In the last part, we already know the basic concept of 2 handed bowling. In this video, I will show you how to aim and swing. These are the 2 basic and simple steps to help you enjoy 2 handed bowling from the scratch.
In an easy and simple way, we just need 3 step to complete rolling the ball on to the lane as follow:
Step 1: Hold the bowling ball with 2 hands.
Step 2: Swing the ball with 2 hands while approaching to the foul line.
Step 3: Keep your right hand (or left hand if you’re a lefty) under and behind the ball and roll it straight out.
Finish. Easy right?
if your goal is just to roll the ball with 2 hands and make it hook, voila, you are done.
You might have heard this quote:”Look before you leap”. This is similar to when you want to shoot something using a gun or an arrow, you need to at least define an imagined trajectory to have the best chance of hitting the target.
Let’s apply this mechanism to bowling. Without defining an imagined trajectory, you can not control where you want the ball to go. In the worst scenario, your bowling ball will end up in the gutter.
So how do we create your imagine target line?
How to create your target line?
In order to create your target line, you need to think of a formula to define where you stand and where to roll the ball past right after releasing it.
Everyone has their own system, and this is mine.
If I stand at the board a, I will walk to the foul line and stop at board a and target rolling the ball past board a – 3 or 4 at the dot line to the right side depending on the launch angle. a-3 will have a smaller launch angle than a-4 target board. You can reverse the system to the left if you are a lefty.
Remember that the board you stand and the board at the dot line are directly in relation to each other.
For example: What is in my head before the shot? I would create my target line by thinking about standing at board 25, walking to the foul line, stopping at board 25 then rolling the ball past board 26 down at the dot line. That’s it.
This is the result…
You don’t need to care about the breakpoint or the maximum board where the ball will hook and come back to the pin. We’ll talk about it later and make this the first simple step in creating an aiming system. We don’t want to make this so complicated from the beginning.
You can try copying my aiming system or creating your own one.
Next, let’s talk about how to swing the ball while approaching the foul line.
To swing or not to swing?
My answer is to swing. While many experts on YouTube might say the “free swing” in bowling with 2 hands does not exist or rarely exist. I applied this tip while practicing and find it somehow misinterpreted.
This is the effect of bowling 2 hands without a swing:
1. More muscle strain and more tired.
2. Less consistency when releasing the ball due to the first effect.
3. Ball speed is not optimal.
4. The balls usually drop hard right on the lane rather than being posted for smoother motion.
Without a push away to create the free swing, I feel that I have a tendency to lift the ball up in the backswing.
But what is brought up usually comes down rather than rolls out to the lane. Though many bowlers can control the downswing to prevent the drop, I still don’t prefer this way.
So I recommend you apply a tip called “controlled” free swing when bowling with 2 hands to fix the above issues.
A “controlled” free swing is basically a free swing guided with 2 hands.
You let the ball mostly use its potential energy during the swing with the least pressure from arms and hands and only focus on keeping your palm in a leverage position or under the ball at the time of release.
Let’s respect the free movement plane of the bowling ball.
In order to achieve this state, you must strongly believe that the bowling ball will not drop out of your hands during the swing.
Most of the time, people hold something tightly because they are afraid that it will drop off their hands. The reality is the bowling ball rarely or never drops off your hands because you have up to 2 hands to hold it. So it’s just your deluded fear; it’s not real.
Once you understand this mindset, you just need to hold the ball with the least pressure, push it away and let it swing freely in your 2 hands. The ball would be happy if you do so. So do you!
There’s not much difference when you apply free swing in 1-handed and 2-handed bowling. The only difference is you use the non-bowling hand during the approach. This is such an illusion, right?