So I went to league tonight with the attitude that I was going to try to loosen up my swing. It di not start out to well. Struggled with my swing until the ninth frame of the first game. It happened.

I throw or rolled( for cgeorg, jk), with a completely free swing. It was like walking through a door to enlightenment. And it is definately different than any other time I've thrown the ball. There were more revs on the ball, I released it on time and at the right spot, the ball felt like it dropped right out of my hand, and the best part I didn't use any part of my arm. I let it fall, come back and roll out onto the lane.

That being said, the night was still riddled with errors. I drifted a few times but not too bad that I can't fix it. A couple of times my wrist broke it backswing and that was because my arm wasn't straight on the backswing as well. I think that was caused by anxiousness due to just discovering what a free swing felt like. I chicken winged a couple times as well and thank god my Black Widow reacts the way it does and light strikes fall at the house that I bowl at.

Now onto the bigger problems. I was gripping the ball early on in the first game and a couple of times later on in the night. I could really tell when I was gripping it. I still think I have to work on not grabbing the ball. I think it's more of a reflex or habit that I have to break myself of because my Black Widow is pretty spot on. I need my Cell to feel like that ball and it doesn't. Since I wasn't really used to the cupped release still I kept wanting to come up the side of the ball in particular come up the side of the ball earlier which led to some inconvenient spares and opens (both my splits were a result of this). And while we're on the topic of spares, I did hit my 6 open mark tonight. My spare shooting still leaves something to be desired. I don't have a plastic spare ball yet so I have to eliminate as much hook from my ball as I can and throw straight so needless to say it is a little tough. But I'm getting the hang of it. Lastly, my wrist hurt a little during the night and after because I don't think it is quite strong enough to cup a 16 pound ball yet.

Aside from the free swing, learned that I also have to stay down because if I don't I can get kind of wild. And I look like Chris BArnes(from behind) on one shot and then WRW Jr. on the next. So staying down is good for me. Also I learned that a 15 pound arsenal might be good for me if I can't strengthen my wrist to throw a 16 pound ball. I pulled out my Scout Reactive and threw 9 marvelous shots, including 6 in a row for the last 5 and a 9 on the fill ball (blasted 10 pin, I wanted 7 in a row). I really think if that had been a Street Rod or something of that nature it would've crushed all night long.

And on a side note, those 6 in a row were a result of me adjusting by something my girlfriend noticed. She said that I slowed down my approach from what it had been eariler. I suppose that I did it to accomadate for the one pound difference in the balls. So I raised the ball in my stance and returned or at least tried to go back to the foot speed I had been using all night. I'm not sure if that was right thing to do but it worked.

I would like to say that I don't think I have a free swing yet because I don't get it as consistent as I'd like to (a lot of bad habits to brack). But I can say that I have experienced a free swing and my swing is definately freer now.

Sorry I wrote you all a novel, but I was stoked after I got a free swing whcih increased my awarness of things and a lot of things happended tonight. Again my apoligies.

Sorry I got a little carried away, if you want to read the previous post you can.

Here's the big things that I want to talk about:
Wrist hurting
Wrist breaking on my backswing
Wanting to turn the ball
And opinions on going from 16 pounds to 15 pounds
Grabbing the ball.

I just love it when some one posts and beats everyone else to a response, himself. It's like talking to yourself. But, since I do that too, May I join in?

If you have started bending your wrist back in the backswing, that is an unnatural wrist movement, and probably hurts when you do it. Keep your wrist straight to your forearm. This gives you the maximum strength.

Wanting to turn the ball is a usually a result of muscle in your swing. Your arm tenses and your hand turns as a result. Seems like you are trying to overswing or force a hook. If you truely have a relaxed arm swing, this won't happen.

Grabbing the ball - well, if your ball fits properly, it shouldn't happen, unless, as stated before, you use your muscles in your arm. You grab when you are turning your arm. So again, seems that you opinion of an easy, unforced arm swing, really isn't. You need to work on this.

Chances are, if you drop from 16 to 15, you will have a tendency to muscle more. The lighter weight just gives you more of an opportunity to do this as well as try to pick up speed as well. Changing weights does have its drawbacks.

I'll wait for another response before I add more.

Yeah the bending wrist I wasn't trying to do it kind of just happened and I remedied that within 2 frames. It's probably what caused my wrist to hurt combined a little with cupping my wrist, which I'm still not used to.

