Something that's super important to make this work--your thumb fit needs to be pretty tight. Tight enough that it can hang straight down with your hand relaxed. The momentum of your swing plus your thumb pointing the direction the ball needs to come off your hand will literally pull the ball off your hand. You should not have to grip the ball at all. If the ball fits properly, it should only come off your hand at the correct moment during the release, assuming you stay completely relaxed. If you're dropping your ball too early, the fit is too loose. If you feel like you have to grip it, your fit is too loose.
this is the key point when talking about thumb release. many vids juz say, get that thumb out first, but dont necessarily explain how to get the ball out from the thumb. gripping the ball is very common, for fear of ball dropping out. key point is to relax the thumb as the ball is moving forward from ur swing and the ball will drop out by itself. getting used to that feeling and timing takes a while though
The thing that I like about JR's channel is that he has an excellent way of explaining everything that he teaches. I'm in the process of teaching my son and what I especially like about JR's channel is that, in just about every tutorial he breaks it down from the beginning. Beginner bowlers should be able to follow along and above average bowlers can also find value. Thanks for all the tips JR. Although I like to think that I know everything there is to know about the game, i still find valuable lessons in your videos. Alot of these drills weren't taught to me as a kid. Due to the way to explain everything, I'm also able to show my son a lot of your videos as he continues to learn more about the game. Keep these great tutorials coming!
I've gotten so good at this I have had to start wrapping my finger tips because I was cutting and peeling skin off my finger tips from all the pressure I am getting on my finger tips as I unload my wrist, without pulling up. This is after softening the edges of my grips with acetone and rounding them over. Now learning how to dial it all back as the lanes transition. I would encourage folks to add revs in steps, so they can master the straighter angles first, before going for the big beautiful 40 board hooks. While I can bowl from 5th arrow on fresh oil I cannot play inside board 15 at all because I went straight for big hooks years ago.
A PERFECT instructional video. Now I can FINALLY see that final wrist turn at the very last second that puts the spin on the ball. Now I've got to practice.
sorry to be so off topic but does anybody know a way to get back into an instagram account? I was dumb lost my login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me!
my favorite break down by far that i’ve watched!!! have been bowling for about a month now. I got a ball and i only use two fingers but now ima drill a thumb whole to use!!! my highest game is a 201 but can’t wait to try this when the bowling alleys open back up!!!!
Wow I've bowled for year's without my thumb, i have a high rev rate without. I've seen tons of vids, to try to use my thumb on my strike ball. 1 more accuracy, now reason 2 the new rule change. This is by far, the best practice drill I've seen and will be doing this in home and at the lanes tomorrow. Thanks jr. Really hope this is the ticket to step up my average.
As a no-thumber your fingers are naturally cranked back in the most powerful position, cupped and already pointed at the 7 or 8 o'clock position at the top of your back swing as you look at it from behind. When you bowl with your thumb in, the natural tendency is for your hand to be too high on the ball and/or directly behind the ball, giving you limited ability to give the ball much rotation. Cup your wrists as Raymond describes, (visualize dragging your fingers on the lane) to keep your fingers under the ball, and also tilt your wrist so that your fingers are pointing a bit left, at the 7 or 8 o'clock position (called the power position) This allows your fingers to be cocked, or loaded, so that when your thumb comes out you can lift up with your fingers to get somewhat the same sort of rotation you already get as a no-thumber. Hope this helps.
Very good breakdown, this is actually the first time I've seen this video. I've thought it was all elbow snap, but this video seems to simplify the "wrist" action, and simply keeping it cupped at the bottom.
Out of a packed league night, I might see one or two bowlers who release it this way. Sadly, I'm not one of them. Great video. I cup my wrist but don't uncup at release. There's work to be done.
Having trouble releasing the ball when I am applying backward pressure with my thumb. It is so much easier when I apply forward pressure toward my ring finger. I try to apply the pressure with the base of my thumb.
