Analyzing the PERFECT One-Handed Bowling Form 

I was not expecting to see myself on this list but thank you bro. I would have to add Mike Machuga to this list as well. His form is incredible.

Was really hoping for Mitch Hupe to be on it. I absolutely love the way he throws it. Looks like hes not even trying

Mitch Hupe anyone?

I gotta go with Prather for smooth 1 handed game. Still a good list though

This is basically how I pick my favorites: Kris Prather, Kyle Sherman , Bj Moore, then little bit of an outlier In Francois Lavoie.

Sterner is criminally underrated. I do think Prather/Chapman should've been swapped, but good list & I'll agree with it!

Michael Tang is someone i've watched for his form for a while. Darren is good too. I also love Kris Prathers and Daria's form. I like your list!

Kyle Sherman has a great delivery as well, but then I look at Walter Ray and, while visually not the most fluent, certainly gets the job done. Looking forward to more videos like this as well as the humor as you continue your journey! I love trying to figure things out myself, but it is also pretty amazing how much a coach can help tweak that one last thing to put you over the top!

Mike Fagan has such a beautiful game. I hope he bowls competitively again on tour some day.

if your goal is to emulate cranking, heres a good tip i got from charles wilken: a lot of it is in the right shoulder, youll notice it drops down sending a lot of energy through the arm forcing your hand underneath the ball. not every cranker uses their left arm as a counterbalance, but im pretty sure most do. the left arm/shoulder also acts as a secondary source of power for the right shoulder as your shoulders are supposed to turn at the release. weirdly enough, a similar thing happens with pro football players, but with their hips. the key to their power in the throw is to drive your hips forward to channel the energy through your shoulders. we can take that and apply it to the end of the approach where your shoulders start in one position, TURN and end in a good finish position. the turn with the shoulders is key to driving as much force as possible THROUGH your arm, and subsequently underneath the ball.

Forrest has one of the smoothest releases I’ve ever seen. But I would’ve added EJ here. The power he creates is insane

This was an enjoyable video to watch! Cool seeing the different throw mechanics and how varied they really are when studied up close. 🔥

Great breakdown honestly bro! Very helpful insights not seen with the naked eye 🤘

when i think of perfect one handed game aka what i aspire my form to be i always think of Cortez Schenck

Nice video. I totally agree with the fluid "free" arm swing. With that, you can throw the ball any way you want. In my day, it was Mark Roth who impressed me with his free swing. It doesn't matter what the rest of your body is doing, just keep that free arm swing..........take note Mike and you'll see your game improve. I have noticed you have natural talent with this game, so forget all that "technical" stuff and free swing it! Thanks for sharing, and glad you put Forrest on your list, not because he is your buddy, but he has one of the nicest, fluid swings I've ever seen.

That would have been funny as hell if you had Forrest's clip with a terrible split 🤣🤣🤣

I love the way Michael Tang throws it. When I learn to one hand I'm going to try and emulate his game.

Mitch hupe and Francis lavoie should be in the mentions for sure. Awesome list

Amleto Monacelli!

Aj Johnson has to be one of my favorites to watch. Im biased and he bowls in my house, but you never hear his ball hit the ground, until it blows the pins up.

I also love Mike Fagan's style and release, I went sarge easter because of him and never looked back.

Maximum Bob... 'nuf sed 💪💪

That was a good list Mike. I would’ve added Mike Machuca also like Forrest did.🤙🏿🤙🏿💯💯

1. Pete Weber 2. Mike Machuga 3. Parker Bohn III 4. Tommy Jones 5. Doug Kent

Mike Machuga back in the day was pretty ideal

Caught me by surprise when you named Forrest! But he is definitely a smooth 1H bowler!

My top 5 from 5 to 1 Mitch Hupè (just love watching him bowl. His release is so good, and his swing is very low effort) Aj Chapman (I really like his overall timing with his backswing. It looks like his game is designed to have a lot of revs) Norm Duke (The goat one hander imo. Can't do it no better than him, but I like watching others forms more) Kris Prather (His physical game is so damn good. I've always admired his release, and his game looks to be tailored more around having consistant accuracy, which in a lot of cases is better than having a ton of revs. Overall amazing) Mike Fagan (I modeled my 1 handed physical game after him and Norm. His backswing is so effortless, almost inhuman, and his consistancy overall is waaaaaay better than you would think. I think he would be top 5 on tour rn if he kept bowling. Probably tied with Duke for my favorite 1 handed bowler of all time. If I could put the revs that he did with 1 hand, I'd still be bowling 1 handed) Honorable mention: BJ Moore (I like his timing a lot more than a lot of other players, and he is a really good mix of power and accuracy, but the others on this list do what he does a bit better imo)

Great topic and all were awesome to try and emulate.

