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October 2008 Tip of the Month
The Power of Balance
One of the often-heard phrases in many circles these days is "the balance of power". Taken most literally, it implies that things work best when power is balanced among forces. Turn that around, and you've got one of bowling's basics - the bowler needs to be balanced to apply power.
Balance starts in the stance. The weight should be equally on both feet, knees flexed slightly, and the upper body tilted slightly forward from the hips, and slightly toward the bowling-arm side. Most sports use a similar starting or "ready" position. If you adopt any other position (leaning back, extremely crouched, or standing very straight) you may change the relationship between your armswing and foot timing. Bending toward the bowling-arm side allows your head to be more over the ball for targeting and lets the ball swing directly under your shoulder.
Balance continues during the approach. Both laterally and frontally, keeping the same body angle is a key to consistency and power. Any twisting or bending action can change the armswing direction; leaning too far forward is one of the causes of the hop one sometimes sees as bowlers finish the approach.
Balance at the finish is critical. Many things contribute to loss of balance and power at the finish: too little sliding knee bend (a bent knee acts as a shock absorber); too much forward lean (reaching out causes a weak, late release); swinging too hard (muscled swing often results in "step-out" at the foul line); sliding sideways at the line (the sliding foot should be straight or heel-inside to allow a complete knee bend); kicking the trailing leg up in the air (single-point balance is unreliable); too high a backswing (destroys timing); too little backswing (requires muscle to generate ball speed).
It all ties together. A poor stance can cause excess muscle in the swing, which causes the sideways slide, reducing the available knee bend, encouraging the upper body to lean out too far and the trailing leg to fly up. A good way to improve your balance is to learn the feel of a truly free, un-muscled, gravity- and momentum-driven armswing.
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Brought to you by
Charley Wilson
- Silver Certified USBC Coach
- Dick Ritger Coach
- IBPSIA Member
- Email Charley
If you are in the St. Louis area, feel free to contact Charley to setup a coaching session.
1254 Dougherty Ferry Rd.
Valley Park, MO 63088
636-861-1700
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October 2008