Instead of gripping the ball with your thumb, you can try exerting pressure against the ball with your thumb pushing up at the ball, in the direction that your thumb nail is pointed. This way, your thumb will fall free of your ball cleanly and at the moment your thumb is out, you can lift and crank with your fingers. This is the way I was taught to avoid having your thumb "stuck" in the ball or holding onto it too long. You don't have to pull your thumb out. If you are not gripping inwards, gravity will take your thumb out naturally.
my problem is I can always do the foul line drills but when i try it full swing i don't release properly and i lift, carry, or pull at release. ANY ideas for help?
He does virtual lessons. Go to JR Raymond on RUclips and you can get the link. You send him a video and he'll send you one back... Check it out, might be something your interested in... 🎳
While I think that most your drill technique I have already seen/tried before, and now I am going to try doing again...but have a slight issue; wrist pain at point of release ( football), I compensated by getting around the ball ( spinning it and kinda bailing out at the bottom of my swing anticipating the pain, but I want to stay behind it more, and yes I have tried lighter weight balls, but the problem is that the pain is at point of release. Any drills for this issue?
Any suggestions for what to do if I lose the ball early even while doing foul line drills? It doesn’t stay on long enough to get out in front of me, and the ball actually rolls out rather than rolling properly and reading the pattern. Is this a fit issue? I use a very tight thumb and only have 1/16 reverse thumb pitch.
Is your thumb all the way in the ball or just in to the first joint? I'm thinking my thumb hole needs some reworking to get it easily out of the ball first.
II've always been told not to use the wrist. But in the last portion where you talk about rev-rate, you say to release really fast with your wrist. It happens so fast I can't see what your wrist is doing. Please advise.
JR, great video. I cant seem to keep my fingers under the ball. I think my wrist opens on my backswing and I end up with my thumb on the top of the ball and fingers behind it. The little rotation i get ends up being like a planets rotation or a tops rotation versus a tire?
Your arm should be fairly straight if you loosen your shoulder and biceps, allowing the height of the backswing to determine the speed because you are allowing your arm to swing loosely like a pendulum. The muscles you need to focus on using are in your forearm, wrist, and hand. This is simply so that you can keep your hand behind the ball instead of on top. If you hold your hand out like you are holding your bowling ball then slowly bend your wrist forward and backwards, you will notice that your thumb moves back as your wrist moves forward. The further back your thumb goes, the sooner it leaves the hole relative to when your fingers leave their holes, giving your fingers more time to lift the ball. This will impart more spin to the ball, increasing hook potential. Alternatively, bending your wrist backwards causes the thumb and fingers to leave at almost the same time, imparting little to no spin. This can be useful if you only have one ball and need to pickup the ten pin for righties and the seven pin for lefties. The ball may, however, thunk thunk its way down the lane as it will be rolling over the finger and thumb holes, but it will roll nearly straight, allowing you to aim at the corner pin directly via your mark. It makes for a higher incidence of not missing the spare. I hope this helps. Just remember, having a second ball drilled to move just a little left or right, makes it easier to avoid the gutter, and is more reliable as a strategy. -Joey Smith, asst. Mgr. and pro shop proprietor, TNT Lanes, Vidalia GA. (912)537-BOWL(2695)
I can't get my timing right to save my life. I do everything I've seen on RUclips, and I can't get my thumb out first no matter what. I try to get it to hook counter clockwise, and it goes down the lane to the right with a mild clockwise rotation..
I make my thumb hole a size bigger and use tape ( white texture ) for a little bit of grip. I can take it out if my thumb swells also if you have trouble with that try using skin tape on the back of your thumb that should give your thumb a smooth and cleaner release. Look at the turbo skin tape ( fast release ) they have numbers on the package. Hope that helps.