Not sure how you don't have EJ Tackett as number 1. And it isn't even close. And then Kris Prather. And then Kyle Sherman. Your bro Forrest is very nice and smooth as well, however I think because he rushes his 4th and 5th step he loses his accuracy at times. I actually think he would do well with a 4 step approach.

Aj Johnson, Kyle Sherman, Kris Prather, my personal fav - Frankie Lavois while not super powerful everything else is just money. Honorable mention Verity Crawley again not super powerful her release is smoooth

The GOAT, Earl Anthony had a very smooth form.

This is what's needed to properly dissect a good release. It's interesting to actually see what the hand does in the downswing: somewhat inside, closer to the body, then very close to the bottom of the swing, a quick turn from 7 o'clock to around 5 o'clock where the fingers works the release. The super slo-mo catches it nicely. Well done. I wish there had been stuff like this when I was bowling back in the 70s'80s.

Good form is very nice and fun to watch that's why I tried to develop one. Having a pro release and clean laydown I find is more important than a v good form

Mikey Tang is number one for me. Daria is a close second. Oh! Also, BJ Moore. Not many people mention him, but that guy has an INCREDIBLE form. It looks so effortless.

I see it was already mentioned in the comments, but BJ Moore is definitely on my list. Also, I know you've been talking about how you've been trying to work on improving. Have you considered reaching out to someone like Mark Baker and seeing if you can turn that into a video? Although I'm guessing it won't have as much of a wide appeal as your other videos, I think those who are a bit more serious might find it interested to see what a coach like Baker would say about your game and what he would suggest could help you.

For fluid armswings that still generate power, I would have to go with 5 - David Ozio 4 - Marshall Holman 3 - Brian Voss 2 - Norm Duke 1 - Parker Bohn III

Great list! Forrest has effortless power haha. The 2 I would add personally would be Sean Rash and Mike Wolfe

Tommy Jones and EJ Tackett are the only other 2 bowlers that come to mind for 1-handed masters

Mike Machuga is pretty perfect

Great list. Other faves of mine would be Pat Dombrowski, Jordan Jung, Trevor Roberts - you said it, art in motion.

Excellent list! .. excellent! .. Michael Tang, fantastic form, Kris Prather, amazingly smooth, and Forrest Kritzer, fantastic and smooth! .. those are about my top 3 picks. Forrest has a bit of form that I could not duplicate, I'm just not flexible enough but he sure does it well, so smooth. Tang is just solid as can be. Prather is just from another planet called Smoothilium where no sunlight reaches the surface because it's too smooth. Oh, and for sure you should have Kyle Sherman, especially as of late, his form has gotten so incredibly good. Another of my favorites is Dom Barrett. EJ Tackett isn't on this list because he's from another planet called Reverilious which itself spins very fast.

I agree with all of these, I would add Andrew Anderson though, he's pretty fluid like to.

I think if you incorporated some of these bowlers techniques, and approach it the way they do you could be an even better bowler than just 220 avg leauge bowler and thats already a good start keep up the good videos 👌🏼💯

i love watching Forrest bowl he has the cleanest looking one hand swing I've ever seen.

1 - Earl Anthony 2 - Marshall Holman 3 - Pete Weber 4 - Mike Aulby 5 - Michael Tang Pete Weber and Michael Tang both have effortless power and perfect leverage at the line. The other three, Earl Anthony, Marshall Holman and Mike Aulby all had perfect timing and perfect leverage in a time when "power" was not necessarily required. Leverage and timing generated the power in those days.

Andrew Anderson, Bj Moore, and Aj Johnson don’t get mentioned enough.

If you want to know who has those things you’re looking for, just look at your buddy Forrest. He is smoother than anyone. Guy has perfect form.

some old hats in this chat, haha. i really think o'neill's is one of the best "standard" one hander approaches. glad you included prather on here as well. i'd say marshall kent is another one i've really enjoyed watching this past season or two!

I don't think his name has been mentioned but I've always admired Parker Bohn's form. Looks pretty effortless and repeatable. Also I enjoyed Wes Malott back in the day before he had to start lofting it because of his injury issues.

Excellent call out to the King of Swing. Would loved to have watched Fagan evolve. So smooth. He deserves HOF status. Also admired PDW for smoothness. And Mike Machuga.

