bad things".

I mean, don't get me wrong...I have bad games all the time...I get frustrated...and it takes me out of my game for awhile. But it's only 1-2 good shots away from being and afterthought. But things like I listed above...those are things that for some reason cripple my already crippled ability to play. :mad:

[bubba809]

I tend to be obsessed with looking at my score when I shouldn't. I have trouble going on long run of strikes because I look at score after double..or triple..and continually put more pressure on myself to keep the run going. This usually causes me to force a shot or just try to hard. And I always tell myself not to scoreboard watch and just relax.

[Perrin]

thinking about what could be.... imagining calling the wife after shooting the 300.... never fails the string will break when those thoughts start.

[mc_runner]

Not focusing IS part of the mental game! But yeah for me if I'm going at the same time as someone who has a wonky delivery or something... just need to see it once in my peripheral and if we're going at the same pace that'll throw me off the rest of the game. Aside from that if I start "thinking" about really anything in my approach it totally messes up timing (i.e. thinking about balance arm or lack thereof). Looking at score doesn't really mess me up, I actually draw focus and energy when I know I need to hit a strike for our team to win, for instance.

[MICHAEL]

Complete
and Total
FOCUS

Plus two Gift certificates from Iceman! $39,99! Once you have the gift certificates, (READ THEM), then go to the lanes and FOCUS,,, roll your big games!!
Its in all of you,,,,, you just need the certificate stating you are GIFTED!! Then burn the certificates on a night with a Full moon, while singing the Mickey
Mouse song! If that doesn't give you a 300, then I have one for 49,99, that is even more powerful!!!

[Hammer]

I use to have a problem with my thumb sticking a long time ago. I haven't for a long time though because I learned to keep my hand behind the ball through the release zone and to grip lightly with the thumb and to make sure it stays flat in the thumbhole on the orward swing. If you grip tightly with the thumb the thumb knuckle will raise and will get hung up at the release and kill revs and end up a pulled shot.

Maybe you end up hitting your ankle sometimes because you don't have enough sideways tilt of your upper body to the ball side. If your upper body is too upright I can see where you would have a better chance of hitting your ankle. Also maybe on your backswing your ball stays to the outside of your body and on the forward swing the ball comes inside and clubs your ankle in the process.

As far as the foul line goes I don't slide close enough to it to worry about hitting it. I usually end up about 10 inches away from it at the end of my slide.

[dnhoffman]

Cowboy up

[Bradski9]

I never hit my leg or ankle on the front swing, always on the way back fortunately. I am never afraid to stop my shot completely if I notice something off in my approach. I am still working on keeping from gripping the thumb hole too much, my thumb changes in size so much over the course of 15 frames i am always afraid it will get stuck or fall out or something.

[MICHAEL]

Because of the HUGE demand on Iceman Gift Certificates, I ran out this evening at 7pm! We are in the process of making more! Should be
up and running by Thanksgiving!

[MICHAEL]

NOTHING EFFECTS ICEMAN,,,, I don't seem to have that problem while bowling! Now making love to my Wife,,, that blows MY MIND, and does cause a certain degree of mental disorientation, and maybe some Brain Damage!! ;)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0I6mhZ5wMw

So before you even say anything, ASLAN, or even Mikeie, in regards to my limited brain damage, just remember This!

"I don't care"!!

[Hampe]

thinking about what could be.... imagining calling the wife after shooting the 300.... never fails the string will break when those thoughts start.Haha....that one gets me too sometimes :).

Physical mishaps like hitting my ankle with the ball (for me it's usually getting stuck in my slide and falling forward on the lane) happen very rarely, but they always take a few frames to recover from.

What usually gets me mentally is when I have a few bad breaks in a row, or bad breaks coupled with bad shots (like numerous ringing tens, and then missing a bunch of the spares). It gets even worse when I make a good adjustment and crush the pocket only to have one pin somehow still standing because the pins bounced off each other weird. I don't have any official stats for that, but I'd reckon my spare % is significantly lower after shots like that than on shots where I can see why 1 pin was still standing.

I've gotten better at it, I can usually recover pretty well from a few bad breaks unless I get a few more afterwards, then I'll get frustrated. It's one of the things I'm still working on. I hate being one of "those guys" that gets mad and yells or hits stuff and just generally ruins the experience for everybody else (even though I consider myself to be on the low-end of the spectrum as far as temper-tantrums go).

