When did bowling become a battlefield between new and old?

[Aslan]

I got to thinking recently, and thought I'd pose this as a question.

I just started bowling again in August 2013. I had bowled a little as a kid. And I saw a transition when I was younger as traditional strokers playing up the 2nd arrow...slowly you saw the emergence of synthetic lanes and "crankers" and urethane balls, etc... But I never saw too much disagreement. Bowling was bowling. Everyone sorta did it the same way, with similar equipment...at least from what I witnessed. And it seemed like everyone taught it the same. Shoulders square, bent knee, "handshake with the ceiling", etc...

Fast forward...present day....now it seems like the game is very different. Or is it? Sometimes I play and it seems like it's the same ole game with strokers and tweeners and everyone playing the 2nd arrow...the balls are more reactive and colorful (some even smell)...but it seems like the same game.

But....then you go online...or you go to clinics...and you start hearing about how the game is evolving to 2-handed bowling. Suddenly thumbless bowlers are in your league rather than just playing "cosmic bowling" like they used to. There's arguements about "tri-grip" and whether it's anything worthwhile or the same ole same ole. Some instructors are still teaching the "old ways" while other instructors are trying to "re-invent" bowling by teaching modern approaches/swings/releases.

And with each of these new techniques...there appears to be a "battle" over whether old timer strokers still have a place in the game...other than to live out their existence and then fade away. Old skool single ball bags (the old 70s vinyl/leather ones) have given way to 9-ball roller bags. Adjusting your approach/speed/realease has given way to "arsenals" where you just change to a different ball instead. One minute you're being taught to stand straight and tall to post....the next minute you're being taught to drop your shoulder....and the whole time the 2-handed crowd is laughing and saying, "I don't know why you guys don't just switch to 2-handed."

So, this isn't meant to start a war over whats best or worst or whatever. It's more of a question for those that have been around it for some time....has it always been this way? Did the first "cranker" cause the same stir back then? Were there different grips or approaches or releases back then that were tauted as being THE best new thing? Will there ever be consensus?

And more technically speaking....has anything from back in the 60s and 70s...has anything they used to do been PROVEN to be ineffective?? We hear all the time about straight up vs spine tilt or inside to outside release versus up the side of the ball release. And many coaches that now have interesting new approaches or realeases...they seem to feel that their approach is THE best approach and the future of the sport. Does that not imply that the more traditional approaches should be thrown out??

[Aslan]

As a quick personal story/note:

I started out in August with a hinge type first motion, bending forward at the foul line (spine tilt) and dropping my right (right handed) shoulder...then posting to a straight up position...hand up the outside of the ball.

By September, coaching had me get rid of spine tilt, stand straight up...shoulders level.

By December, additional coaching had me abandon the hinge movement for a more traditional (push to the target outward) initial ball movement, get lower...still no spine tilt....still level shoulders.

And now as I enter February...new lessons/techniques seem to point back to a "hinge" initial ball movement, add spine tilt, and go back to dropping the right shoulder.

So it's been an interesting journey. And a frustrating journey. And I've sort of abandoned (or at least postponed) the idea that there IS a "perfect approach/swing/release". I think I'll absorb it all, like a sponge, and pick and choose the parts that seem to work best for me. Maybe combine them into a whole NEW style that will someday be touted as THE way to bowl. Probably not. But I just have to be careful that I give each of these styles/improvements enough time to truly "give them a chance". Sometimes new techniques take some time to feel good...and I have to fight the urge to abandon them immediately.

Last Friday I had a HORRIBLE night. And after a game and a half...on one of the lanes...I decided to move inside. Well...lets just say it didn't go well. And I wanted to move back outside and play that 3-board SOOOOO bad....but I didn't. I kept trying...trying to find that spot inside. I even made a ball change (which I have virtually never done in this league) to try and get it to come back to the pocket. Did I finally figure it out and my 3rd game was a 299???? Nope. But I sorta figured it out and the 3rd game was about 7 pins under my average. But I DIDN'T give up.

[sprocket]

I think most of the PBA stars of the past on a THS would probably average 230+. Using modern balls, of course. It's only at the highest level, on the toughest patterns that they would be at a disadvantage. Bo Burton just rolled 878 at age 71. He's about as old school as you can get.

Hey, yes I bowl thumbless but my focus is always on basic fundamental stuff. Get my body pointed down the target line. Stay on line. Release smoothly. Post the shot. Move when needed. Make my spares.

[mc_runner]

I think it's all part of the evolution of the game. I haven't been bowling long enough to say for sure, but when balls started becoming more reactive, lanes/oil started changing... I'm thinking there were probably similar grumblings amongst the old-school "purists". I think 2 handed, thumbless, etc is simply another evolution in the game, and it will continue to change. Who knows what the next one will be after 2-handed?

Also, as with the other changes in the past, the USBC/lanes/equipment will also continue to adapt. The better bowlers will adapt with it while others might struggle.

