THE STRAITS TIMES, SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 1991
Ma down to earth despite riding high on 'helicopter' PROFILE
Y.C.Ma HURRICANEMA bas blown into town. Y.C. Ma, ol Taiwan, bas taken the bowling world by storm with his three gold medals in the singles, All-Events and five-man team in the World FIQ championships at Superbowl. He bas dominated a worldclass field with his ll-pound ball and unconventional "helicopter spin delivery". The 28-year-oldfather of two, averaged 221 pinfalls in the singies and 210 in the All-Events. Said a modest Ma in Mandarin: "I never expected to do so well here. I have just been very, very lucky. The helicopter throw bas worked well here but the fuss about it bas been blown out ol proportion. It's a combination of form and luck, not just the throw." But the "chopper" style bas certainly been a bot topic
cause it goes against all the textbooks that have been written on bowling. "Many people have said that it's no good, that the angle ol entry into the pocket is wrong and all that but so wbat? It works. "The great thing about these Taiwanese is that they never complain about the lane conditions. The average bowler here brought six bails, Ma is only using one. These spinners don't care about lane conditions, they just play." Everyone likes to watch the Taiwanese bowl - the ball goes down the lanes spinning madly like a top - but no ane seerns to know how they do it. Asked for the theory behind the helicopter spin, Taiwanese assistant coach Chen Chien-Fu said: "Instead of the fingers, the thumb is used to lift the ball and the spin comes from wrist action. "When the ball hits the 1-3 pocket, the head pin will carry the two, tour and seven
Ma: Tbree gold medals from World FIQ
liG
far
'Ever since Istarted bowling when I was 13, Ihave been throwing the ball this way. Ido not know how and where it originated but many people bowl like Ihis in Taiwan. Idon't know how lo bowl in a convenlional way and "ve never Iried.' .
-
Ma, on his 'helicopter' delivery