Ej and stu are my favorite one handed releases

I would have to say Parker Bohn III on the lefty side. Totally smooth and clinically perfect. The swing has been unchanged for decades and he continues to bowl at a high level .

I was glad to see Pajak, D. Tang. I like Brad And Kyle too! I hope 220 doesn't mess with his style too much bc I like it as well!

You did good Mike.

No love for EJ? He would be my #1 for sure!

Chris Barnes, Parker Bohn, Earl Anthony, Bill O'Neil, and Norm Duke (imo)

Definately a good list of modern players. I always liked David Ozio from the right and Parker Bohn from the left back in the day.

Robert smith?!

I guess you forgot about BJ Moore? Effortless power

I think I understand the list. EJ is pure power while Prather is pure smooth. Kinda maxed out those stats but maybe a little lacking in others. Obviously not a problem for either of them, but as far as your criteria is makes sense.

Cool video talk tech bowling one handed Michael

the way fagen's head never moves through his swing. it never comes up at release and stays on plane throughout. amazing!!

People forget about Daria, but she has more power than a lot of the guys on the PBA.

Of all time? PDW, Fagan, Tackett, Cortez - if we just talking form.

I agree with your list. Also, I would love to hear your opinion on my form.

BJ Moore, Chris Barnes, Kyle Sherman, Pete Webber, EJ, TJIII

Shoutout Mikey

Another great example (and the nicest form I've seen) is Mikey Schlabach

Jason Sterner coached/still coaches? A college team really close to me, ive seen him at my local bowling alley a couple times

Mitch Hupe!

Maximum. Bob.

Excuse the typo on Mike Machuga’s name.

God I'd love to be coached by you bro. I love the videos!

Was definitely expecting to see E.J Tackett and Mitch Hupe for sure...

I’m surprised you didn’t mention Norm Duke

Think you should do another video analyzing Mitch Hupe’s release, there’s nobody out there that can put more power with the cleanest release yet least amount of effort than him

Ronnie Russell has a nice ball roll.

Andrew Anderson, AJ and BJ Moore. Lavoie as well.

I used to be really good friends with FAGAN , we graduated St. John’s university together, he was all American like every year for St. John’s….he didn’t have the passion for the game anymore after a few years of the pba and he wanted to work a job where he was GUARANTEED a pay check every single week…I mean the money was bad then and the money is still terrible now so who can really fault him…He lives in Texas now I believe but I don’t see him coming back to the tour unfortunately…

You forgot the greatest of all time, Ernie McCracken. Seriously though Forrest is up there if you are talking one-hand form. He has a smooth approach and doesn't drop the ball. All you hear is the ball rolling down the lane. Marshall Holman would also be on my list.

I love Darren Tang's bowling form!!! Dont forget him

Loved watching Fagan bowl. His form fits his build, but that high of a swing would not fit most people. I'm sure he is making out well in his new ventures, but would have loved to see him stay on the tour. The downside of bowling's lack of money and cost to entry at the high level keeps many world class bowlers from doing it professionally as they make more at their other ventures than they would realistically even being a regular face on TV rounds. I bet that's why you sometimes see names from out of nowhere make majors from time to time. Great bowlers that decide to take the time for a big event, but otherwise don't bother.

Cortez Schenck, Chris Prather, Aj Johnson. I'd love to see those guys all in the same vid.

If you want to see one of the best one handed deliveries the game has ever seen, you have to go with David Ozio. Also you only showed right handers, you are forgetting the bowler with the most 300's in PBA history, the Great Parker Bohn, one of the best one handed deliveries ever.

Prather, AJ , HUPE and Justin Bohn

finally sterner getting his well earned respect

need a 2H version of this vid

Mike's form is perfect. I say so.

I think Kris Prather has the best one handed form in bowling. Id also drop Michael Tang into an honorable mention. He bends over too early in his approach which loses him a little bit of power.

Kyle Sherman has an sweet looking shot as well

My buddy BJ Moore! Mikey Tang does throw it great though.

I would have to add Verity Crawley to this. Her form is flawless.

I’d swap out Daria for Prather easily, but not a bad list.

Some others I’m really impressed with form wise. Chris Barnes BJ Moore Marshall Kent Tony Reyes (RIP)

Although he doesn't have the power he used to, you can't deny PB3 has great form. When I watch him bowl today it doesn't look like there's a wasted muscle fiber in his body during his delivery.

Prather is my #1

Mitch Hupe is the smoothest release in bowling

I'd put John Sczerbinski on the list as well.

The only thing that really matters is having the ability to repeat the same motion consistently. Great video though.

Mah bad... I forgot my fellow Canadian, Hupe as well.