Is to say at the time to drill the ball, how could be the best angle for get out the thumb faster and for example for me is that my release with cup since the first position the ball in my hand. Thankyou brother ,for you videos and tips ok ,God bless you¡🎳🙏
Sometimes I find my thumb gets stuck and screws up my entire throw. i dont know if it's from my thumb swelling and/or getting sweaty or the hole is too small
Someone can add more details than I can but if your thumb by itself is not tight to put straight in and out of the ball it is not because of the size it is something in your release. My mom was having trouble with her thumb sticking for a while usually started after a few games I think she was getting tired and changing her release because of fatigue/thinking about other elements of the approach to much.
Hi mister will like ask a question, how do you can to gave a tip about the angle of the thumb more aproximate correct for try to get out the thumb faster , thanks for you comment me , thanks 👍🎳
@@jimmyReesby you cant throw a ball thumbless and then use your thumb to convert a spare. you're not allowed to have a thumb hole drilled up if youre not using it
Is there really any point to lessons if you don’t have the wrist or arm strength to do this, which virtually no one does unless they are young and developing and can actually build this muscle? This is why no women and 95% of men can’t rev a ball up. It requires ungodly strength. I’ve been bowling for 50 years, and could never do this even when I was averaging 235.
Good advice, but honestly not worth complaining about. I think if someone is that distracted by the frame of the shot they are not focusing enough on the content, which was actually really clear.
Something that's super important to make this work--your thumb fit needs to be pretty tight. Tight enough that it can hang straight down with your hand relaxed. The momentum of your swing plus your thumb pointing the direction the ball needs to come off your hand will literally pull the ball off your hand. You should not have to grip the ball at all. If the ball fits properly, it should only come off your hand at the correct moment during the release, assuming you stay completely relaxed. If you're dropping your ball too early, the fit is too loose. If you feel like you have to grip it, your fit is too loose.
this is the key point when talking about thumb release. many vids juz say, get that thumb out first, but dont necessarily explain how to get the ball out from the thumb. gripping the ball is very common, for fear of ball dropping out. key point is to relax the thumb as the ball is moving forward from ur swing and the ball will drop out by itself. getting used to that feeling and timing takes a while though
The thing that I like about JR's channel is that he has an excellent way of explaining everything that he teaches. I'm in the process of teaching my son and what I especially like about JR's channel is that, in just about every tutorial he breaks it down from the beginning. Beginner bowlers should be able to follow along and above average bowlers can also find value. Thanks for all the tips JR. Although I like to think that I know everything there is to know about the game, i still find valuable lessons in your videos. Alot of these drills weren't taught to me as a kid. Due to the way to explain everything, I'm also able to show my son a lot of your videos as he continues to learn more about the game. Keep these great tutorials coming!
Really great explanation and a nice reminder to go back to the basics when your shot isn't working.
Best breakdown of ball release I've seen yet. I've been trying to figure this out for a while. I can't wait to go try it. Thank you!
Best video on release I've seen yet!
That was a great demonstration of the importance of releasing the ball properly
I've gotten so good at this I have had to start wrapping my finger tips because I was cutting and peeling skin off my finger tips from all the pressure I am getting on my finger tips as I unload my wrist, without pulling up.
This is after softening the edges of my grips with acetone and rounding them over.
Now learning how to dial it all back as the lanes transition.
I would encourage folks to add revs in steps, so they can master the straighter angles first, before going for the big beautiful 40 board hooks.
While I can bowl from 5th arrow on fresh oil I cannot play inside board 15 at all because I went straight for big hooks years ago.
Tried it today at practice ...wow what a big difference in my REV rate love the video Thanks JR.
I have to reduce my rev rate because of the width of my shoulders
A PERFECT instructional video. Now I can FINALLY see that final wrist turn at the very last second that puts the spin on the ball. Now I've got to practice.
I've seen the release executed perfectly but have never had it broken down. Thanks for something to work on.
sorry to be so off topic but does anybody know a way to get back into an instagram account?
I was dumb lost my login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me!
@Terry Camdyn instablaster ;)
my favorite break down by far that i’ve watched!!! have been bowling for about a month now. I got a ball and i only use two fingers but now ima drill a thumb whole to use!!! my highest game is a 201 but can’t wait to try this when the bowling alleys open back up!!!!