[Pauley]

To me it is very similar to golf. Different instructors teach different things and there are many different teaching philosophies that are believed, by those who teach them, to be the end all best way to do it no matter who the student is. The true answer in bowling and golf there is no perfect way to do it that fits everyone. Each individual bowler has their own personal perfect form, the key is finding an instructor that will teach the individual and not teach his way to the individual. Granted there are many basic fundamentals that can be applied to different people, but you can't be that great of a coach if all you do is teach one way to anyone who walks in the door.

I started out thumbless when I bowled as a kid, and until last fall when I would bowl a couple times a year I would bowl thumbless. I decided to get serious and felt for me personally I wanted to start using my thumb because I felt it would pay off and make me a more consistent bowler. I felt I lacked the wrist and forearm strength to stay consistent and fatigue free bowling thumbless. Does that mean that I think sprocket does not bowl correctly, or cheating, or flat out don't respect him? Absolutely not, he bowls the way that brings out his own personal best potential. If I recall he just bowled an 800+ series, and I don't care what you are doing that takes some flat out skill. Belmonte just won his second major against the best bowlers in the world, does the fact it was 2-handed mean it deserves an * next to his title... NO. He found a way to do it, and do it against the best of the best.

People fear change, IMHO

[swingset]

It's all just part of any human activity. Go back to 1940's bowling, when post WWII prosperity made it explode and it became the game of young people and blue-collar workers the world over, and the old timers when were probably wailing that the new automatic pinsetters sped the game up too much, and the new equipment was ruining the game.

It's all just hot air, really. Things change, games evolve.

They almost never stop to take note of someone nostalgic and bitter.

[RobLV1]

Aslan, you continue to amaze me. This is a great thread! How right you are about new styles and old styles, and what's right and what's wrong. All I can tell you is that so much of it depends on what you want out of the sport. Permit me to give you an example.

Today I bowled in my Travel League at a bowling center where I have rarely bowled. I took 5 balls, plus a plastic spare ball, and I used 4 of them. I shot 201-195-235. By the end of the last game, I was standing 37 (coincidentally where I stand to pick up the ten pin), crossing the arrows at about 18, going out to 12. I was throwing the ball as hard and straight up the back as I possible could.

Another bowler on my team redefines the word "traditionalist." He used one ball, a new Brunswick Mastermind that should have been way to much ball for the lane condition. I say should have been as he shot 730-something. During the last game he said to me that the lanes were really breaking down and that he had moved two boards. He was standing 23, hitting 10. I told him that I had moved 12 boards! He looked at me with a quizical expression on his face.

Now, the point is that he is happy being a league bowler who is able to average 210+ on a house condition. I'm not happy with that. I want to be able to bowl on any pattern that is thrown at me and be able to adjust. So, while he beat me by about 100 pins today (thankfully he's on my team), I was very pleased with the fact that my high game was the one where I had to play the deepest. Could I beat him by 100 pins on a tournament condition? We'll never know, because he'll never bowl on one. Again, it's all about what each of wants in terms of our own bowling goals.

[kakcpa]

New Style.....biggest hook you will ever see...Tom Daugherty

[Aslan]

Aslan, you continue to amaze me. This is a great thread! How right you are about new styles and old styles, and what's right and what's wrong.

I can never tell if you're being sarcastic. I figured you'd hate this thread. IDK.

Now, the point is that he is happy being a league bowler who is able to average 210+ on a house condition. I'm not happy with that. I want to be able to bowl on any pattern that is thrown at me and be able to adjust. So, while he beat me by about 100 pins today (thankfully he's on my team), I was very pleased with the fact that my high game was the one where I had to play the deepest. Could I beat him by 100 pins on a tournament condition? We'll never know, because he'll never bowl on one. Again, it's all about what each of wants in terms of our own bowling goals.

Rob…I never thought I'd say this….but you and I are starting to be very similar. Permit me, to give my example:

I learned to throw the ball on wood lanes. I can "chuck" it…around the 10-board…high speed…and it's inconsistent…but I can score pretty well. And since thats where I play my league…many people would say I should just DO that. I might be able to raise my league average to nearly 190. A lot of the other players throw that way and do quite well.

But see, I learned how to play differently, to lay it down, to roll it, to try and work on my release and cut down on my speed…because when I play outside my house…that "chucking it" style…doesn't work. And unlike 95% of my league…I don't plan on just playing in that one house 1-2 times a week for the rest of my life. I want to get better…and I personally believe that if you GET better…you should challenge yourself and enter tournaments or maybe play in scratch leagues. Nothing is more pathetic than a bowler averaging 227 and bowling 4 '300' games a season…but he never steps foot in a different center…never plays in a tournament…never challenges themselves.

Today in practice, I experimented with 3-step and 5-step approaches. I try to play inside whenever I can (even though I'm horrible at it). Why? To get better.

So…in this one instance…I actually completely understand where Rob M. is coming from. Now if I can just figure out Iceman…thats the next challenge.

[dpatrickv]

Personally, I dont think it is anybodies place to tell anyone else what is technically right or wrong in bowling. If somebody wants to bowl thumbless and is content with that then people should accept that, same with two handed. There is too many people out there whining and complaining about how this or that isn't right or that its cheating or whatever. If somebody wants to get better and have larger goals then cool, but they shouldn't be chastised or hung for bowling in a manner that others dislike.