You are correct about turning the turn early and wnating to turn the ball in general. I did muscle the ball and I noticed it because my shoulder felt used and a tad sore after I threw those shots.

I only really grabbed the ball on the muscled swings. And that's one of the things I still have to break myself of. As well as, get all of the weight of the ball on my left hand, that certainly helps. I don't think I have the confidence yet to trust that the ball will stay on my hand. The thumbhole feels a little loose so it might be time to start using tape ([censored]).

I'm just curious because I threw 7 beautiful and comfortable shots with my 15 pound ball last night. It kind of felt like I was just throwing a practice swing with no ball, quite honestly I didn't feel a thing which is what I'm aiming for. But I wish I had video tape so that I could see if I was muscling the ball because there is a higher chance of me muscling the ball. Although I should've probably lowered the ball a little in my stance instead of raise it up. I think I got a bit too much speed on the ball and it wasn't reacting like it should've, but oh well live and learn.

Actually, the vid I remember you posted showed you using your arm in the backswing to pull up. Don't think a slower or lower presentation will help. Your normal relaxed swing would have been faster.

i couldn't stop breaking my wrist so i had to get a brace. but i know that i can't do it now. it feels like a piece of wood on my arm, but it help me on breaking my wrist. for now i dont think i can take it off either. i will still do it, it seems.
good luck with it demo seems like you gave it your best trying to get a free swing. it seems hard to achieve but it can be, i got one but i got a far way to go to get it perfect

Same with me Fury, I do have a long way to go for two reasons. The first is that I have to get it consistent first before I say I have a free armswing, hence the "freer" armswing that I use to describe most of the shots. The second is that I need to get a handle on my release and along with that make sure that my balls fit correctly. The BW Solid I think just needs a little bit of trust and tape to get the right feel. The Cell I'm going to have to have to have opened up a little and then experiment with it and see if tape will help.

Dennis, you were right about me muscling the ball on the backswing but after the 9th frame in that first game last night it is something that is slowly starting to vanish. Anytime I muscled or grabbed the ball, I was walking back thinking to myself, "D@mn it! I grabbed/ muscled the h*ll out of that ball." For whatever reason I seemed to notice the grabbing and the muscling of the ball last night more than I ever have. On the up side Dennis, I do believe that I may have eliminated muscling the ball on the backswing, at least that's what it feels like. I don't have any tape of myself yet so I can't really tell. I think my muscling is occuring on the downswing now, so I'm going to have to trust that the ball will get back on time and let it go.

Like I said I won't say that I have a free armswing yet. I still have to get the free swing on a consistent basis with all of my balls. For now I have a "freer swing". I just wanted to tell everyone what happened last night and see if I could get some help with some of the bigger problems that I noticed and maybe some of the smaller ones.

This may not be important, but I have my Cell and BW Solid drilled using the Vacum-grip Technique. Does this have any effect on a free armswing? I'm just curious.

Demo, I slackened my wrist a lot when I first came back. I used a wrist brace consistently for a couple of years to get the feel of what my wrist is to do. It was a great training device. I use a 3" wide elastic wrap for the most part now, but don't hesitate to strap the brace back on if I detect a wrist problem.

As for muscling, it really helps me when I bowl with my friend. He knows my style and will tell me what I have done wrong when I do it. I don't question him any more. I just refocus and change.

It is good to have some watch your arm because what they see, is usually different from what you do. Like posting a vid. Others can see what you don't notice.

My wrist wasn't too much of a problem. I was able to
fix it for the night but I think I might have went about it the wrong way. I think I kept my wrist from breaking by forcing it to stay the way I wanted it to. So I'll have to work on that. As for strapping on a wrist brace, I don't particularly care for it. I wore one for a little while, but I have resently been bowling without it on. I could try throwing with it back on and see what happens.

I have a couple of friends that couldwatch me and video tape me. It looks like I'll just have to recruit them.

i've been working with my release the most friday. i moved my pinky out and it was harder to control, but had a lot more power on the back end. i move my pinky in by my ring finger , a little easier to control but less revs but a good bit of power on the end. so i bent my pinky next, lot more revs and easy for me to control but les power on the back end. so i'm stuck on that part of my release. the rest is my follow through. if i follow through i get more of a result.
yup i agree the free swing is something that is a little hard on ya but you'll get the hang of it and it'll work for you when it comes good luck on it.