[RobLV1]

The main thing that make me lose focus is when I can't figure out a way to take out the ten pin and I start missing the spares for no other reason than the fact that I'm already thinking about what to try in the next frame on that lane. It's sort of like the mental version of putting the cart before the horse.

[Aslan]

Sometimes if I'm doing really, really bad at a certain leave...

..like last night I left 6 7-pins and only made 1. Once I missed, then missed, then missed...it was just like there was no way I was going to hit it. I just got up on the approach and no matter how hard I tried to put the bad shots behind me...it was inevitable that I'd miss it.

[Aslan]

Well...happened last night.

Here are a couple things...super duper small....that contributed to a very bad game...

1) I had a nose hair that was "tickling" the side of my nose. Over the course of Game 1 and most of Game 2....I just kept rubbing and itching and trying to ignore it. Finally I had to go to the men's room and figure out the issue and pluck the hair because I couldn't take it anymore!!

2) Shortly after returning...I developed a thumping headache. AND...near the end of Game 2...something got in my eye. So I dealt with the headache as best I could...probably should have went out to the car and took a couple ibuprofens...but I didn't. But whatever I got in my eye....worse and worse. By midway through game 3...I couldn't keep the right eye from blinking. Even TODAY...something is still in my eye. I'm gonna go use the eyewash in a couple moments to try and get it out.

Two very, very small things (nose hair and dust/eyelash in the eye...leading to problems.

[Mike White]

Well...happened last night.

Here are a couple things...super duper small....that contributed to a very bad game...

1) I had a nose hair that was "tickling" the side of my nose. Over the course of Game 1 and most of Game 2....I just kept rubbing and itching and trying to ignore it. Finally I had to go to the men's room and figure out the issue and pluck the hair because I couldn't take it anymore!!

2) Shortly after returning...I developed a thumping headache. AND...near the end of Game 2...something got in my eye. So I dealt with the headache as best I could...probably should have went out to the car and took a couple ibuprofens...but I didn't. But whatever I got in my eye....worse and worse. By midway through game 3...I couldn't keep the right eye from blinking. Even TODAY...something is still in my eye. I'm gonna go use the eyewash in a couple moments to try and get it out.

Two very, very small things (nose hair and dust/eyelash in the eye...leading to problems.

Have you ever been tested for Autism?

Things that most people can ignore, stay in the focus of those with Autism.

While it appears they are closed off, they are actually trying to deal with too much stimumlation.

[Aslan]

Have you ever been tested for Autism?

Things that most people can ignore, stay in the focus of those with Autism.

While it appears they are closed off, they are actually trying to deal with too much stimumlation.

If I was, I'd want to be like Rainman so I could clean up at the Blackjack tables.

[MICHAEL]

If I was, I'd want to be like Rainman so I could clean up at the Blackjack tables.

Let ICEGOD be your side kick,,,,IF you find that gift GRASSHOPPER!!!! I will treat you right!!!

[axslinger]

A big one for me is a sticky slide shoe. All I have to do is stick once and I don't fully trust the lane for the rest of the set. I use shoe powder but even then, I don't fully trust it. I've been launched over the fowl line too many times!

I also agree with the others who have had their thumb stick. Once that happens, I'm very leery of throwing the ball!

[MICHAEL]

Examples of specific things that lead to mental disorientation

for some bowlers it can be as simple as Chewing Gum, and Bowling TOO! Aslan, when I destroyed you in Vegas, I think I remember you chewing?
Was it Gum, or Tobacco?

If my recollections are right, Chewing in unison with your steps, just might take you to the NEXT LEVEL which is still 4 floors below ICEGOD!! LOL

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/damiancbrown/untitled.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/user/damiancbrown/media/untitled.jpg.html)

[Aslan]

Examples of specific things that lead to mental disorientation

for some bowlers it can be as simple as Chewing Gum, and Bowling TOO! Aslan, when I destroyed you in Vegas, I think I remember you chewing?
Was it Gum, or Tobacco?

If my recollections are right, Chewing in unison with your steps, just might take you to the NEXT LEVEL which is still 4 floors below ICEGOD!! LOL

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/damiancbrown/untitled.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/user/damiancbrown/media/untitled.jpg.html)

Was that when you qualified 4th out of 5 or when you got beat in the scotch doubles match. I keep forgetting. Since you never ACTUALLY won a match...I'm having trouble connecting the dots. I'll have to go through some of the footage. Usually when I watch it (at least 3x a day), I fast forward past Iceman's footage because his form is so horrible I don't want it to mess with my progress I've been making.