I just watched almost all your tutorial vids and drills. Keep doing them!
Love the thing about the fingers touching the ground before releasing!
I agree....I went and tried it today and felt soooooo much better ...thanks heaps
Will surely try this. Bowling centers are closed, so this will be a great way to practice increasing my rev rate at home.
Def the best vid out of all the ones I’ve seen on revs thanks
Definitely helped my rev rate more that any other video
I'm a beginning bowler and releasing my thumb makes all the difference.
I see it now! This was GOLD!
¡Gracias!
Thanks so much Alberto!
Really useful - I had a shocker last night at league after a few weeks away, and its back to basics like this to get my mojo back. Thanks
Best example and breakdown I've seen yet..and I have watched a ton of videos..awesome
This is great, thank you. One of the best lesson videos I've seen.
Wow I've bowled for year's without my thumb, i have a high rev rate without. I've seen tons of vids, to try to use my thumb on my strike ball. 1 more accuracy, now reason 2 the new rule change. This is by far, the best practice drill I've seen and will be doing this in home and at the lanes tomorrow. Thanks jr. Really hope this is the ticket to step up my average.
As a no-thumber your fingers are naturally cranked back in the most powerful position, cupped and already pointed at the 7 or 8 o'clock position at the top of your back swing as you look at it from behind. When you bowl with your thumb in, the natural tendency is for your hand to be too high on the ball and/or directly behind the ball, giving you limited ability to give the ball much rotation. Cup your wrists as Raymond describes, (visualize dragging your fingers on the lane) to keep your fingers under the ball, and also tilt your wrist so that your fingers are pointing a bit left, at the 7 or 8 o'clock position (called the power position) This allows your fingers to be cocked, or loaded, so that when your thumb comes out you can lift up with your fingers to get somewhat the same sort of rotation you already get as a no-thumber. Hope this helps.
Dont change dude.
Aka the frisbee release daria pajak has a awesome release
Great video. Thanks much. Wish you were in Florida.
Very good breakdown, this is actually the first time I've seen this video. I've thought it was all elbow snap, but this video seems to simplify the "wrist" action, and simply keeping it cupped at the bottom.
Thank you, I will try this tonight.
Thank You. Very Easy To Understand Video Instruction.
Out of a packed league night, I might see one or two bowlers who release it this way. Sadly, I'm not one of them. Great video. I cup my wrist but don't uncup at release. There's work to be done.
You are a great teacher.
Very clear and informative video on proper release. I'll be doing these drills in my next practice. Many of us can use better rev rate. Thanks!
Thanks can’t wait to try very well explained thank you!!!
Thank you. This helped me so much!
Thanks for this. Can't wait to start working on this.
The best video yet on releases
This is the BEST Explanation!!!
Nice explanation
Great information. Thank you
if im ever in your area i will call in for lessons , thank you for your help , really much appreciated
Wow nice training video
Thanks so much
AWESOME VID. thank you
Great video jr
thank you
Having trouble releasing the ball when I am applying backward pressure with my thumb. It is so much easier when I apply forward pressure toward my ring finger. I try to apply the pressure with the base of my thumb.
Good video 👍
If the ball feels like it is going to fall off your hand could be span not measure right? Are the ball to heavy?
nice instruc
Does this drill work if you're using just your finger tips? Is there a way you'd modify it?
Great video
What are you doing pulling your thumb out at the bottom of the swing or letting gravity take it off your thumb?
Instead of gripping the ball with your thumb, you can try exerting pressure against the ball with your thumb pushing up at the ball, in the direction that your thumb nail is pointed. This way, your thumb will fall free of your ball cleanly and at the moment your thumb is out, you can lift and crank with your fingers. This is the way I was taught to avoid having your thumb "stuck" in the ball or holding onto it too long. You don't have to pull your thumb out. If you are not gripping inwards, gravity will take your thumb out naturally.
my problem is I can always do the foul line drills but when i try it full swing i don't release properly and i lift, carry, or pull at release. ANY ideas for help?
