Mythbusting – Part 1

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2012 brings you a bunch of wisdom, forgiveness, and messengers for the corner pins. I thought I would start off this year debunking some myths in bowling.

On tilt

Being “on tilt” is a bad thing in Texas Hold ’Em and a very good thing in bowling. You’ve probably heard or been taught that in the finish position, you want your head over your knee and your knee over your foot. I think that’s bunk.

If you look at great players from any era, you won’t see any of them in that position. In fact, it’s practically impossible to deliver a ball from there without whacking yourself in the derriere or the ankle. You’ve got to get your body parts out of the way of your swing.

My coach, Bill Harris, told me many times that the most powerfully delivered ball is one that comes from under or just inside the chin. He was aware of that in bowling’s heyday of the 50s and 60s, it was true when he taught it to me in the 80s, and it hasn’t changed in 2012.

In today’s game, you might see that the tilt is a bit more exaggerated than the tilt of a more traditional game. That doesn’t make it any less valid. This under-the-chin delivery is a very powerful position and affords an incredible amount of leverage. It allows the swing to tuck and the arm to be inside the shoulder. If you have it, don’t change it. If you don’t, you might want to find a coach who can teach it ...