Karachi Bowling Team

To Hook or Not to Hook? That is the question. Continued

In the last article, we mentioned the Scenario of Bowling in Pakistan,briefly. In this continuation, we will learn about how a ball hooks and other details about different bowling balls available today.

But before we get into that, we assume that it is relevant to discuss Bowling Styles a little bit more, just in case, someone would like to know.

So, we discussed Hook and Straight styles of Bowling in previous post, but are there any more Bowling Styles?

The answer is Yes, absolutely.

Besides the most Popular Hook Style, and equally or somewhat less populer Straight Style, some folks like to throw two handed hook ball, without puting the tumb in the Thumb Hole. The example of which is the Best Bowler on the Planet, Jason Belmonte or Belmo, the 2 hand wonder from Down Under (for those who don't know, it means from Australia). Osku Palermaa of Finland is another example. Jason has the most Ball Speed (23 mph), most Rev Rate (600 rpms) and most versatility among all the pro bowlers across the globe.

Then there is thumbless Bowling, but with one hand. Example of which is Tom Daugherty.

And then there are Spin Bowlers, or Helicopter Style. The example of which are thousands of Fareastren Bowlers, specially Chinese.

That's about covers more or less 95% of Bowling Styles all around the world. But wait, there is more.

A bowler is also classified in three different categories according to Ball Speed and Rev Rate.

There are Strokers, Tweeners, and Power Players.

Stroker is a typical Bowler with a Rev Rate less than 225 and ball speed less than 13 mph. He or she usually throws the ball straighter than the other two styles, on 2nd arrow, or as it is referred to as Track Area. The Most valuable example of which is Norm Duke. A 38 PBA titles winner and Hall of Fame member of both PBA Hall of Fame and USBC Hall of Fame. A Triple Crown Winner and Grand Slam Winner. Norm Duke is 51 years of age and still throws a 16 pound bowling ball. He is the only Bowler in US Bowling History who has won a Regular Season PBA US Open and Senior US Open title.

Then there are Tweeners. They have medium Ball Speed and Rev Rate. Best example of such bowlers is Bill O'Neal. Another PBA Great.

And Finally, there are power Players. High Ball speed of 19 mph and Rev Rates above 450 rpm. And the example of such bowlers is none other than Belmo, Jason Belmonte, whom we have mentioned earlier. Another examples are Jason Couch, Shawn Rash, Tommy Jones and Wes Malot.

But wait....... There is even more.

There are high rollers and low rollers. A high roller's Track is almost crossing the Thumb Hole. Example of which is Tom Smallwood.

So that covered almost all the different bowling styles in this day and age.

We would like to mention about Tom Smallwood, whom we used as an example of High Rollers. His story is very inspiring and we decided to let the visitors know about it.

Tom was an auto mechanic in Michigan, working for General Motors and he used to go out for bowling every now and then. He was average to good bowler at best, but he was hard working and determined.

One day, he went to factory as usual but there was nothing usual about that day. That day, when he walked in to the workshop, he found out that he was Fired from the job, as Company was trying to downsize because of less profits. So he got fired and he was devastated. He did not know what to do. He went back home and told his wife what had happened to him.

He then promised himself to give Bowling a chance and tried in his first PBA Tour Championship. He worked hard for that and it paid off big time. He won the Title.

After seeing his win in a PBA Tour Championship, his former Boss called him and offered to hire him back on his job. But Tom was heartbroken by the cruel act of Company, he refused, saying that he was set in Professional Bowling.

WoW. That was something, wasn't it?

Oh! This post has gone a little too lengthy. We must stop here so that reader doesn't get bored, further, and we guess we will have to cover Bowling Balls in next post then.

To Hook or Not to Hook? That is the question.

Let's face the facts. Pakistan is not a Bowling Nation, period. There are no professional Bowlers and those who do play Bowling, are all Amateurs or Recreational Bowlers, at best.

There are only few cities where we even have Bowling Alleys and there is a vast majority of Population, which hasn't even heard or know that there exists a game in which.a player takes 2 to 7 steps and throws a heavy round ball towards the stics around 60 feet away.

That is Bowling to an average Joe. So what about people who actually do Bowling?

Well, see how wr mentioned "Do Bowling" , instead of "Play Bowling" . It is because, vast majority (90%) of those who do Bowling, have no clue as to what is in their hand and how to throw it at the Sticks at the end of the wood.

