I can't win

[RoccoRock]

you throw it just fine with all 3 fingers in. For someone who's been switching back and forth between styles, you get PLENTY of hook.

It's not about the amount of hook. That's a common myth about guys like me. "You take your thumb out just so you can hook it more." No, I can hook it fine with my thumb in, especially now. It's about hitting my marks, and having a consistant delivery. I bowled today, first two games thumb in. First game, was eehhhh, second game was terrible. Some shots went right were I wanted, some just flew off to never never land. My rev rate is definatly going up, after playing with tape in the thumb, and even on my fingers. Again, the problem is consistancy, and repeatability. Bowling with one hand just feels forced, like I'm making myself do it. I hear everyone with the it takes time, and you can't expect to be good right away, but it's not like I just started doing this yesterday. I've been working on this in practice for over a year. In the same amount of time, with roughly the same amount of games, I've worked on two handing. Again, I hear you all, stick with one thing. Again, that's fine, but if bowling two handed is screwing up my one handed game, shouldn't the opposite be true as well? Why doesn't bowling one handed ruin my two handed game? After I got done dying on the lanes one haned today, I tried two handed. I haven't throw a ball two handed in almost a month. What happened? Take one guess. 5 games, only one wasn't over 200 (that was a game I was messing with a new ball, still saved a 185 out of it after a terrible start) and it's wasn't all strikes, I made most of my spares. I made every ten pin, only opens were a few splits, and one tough spare. The only really bad shots were when I lost my balance a little. Most of my throws were right were I aimed it, consistant ball speed, rotation and axis. I used my 607a, which has contrasting colors, so when you see the same pattern over and over you know you are doing it right. It's not about "big hook" or "throwing it hard" it's about being able to throw the ball the same way every time. I just feel more natural two handing, my footwork is much more suited for two handing. I'm gonna keep working on one handed as a side project, but when the league start next week, I'm gonn be two handing. Maybe I can post a video of m two handing, and you can tell me what you guy think of that.

[RoccoRock]

I'm going to hit the lanes in a few minutes and give it another shot. I watched the video from yesterdays session, and I saw some things that needed tweaking. My backswing was too high, my feet were too quick, almost like I was in a rush to get to the foul line. I was turning my shoulder too much, I was almost turning my back to my target. Gonna slow down, be smooth and gentile. If that doesn't work, I'm gonna switch to two handed, and be fast and nasty! I think I was uncomfortable last 2 times out because I was too aggressive one handing. So I'm gonna be nice, sweet talk the ball a little, take some deep breathes. Maybe that's why one hand doesn't work for me, cause I'm a loud aggressive guy. When I play football, or softball, I am all energy, all out 100% of the time. That's probably why my feet are quick, and I'm off balance at times. I have a note on my shoe to slow down, I have to pay attention to it.

[RoccoRock]

Ok, tired it again, and I still had trouble. Switched to two handed, and even though it wasn't always good, I had so much fun doing it. Of the 9 games I bowled 2 handed, 5 were over 200, the rest were still above my average even tough they weren't that good. I finally missed a 10 pin two haned, but only one, I made it the other 5 or 6 times I left it. I'll probably post a video soon, even though my best throws weren't on tape, I'll just post watever I haveeven though I wasn't doing well during that time.

[billf]

Fix your signature. You're a bowler not a bolwer. You right hand is faster than the left.

[RoccoRock]

Fix your signature. You're a bowler not a bolwer. You right hand is faster than the left.

fixed, thanks. Here's the two handed video, not my best, but ok.

[billf]

I hate typos.
Do you target the same distance two-handed as one-handed? What do you target? I'm just wondering if that may be part of your one-handed lack of consistency. Some recent research has also shown that form, not focus, hits the mark. Ron Clifton had a friend do this blind folded and was still within two boards. But elite athletes seem to have a different set of standards.

[RoccoRock]

I have tried adusting my target distance one handed, didn't help. I usualy target at the first set of dots. I was told not to do that, because if you miss by a board at the dots, it's like 3 boards at the pins. So I moved my targets to the arrows, and that really didn't help. In fact, my big games one handed, I was targeting at the dots. I do the same with two handed, at the dots. I've tried the arrows two handed, and that works well sometimes. I do agree with that form over focus theory, although I dare not test is by blindfolding myself.

[RoccoRock]

Ok, I'm going to give it one more shot today. I'm going to bowl 4 games, at least the first 2 thumb in. Yesterdays struggles I think were due to too much tape in the thumb. I think the more relaxed, lower backswing delivery is better for me, but in order to do that I need a little breathing room in the thumb. Even if I can't do it, I'm fine with being a 2 hander now. I bowled 15 games in two days and I feel great. No knee pain, no back pain, and no hand pain. You can see I don't want to give up on one hand, I keep trying trying trying. I can tell you this, yesterday, bowling those 9 games two handed, I was having fun. I was laughing and smiling, even when I wasn't doing great. In the end, it's all about fun, I'll never be good enough to compete at anything other than a local level, so I just have to have fun.

[striker12]

rocco its ahrd to get out of 2 handed bowling trust me i use to do it but then i messed up my left shoulder so i had to go to 1 handed took me some time t first i have like no backswing but after 3 years of almost no backswing now i do have a decent backswing.

from what i just seen you say you are putting your self down thinking you dont have enoph skill to go agenst alot of other people but think of this you go ther eu get the feeling you have fun and ask people there for info thats what i did at my first ever prov i have scared cause i did not want to mess up but if anything i got 7th in the doubles and i carryed the team in the team event with a 649 series and we got 14th cause the people who beat us wher sandbaggers they had 140 avg and they where shooting 210+ games.

but think its fun and a learning experience im still not sure if i want to do natinals or the YBT(you bowling tour). but i will get over it in time and i will jsut go and still be scared cause i have never done this before but its a learning experience.

but one thing you should never do is put your self down in anything. because if you put your self down liek you jsut sead in the lst post you will never have enoph convendance to do what you can do but you jsut dont know you can do it.

[billf]

And the results were?
Why not keep bowling both ways. A game and a B game. If it was easy, anybody would be able to do it well.
Targeting the dots doesn't bother me at all. Wes Malott does it and I'm fairly sure he doesn't give a rats *** what anybody says about it. The gist of the 3 point targeting system is; the earlier the focal point, the earlier the roll. Likewise, the later the focal point the later the roll. Since I've been using that Joe Slowinski knowlegde my targeting ability has improved and I can control the time of the roll by moving my focal point. Eye dominance had a good point that may play into this. Both styles have the bowler in a different angle when releasing the ball. Some bowlers have a flawed eye to hand coordination. They can't hit the mark they want. They consistently hit the same distance to one side. I.E. bowler A aims at 18 but rolls over 20 (60 out of 100) times 60% of the time. Now, did he miss 60% of the time to the left or did he miss to the right 40% of the time? Coach moves bowler A's target two boards right. Now bowler A hits the 18 board 70% of the time and that increases every week. Why? The geometry that his brain uses for hand eye coordination gave him an illusion during delivery that caused him to see his target 2" to the left. Moving the focal point 2" right not only compensated for the lateral difference but gave him confidence to trust that spot. That confidence is what accounted for the 10% immediate increase and the ever increasing increase.

*on a funny side note. Half the time I couldn't tell you what my focal point was. My head stays still but my eyes tend to wander. This has been an issue since my eye sight was restored in January. There have even been times where I go to bowl and turn around to ask, "what line was I playing?". That even happened after starting out with the front 8. Got up there and just couldn't remember where I was standing the previous frames. It wasn't nerves, I just move around a lot.