im working on free  armswing right now and i have alittle bend in the elbow, should i work on having my arm 100% straight or does it not matter

I used to bowl with a bent elbow, and my ball speed was slow as crap.  I straightened out and got a lot more leverage.  keep as straight as you can, yes it matters. You can't be 100% free with a bent arm.  On your downswing your bicep always has to catch up.  If you have a high backswing, bring down a tad, it won't hurt your ball speed.

BMM
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June 3, 2003 First 600 Series(208,258,170)!!!!!!

What you want in your armswing is consistency.
If your arm is slightly bent and you can throw very close to the same ball speed with a consistent release then it just doesn't matter.
If you can throw every shot exactly the same then it is just a matter of matching up the correct ball and the correct line to stay in the pocket.

The less moving parts you have in your approach the less there is to go wrong on any shot.

Having a free armswing makes it easier to be consistent due a free armswing means you are just dropping your ball into your swing after the push away and letting gravity swing the ball.
In my mind letting gravity swing the ball is the easier way to be consistent with your swing but, I've seen people with great hand eye coordination that muscle the ball in their swings that are good Regional players.

It's all about throwing 1st balls consistently to be able to makje corrections to stay lined up.
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I'll stone no head pins before their time.
Sr. K will he gets tapped on the head pin all the time.