There is another class of Bowlers who actually Play Bowling and the total number is, roughly estimated, around 250 to 300, in a country, where population is 200 million. What? Yep....

Among these very, very, very few bowlers, there are mainly two kinds. Hook Bowlers and Straight Bowlers, and sadly enough, Hook Bowlers are less than 5 percent of Straight Bowlers.

Why is it so?

Well, it is mainly because of the simple fact, that this game is not considered a sport per se. It is also so because there is no Infrastructure, training, or availability of knowledge about this greatest sport on the planet, translates loosely into Lack of Development and Commitment (more on this at a later time).

So, back to our question, To hook or not to Hook?

Before we answer this question, a little definition of different kinds of Bowling Actions, is in order, so here it goes.

The main objective of a Bowler is to knock every pin in first (strike) shot, down, frame after frame, and score a Perfect Game, meaning score 300 pin count, in each game, every game, all his life. But quite frankly, that is a goal, no one has ever achieved, since the Bowling was conceived. But every Bowler tries, nonetheless.

In order to throw a Strike, it is proven by several studies, that Bowling Ball should enter the pocket at around 6 Degrees Angle to be effective. A perfectly played ball hits only 4 Pins when enters the pocket at 6 degrees angle and those are, the 1 (Head Pin) the 3, the 5, and splits 8 and 9. The 1 goes into 2, the 4, and the 7 Pins. 3 takes out 6, which takes out 10, hence all pins go down (called 10 in the pit) and a strike is recorded.

It is also proved by several studies that straight bowler tops out around 180 Average, no matter how good he or she is, or for how long he or she, has played.

But, we have to admit, the lack of Pro Shop, proper Equipment supply, and Bowling Knowledge have all brought us to this position, and sometimes, hook bowlers are even laughed at, by straight bowlers.

Asking people to Hook without Proper Coaching facility, Staff, and / or Proper Equipment, is like asking a 10 years old kid to Drive a car, without teaching him or her basics of driving. He or she would eventually learn to drive, but will hit the car many times before learning that, and may be, even hurt him or herself, during the process.

And even after he or she will learn, it won't come close to someone who has been taking lessons from Certified Coaches, and his or her ball is being drilled by Professional and Certified Ball Driller.

Strangely enogh, among those who actually hook a ball, 80 percent also have no clue as to what Hook Bowling actually is, and this is so too because of Lack of Infrastructure, never deemed necessary by the very people who were supposed to be responsible for developing it, in Pakistan. What they did instead, was served their own needs and desires. But more on this in Part 2 of the an article written recently.

So again, to hook or not to hook?

We say, until the time, Bowling is developed into a real sport, recognized at Govt level and an Infrastructure is laid down and implemented, people should be encouraged to, at least, continue playing as they seem fit, and try to educate themselves with the help of www, watching coaching videos and reading articles on the Internet by some great players and coaches.

But, one thing they all should understand, is that Straight Bowling can never come close to Hook Bowling, no matter what.

For Pakistan, as a country, to compete and Win in International Tournaments, sport of Bowling needs a lot, and we mean A LOT, with a capital L, development and a long term strategy has to be adopted and implemented, by young, enthusiastic, and sincere people.

It is so funny to watch grown ups 26, 30, 35 years old, straight Bowlers, play with a 10 lb, polyester Bowling Ball, thinking that a heavier, 14 or 15 or 16 lb ball, will be too hard to play with. While a 16 years old hook Bowler plays with a 16 lb and throws it with ease, like it is just paper weight.

Education is a key to success in every walk of life, and Bowling is no exception.

That's all we can say. Now, some people may disagree with this, as they always do, and to them we say "People. Please educate yourselves, before you start thinking about it".

In the next article, we will throw some light on Coverstocks, Weight Blocks, and Physics of Bowling, with the help of a study about Ball Motion, carried out by USBC, a few years back.

Happy Bowling everyone.

Sorry Folks, this page has been dormant for a while.

We @ KBT celebrate our Bowlers' achievements.

Two in particular. Naseem Quraishi and Ahmer Saldera, both are remarkably skilled, one from old gang and another from young blood. Ahmer is the most admired and Naseem is the most respected.

We happened to get hold of their records. ahmer scored a huge 275 and Naseem replied with 275.

It's true what they say "Old is Gold". Naseem edged ahead of Ahmer by 1 more pin.

