Bowling Techniques

We generally talk about three different styles: cranker, stroker and roller and, in Asia, we also consider the spinner/helicopter style. In this short article we'll demonstrate how we make this categorisation and show you how the different styles work.

Three Different Bowling Techniques

The simplest style is the straight ball, but we won't discuss that here

The Cranker

The Cranker gets 'maximum' power on the ball. Revs, lots of revs! He (and they usually are men, young men) will stand deep inside and send the ball swinging out on the "scenic route" before it comes screeming back to desimate the pins.

The diagram shows two key things. They use 'late' timing, getting to the foul-line long before the ball, they 'plant-and-pull'; little or no slide and bend the elbow to keep the hand behind and under the ball. There is a lot of lower and upper body strength needed: notice how there is a strong push into the finish and the shoulders are still open to accomodate a high backswing.

The Stroker

This is the 'classic' style, smooth, consistent, elegant, though unspectacular. The Cranker will draw crowds and make them go 'ooh', but maybe 'ahh' too, because when the lanes get fried all those revs make the ball very hard to control. Crankers often leave spectacular splits.

The stroker knows that, in the long run of a tournament, his consistentency will usually win out. His sliding foot stops just before the ball gets to the line, creating moderate leverage for good, but controllable, ball reaction. He will be prone to less injuries as he need not muscle the ball as much the cranker.

See how the shoulders are more square to the target and the ball arrives more in time with the bowlers slide.

The Spinner

This style is not seen very often in the west but is popular in Asia where the Helicopter/UFO release was elevated to new levels in Taiwan, to combat brutally hard lane conditions. Breaking all the rules of conventional "heavy ball" hook bowlers (spinners use light weight 10-12lb balls) the bowler deliberately brings the fingers all the way round the top of the ball. This release means that only a small portion of the ball is in contact with the lane (less friction) and the ball travels almost straight down the lane, regardless of the oiling pattern. This is not, however, an ordinary straight ball. The high degree of axis tilt (like helicopter blades rotating) and high revolution rate create enormous amounts of "mix" on impact with the pins to carry a strike competitive with the hook bowler.

Summary People are different, some are small, some big, some old, some young. There are different styles for different folks, but all designed to do the same thing - knock down pins and score. Work with a coach and develop the style that works best for you, building on your individual stengths and talents.