Good video thanks
I lost my index figure about 2 centimeters away from the first joint will that make a difference in the spinoff of the bowling ball?
Excellent! Thanks!
I wish you were closer to Texas. Would love to do a one on one with you.
He does virtual lessons. Go to JR Raymond on RUclips and you can get the link. You send him a video and he'll send you one back... Check it out, might be something your interested in... 🎳
While I think that most your drill technique I have already seen/tried before, and now I am going to try doing again...but have a slight issue; wrist pain at point of release ( football), I compensated by getting around the ball ( spinning it and kinda bailing out at the bottom of my swing anticipating the pain, but I want to stay behind it more, and yes I have tried lighter weight balls, but the problem is that the pain is at point of release. Any drills for this issue?
From my experience. As long as my hand is behind the ball and not hanging out to the side, I don't have a problem getting my thumb out.
Thanks boss
Any suggestions for what to do if I lose the ball early even while doing foul line drills? It doesn’t stay on long enough to get out in front of me, and the ball actually rolls out rather than rolling properly and reading the pattern. Is this a fit issue? I use a very tight thumb and only have 1/16 reverse thumb pitch.
Hey man. Who do you have sublimate your shirts?
Is your thumb all the way in the ball or just in to the first joint? I'm thinking my thumb hole needs some reworking to get it easily out of the ball first.
Is this place in Tennessee
LoL I like how you do Dutch angle in your videos
Where are you located
I got a ball of and it's got 300 and it's got scratches all over it and I don't know how to get rid of all the scratches off of the ball
II've always been told not to use the wrist. But in the last portion where you talk about rev-rate, you say to release really fast with your wrist. It happens so fast I can't see what your wrist is doing. Please advise.
JR, great video. I cant seem to keep my fingers under the ball. I think my wrist opens on my backswing and I end up with my thumb on the top of the ball and fingers behind it. The little rotation i get ends up being like a planets rotation or a tops rotation versus a tire?
A wrist support may help , one that goes up to your finger knuckles .
noob here, i have a beginner symmetric ball and I couldn't spin the ball to save my life. This video helped me a lot!
Same, I just throw it straight while it slides/spins...
How do you straighten your arm on your release please... I need a hint
Your arm should be fairly straight if you loosen your shoulder and biceps, allowing the height of the backswing to determine the speed because you are allowing your arm to swing loosely like a pendulum. The muscles you need to focus on using are in your forearm, wrist, and hand. This is simply so that you can keep your hand behind the ball instead of on top. If you hold your hand out like you are holding your bowling ball then slowly bend your wrist forward and backwards, you will notice that your thumb moves back as your wrist moves forward. The further back your thumb goes, the sooner it leaves the hole relative to when your fingers leave their holes, giving your fingers more time to lift the ball. This will impart more spin to the ball, increasing hook potential. Alternatively, bending your wrist backwards causes the thumb and fingers to leave at almost the same time, imparting little to no spin. This can be useful if you only have one ball and need to pickup the ten pin for righties and the seven pin for lefties. The ball may, however, thunk thunk its way down the lane as it will be rolling over the finger and thumb holes, but it will roll nearly straight, allowing you to aim at the corner pin directly via your mark. It makes for a higher incidence of not missing the spare. I hope this helps. Just remember, having a second ball drilled to move just a little left or right, makes it easier to avoid the gutter, and is more reliable as a strategy.
-Joey Smith, asst. Mgr. and pro shop proprietor, TNT Lanes, Vidalia GA. (912)537-BOWL(2695)
Drag fingers.....genius
Kay :)
I can't get my timing right to save my life. I do everything I've seen on RUclips, and I can't get my thumb out first no matter what. I try to get it to hook counter clockwise, and it goes down the lane to the right with a mild clockwise rotation..
Thumb hole sizing is a big issue for me. Can't do snug because I'll swell and sweat, getting stuck and not being able to release.
