Bowling form

In the sport of ten-pin bowling there are many different ways in which to deliver (known as a "throw" or "roll") the bowling ball in order to advance it toward the pins in an accurate and powerful manner.

Generally, there are three basic forms of 10-pin bowling. The most basic form is known as stroking, which is the most classic form. The most powerful form is known as cranking, which imparts great leverage and maximum rotation on the ball, but sacrifices accuracy. In between the two is the domain of the tweener, who has characteristics of both, but does not truly fit into either category. A well-known variant of "tweening" is the power stroker. Power stroking is often very similar to cranking and bowlers can often fit in either category, therefore bowlers that use one of these two styles are often simply known as power players.

A fourth style, known as helicopter, spinning, or UFO, is a style that is used to great effect in Asia. Finally, many modern bowlers have changed to a one- or two-handed no-thumb delivery.

Most of the various forms use different wrist and hand positions and rely on different timings and body positions to accommodate the differences in each style of release.

A conventional bowling form is the most commonly used method in 10-pin bowling. There are many styles that can be used in a conventional bowling form. However, all of the styles have one thing in common: the method in which to achieve a strike.

The following describes a strike for a right-handed bowler. A strike in conventional bowling is a specific method of knocking down all of the pins on the first ball. A conventional strike is when the ball utilizes the one-three pocket. A pocket is the area fronting the one and three pins.

There are countless ways a bowler can achieve a strike. However, the goal for a bowler on every first ball is to achieve a strike using the method that generates the highest strike percentage. A perfect strike is a strike where the ball hits only four pins: the one, three, five and nine pins. The ball enters the one-three pocket, and then falls into the pit area to the right of where the eight pin previously stood.

A stroker is a type of player in ten-pin bowling who releases his or her bowling ball in a smooth manner. They typically have rev rates less than 300 rpm. Strokers often keep their shoulders square to the foul line and their backswing generally does not go much above parallel to the ground. This type of release reduces the ball's rate of revolution, thus decreasing its hook potential and hitting power. Strokers rely on finesse and accuracy, as opposed to crankers, who use speed and power. However, today's modern reactive resin bowling balls now allow strokers to hit the "pocket" at a relatively high angle. Stroking is considered the most classic of all the bowling forms and is still the most popular style of bowling in the PBA.

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Wikipedia