I was thinking about the release I was using on the Viper this past Monday. I was basically calling it a stop at the ankle release with no follow through. I realized however that this may be exactly what Coachjim has been describing as the ideal release.

You see there was absolutely no feedback in my fingers and wrist when I released the ball. The ball also still had significant revs to it, but it was more end over end and didn't over-react on the dry. In fact the ball actually rolled out before getting to the pocket.

Its possible I was still following through the ball, but without the hit at the release point. I have been trying to take something off the ball with mixed results. My rev rate was much higher before adjusting it, and I am still in the 480 range. I must have been in the 550-600 range prior to adjusting.

I did however have a great deal of trouble putting the ball where I wanted it while doing this "short arm" release. I just can't put my finger on why though....Any thoughts?

Like I mentioned in chat, it would be interesting to see video of this release. I notice that there's a disconnect between what we think we do and what we actually do. That's OK, but we should also know that when we say "I feel like X" you know you're actually doing something different.

The same thing goes for why you couldn't hit your mark. Without seeing what you're doing it's going to be hard to guess.

Our chat is what prompted me to give it some more thought. Fact was that I just wasn't accelerating through the ball at the release point like I usually do.

You were obviously still following through.

IMHO it is virtually impossible to bowl well without a follow through.

This is one of my big problems. I have to conciously think to complete a good follow through and it's very rare to have good results when the follow through is bad (or simply not there)!

Without the follow thru. You have no speed.

What i think is no hit release is you let it roll off your fingers without any finger pressure or grab at release point. I think maybe that what you are doing but you think your not following thru but your probally are. Take a video of your release like lefty says to see if you are or not doing what you feel.

1. If you don't hit on the ball, you are probably letting the ball roll all the way from the release to the pin deck. The ball will pick up momentum on itsown and slide less. Resulting in what looks like increased revs. But, 550-600 revs is huge.

You are probably maximizing the flare, and improving your axis of rotation. This is what you see.

2. If you don't follow through, it will be difficult to hit our mark since the follow through plays a big role in targeting. As a wild baseball pitcher will miss the strikezone by releasing the ball at the top of the pitch, you are doing the same at the bottom of the swing.

The revs don't change with this release, its just different and doesn't seem to jump when it hits the dry. I was purposely trying not to hit the ball, and it was just dumping off my hand.

I will try to get some video to demonstrate what I was doing on that particular day. The lane condition will be much different but at least you can see what I was doing.

As far as the 500-600 revs, that is from when I was plant and pulling the ball through the release. I have adjusted that and am releasing more out towards the pins and less hit on the ball, although I do still hit the ball through the release. I am 95% confident with it, under normal circumstances so I really have no reason to change it. I shot 279 last night and left one 10 pin in that game. I was in the pocket every shot, and the one I didn't carry was because I chicken winged it and it had no drive.

My current rev rate of 486 is based on adjustments I made based on the advice I got on this site. The only real difference from my perspective was that I had no feedback in my fingers and it felt like I was short arming the release. It worked great on the Reverse Block Viper I was on, because I was able to keep it right of the head pin without swinging the whole lane and also keep 1-7 boards out of play. The ball was rolling out rather than driving at the pin deck but I was still carrying pretty good. The axis tilt was slightly more end over end as well, but it was a minimal change.

I will try to get some video though for you guys to evalute. I will make sure I get it from a good angle, and not straight behind this time.