I make my thumb hole a size bigger and use tape ( white texture ) for a little bit of grip. I can take it out if my thumb swells also if you have trouble with that try using skin tape on the back of your thumb that should give your thumb a smooth and cleaner release. Look at the turbo skin tape ( fast release ) they have numbers on the package. Hope that helps.
Is to say at the time to drill the ball, how could be the best angle for get out the thumb faster and for example for me is that my release with cup since the first position the ball in my hand. Thankyou brother ,for you videos and tips ok ,God bless you¡🎳🙏
Well 182?Lost form fingers but I'm 62 almost(March).2opens.Last one hurted ..10th frame!All good my ave?147?God bring back that 179!
I'm bad 279!
So cupping the wrist is almost a requirement to rev rate.
Mkaaaaaay Mr. Raymond, mkaaaaaay?
Have you ever heard of only using ring finger along with thumb to get ball to roll onto fingers easily
I was spinning my bowling ball on my rug at home.
Why does my thumb hang up sometimes or makes a pop sound.
Squeezing it possibly
Where are you located??
He does his videos in Classic Lanes in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
Sometimes I find my thumb gets stuck and screws up my entire throw. i dont know if it's from my thumb swelling and/or getting sweaty or the hole is too small
Someone can add more details than I can but if your thumb by itself is not tight to put straight in and out of the ball it is not because of the size it is something in your release. My mom was having trouble with her thumb sticking for a while usually started after a few games I think she was getting tired and changing her release because of fatigue/thinking about other elements of the approach to much.
@@DFabry10 I think sometimes I will bend my thumb slightly in the ball causing it to suction and stick, if that makes sense.
Oval thumb will stop you grabbing it at the bottom. My guru Mo Pinel knows how to set up bowlers, you might want to listen to his advice.
Hi mister will like ask a question, how do you can to gave a tip about the angle of the thumb more aproximate correct for try to get out the thumb faster , thanks for you comment me , thanks 👍🎳
WHATTTTTTTTTT
I bowl 2 handed so revs are always high, but I’ve tried 1 handed and i can see why it’s hard to get your thumb out.
Don't put your thumb in. It works for me and revs are way up.
I put some 3 in 1 dry lube in my thumb hole, now it's not sticky
@@jimmyReesby u missed the point
@@metalmike1976 well take your hat off so I can see it pinhead!
Mkay... Mkay.... mhmmm mkay
Ummm kayyyy
It's a suttil move that happens quickly, better practiced with a free flowing swing !!
I never have been able to get my thumb out on time so I always just bowl with my middle finger in the thumb hole and the 2 other holes over my palm.
I don't put my thumb in unless I have pins left on the right side.
thats illegal
@@metalmike1976 no its not
@@jimmyReesby yes it is.look at the rules
@@jimmyReesby you cant throw a ball thumbless and then use your thumb to convert a spare. you're not allowed to have a thumb hole drilled up if youre not using it
@@metalmike1976 you may be right. I don't bowl anymore anyways. Got in too much trouble afterwards 😅 🍑🍆
Poor camera shots - I feel like I am going to fall backwards
Is there really any point to lessons if you don’t have the wrist or arm strength to do this, which virtually no one does unless they are young and developing and can actually build this muscle? This is why no women and 95% of men can’t rev a ball up. It requires ungodly strength. I’ve been bowling for 50 years, and could never do this even when I was averaging 235.
Not about strength it's about technique Im skinny and I can do it
That’s cheating with your thumb create more grip pressure ?
Good video, but it would help not to have your video so slanted. i feel like i have to tilt my head to watch it.
Good advice, but honestly not worth complaining about. I think if someone is that distracted by the frame of the shot they are not focusing enough on the content, which was actually really clear.
adapt.stop crying
I didnt like the video... i cant see pinfalling down... do you even see the video before uploading?
Simple, just bowl with 2 fingers , no thumb necessary :-)
i just use 2 hands haha
Or, just don't put your thumb in the ball