How To Properly Use Your Knees When Bowling

Updated 10/22/2020

Using your knees properly when walking to the foul line will help you generate bowling leverage and power. Most important is that you will also maintain good balance when walking and swinging the heavy bowling ball.

Regardless of your age or skill level, there are tricks to helping you create good balance and using your knees to help this cause can be a benefit to your game.

Everything starts with a good set-up in your stance position on the approach. If you flex your knees down and forward slightly, perhaps only one or two inches of flex, you will be in a good position to begin your steps.

With each successive step, flex your knees lower yet by perhaps one half of an inch additional flex. When you begin your final sliding step, flex your sliding knee an additional one inch of flex.

If each step uses progressively more knee flex as you walk to the foul line, the large muscles of your legs will help you create power and leverage while maintaining balance. You will be surprised how much knee flex you will enjoy on your final sliding step by using this process.

It is important to build a solid platform off of which you release your bowling ball. Avoiding any upper body movement when delivering your bowling ball will provide you accuracy and regulate the releasing action of your bowling fingers.

Adding slightly more knee flex each step will make it possible to develop adequate knee bend (flex) when sliding into the foul line.


This technique also helps you control ball loft by creating a gradual angle of descent of your ball as it enters the lane surface. You can also pinpoint the precise moment you rotate your bowling fingers relative to your sliding bowling shoe when you have a well balanced slide step.

If you are a senior bowler and have lost flexibility in your legs, this technique will make it easy to get sufficient knee bend at the foul line because you will not be trying to bend your sliding knee all at once. Rather, you will bend your knee gradually with each successive step, perhaps only ¼ inch of additional flex each step.

If you are a new bowler or one without a high average and are trying seriously to develop your bowling skills, be advised that bowling accuracy goes together with good footwork. Good footwork is developed by using your knees properly for good bowling balance.