Here is the proof.

First is Ahmer's and Second is Naseem's Computer Slip, In case someone has a doubt.

Round of applause for both of these players.

AoA all bowlers. Special announcement. And it is directed towards two categories of people in particular besides bowlers in general.

A. Those who are observing Taraweeh and can't make it to Thursday at 9:00 pm for pre quarter final. And

B. Those who do not particularly observe Taraweeh but can't make it to Arena on Tournament night 9:pm because of some other reason.

If you are one of the above, you can come on Tuesday @ 11:30 pm and play your Mandatory 2 games.

This way you could still play tournament and come at 11:30 pm on Thursday, still enjoy rest of the night's activities, play Quarter Finals and not have to miss your Taraweeh or your prior appointment.

One more way KBT is showing it's Love for bowling and bowlers.

Always with the Bowlers
KBT Tournament. Organizing Committee

Let's Roll people, let's Roll

People observing Taraweeh and are interested in playing First KBT Ramazan Tournament on 26th night of Ramazan are hereby requested to kindly contact Mr. Abid Ahmed

Special arrangements can and will be made for them in order to ensure their Participation without disturbing Taraweeh schedule.

Who is Excited about KBT Ramazan Tournament on Saturday, July 24th, 2014 @ Arena Cub Bowling Lanes.

KBT has Big Plans for this Small Tournament. Stay tuned for more details.

A blast from the past.

The bowling balls you see in the picture, were made of wood, had only a Middle Finger hole and a Thumb Hole, which people used to Play Bowling with, around the year 1900 AD.

We as bowlers are lucky a) to be alive in this modern era of High Tech, High Performance Bowling Balls, and b) that we were not even born in those times, otherwise we would have been playing with these balls and killing ourselves afterwards. Thank God for that.

Enjoy.......

Bowling University - Amateur Courses

Question of the day "What is Typical House Shot"?

Who knows?

KBT University Of Bowling, City of Karachi, is now hiring Teachers.

Address: KBT Page on Facebook (right here people)

Basic Requirements:

-- Must have passion for Bowling
-- Must Possess the Knowledge of the game
-- Must Know basics bowling Equipment
-- Must be familiar with Drilling Techniques

What you will get:

-- Satisfaction

People interested in the Job can apply right here, on KBT Page

Question of the Day: What does "Arsenal" mean?

Anyone who can give accurate answer shall pat him/her self on the back.

Mission Statement

This site is dedicated not only to KBT and it's Events, but also to Bowling Community, and helping young and up and coning bowlers to understand the game better.

Since bowling is, as of now at least, a relatively uncommon and unpopular game in Pakistan, it is hard to find help in the department of Coaching. Also, as of now, it is relatively an expensive game, and not many people can afford to play it on a regular basis, hence main street youth is less attracted to it.

We hope this will change and sooner the better. With the help of Govt. Sector and also patronage of Private Sector, we can help popularize the game.

In this regard, there are, albeit, few, but determined nevertheless, Organizations which are working hard towards the common goal of marrying the Youth with the Bowling game.

STBA, PTBF, and Virtual Axis are few of, and, top most organizations, which are tirelessly, and enthusiastically, trying hard, day and night. We wish them all the success, and appreciate their efforts.

KBT is one of these organizations, young but energetic, new but experienced, as it's members are not at all new to the game, and with limited resources but hopeful.

We, here at KBT, extend full support to above mentioned organizations, and seek their help, in our cause, which in fact, is the common cause, after all.

We humbly request our visitors and fan club to come forth with Ideas, and promote this KBT Page, so we reach maximum number of audience, which eventually, will help us propagate our message across masses.

We thank you all for visiting and urge you to keep visiting for exciting new announcements, and help in the form of Articles and Videos which shall explain the game to you better, and help you increase your scores.

We wish ourselves and all of you, Good Luck, and happy bowling.

We are being constantly reminded by people about First KBT Tournament Media Coverage. Even we forgot to show some of the attention Media has given to KBT Tournament

We are proud People

Grand Finale pictures of 1st KBT Bowling Tournament, Reliving beautiful memories through these clicks. Many more bigger and better bowling events to follow by KBT, so get your bowling gear on and be ready to ROLL :) ;)
And We appreciates the efforts of Talha Zeeshan for these great pictures taken throughout the tournament :)