9: You’re bowling illegally!! – (Shhh, don’t tell anyone)

8: Do you put your fingers in the holes? – (Yes, just my pinky and my thumb)

7: Is that how they bowl ‘down under’? – (Only on Sundays)

6: Do you golf 1 handed? – (Only on the Wii)

5: Hey, your logo on your back looks like a bug. – (Is that why people keep smacking me on the back then saying sorry)

4: kids bowl with 2 hands, men bowl with 1 –  (I hope i always am a little kid on the inside)

3: Do the pro’s like your style – (Umm, NO. For many reasons.)

2: What ball works best for a 2 handed bowler – (Anything with a Storm or Roto Grip logo…..im serious about that)

1: Your back will break and force you into a wheel chair by the age of 30 because of how you bowl – (Well im 28 now and have ZERO injuries or pains in my back, legs, arms, wrists or fingers or anywhere else. If im going to break, it wont be when i turn 30)

I remember something I was told as a young bowler after a horrible tournament that really rings true to me today.
“You learn more about yourself as a bowler and as a person when you bowl bad than when you bowl well.”
Its so true.
It’s easy to love bowling when you are winning or bowling great. Your attitude is good. You have confidence in yourself, even luck seems to be on your side.
I always make sure that after I have that bad day on the lanes, I dont have my head down and mope around like it’s the end of the world. I am always working out why the day didn’t go as well as I would have wanted it to and am thinking of ways to not let that happen again. I also think that the fans that come to watch you bowl or talk to you afterwards don’t deserve to see you acting like the world hates you or that there seems to be a black cloud above your head.
They deserve to talk to a person who they admire and someone who truly loves what they do. I leave all the kicking of bags and cursing for the hotel room haha.
I guess what I am trying to say is on your worst days, or the days that you feel like you failed. it’s even more important to understand what happened and to fix those flaws. We are human and we make mistakes.

Feel free to vote for who you think is the best bowler is

Guess who is an ESPY nominee?

http://espn.go.com/espys/#!/voting/

Feel free to vote for who you think is the best bowler is.

Very excited – very happy right now.
Just to be in the same room with so many of the worlds greatest athlete’s is just unreal. I am so proud and happy to be a nominee.
Now get voting gang!

People laughed and I remember feeling embarrassed and ashamed that I even admired someone like that. I go back to that story every time I am in a bowl, every time someone asks me for an autograph or a photo or a high 5. No matter who they are, they deserve the same respect they give me.  They deserve a small portion of my time because they have given a small portion of theirs.
That lesson has also been taught to me by my family. My family has been in the bowling industry for all my 27 years and the most important part of their success, is friendly and honest customer service. They have taught me to treat those around me exactly how I want to be treated.

Over the last few months my credibility as a bowler, as a person and as a friend has been cast over a shadow of doubt.
I have been labeled a cheat, a child, and much worse things by fans, and other pros. Even worse, pros that I considered friends.
For what? Because I drink water out of a bottle? Don’t all athletes during pressure filled situations?

I said sorry to Angelo during and after our match at the Dick Weber Playoffs last season. I felt like the timing in which the bottle popped was extremely unfortunate. It caught him and even though I didn’t agree with how he reacted, I did the right thing and told him it was accidental, that I felt horrible about it and in no way did I intend to put him off. This incident was then blown out of the water by certain staff at the PBA, blasted all over Facebook and PBA.com, with poorly chosen headlines and edited YouTube clips to not only cause doubt over my intentions while bowling against Angelo but also to cause doubt over who I am as a person. To say after that incident I was upset was an understatement. I hate that it happened and I thought I made that clear by how apologetic I was on the day and in interviews there after that show.
Fast forward to June for the PBA Summer Series, one of the last matches of the summer series ended up with Sean Rash and I being the last bowlers left standing.
Like I had for every single other frame of every other match I start my pre-shot routine by taking a drink from the water bottle given to me by the TV crew on the set.
On one of the closing shots of our match, while Rash was preparing, I had searched for my bottle that had fallen under my seat. I picked my bottle up off the floor. I held it by the bottle cap waiting for him to complete the shot. It popped in my hand, well before I was ever thinking about opening it. Not in his 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th step, but before he had even taken a single step on the approach. I didn’t hold the bottle on the sides, pressing it in, trying to pop it during his approach. I simply was waiting.

He pulled back, set himself again and bowled a great shot. When it struck, the verbal abuse started and his language with children present and the fact that it was on TV was appalling.
He claimed in his rant, between the cursing, that what I do with the bottle I do to everyone else on tour and that he took it upon himself to express that for everyone.
If Rash or Angelo or any other of the pro’s out there believe that I need ‘an ace up my sleeve’ to beat them on tour, it’s not only disrespecting my talents as a bowler but it disrespects me as a person. I don’t care who you are, or where you are from or what you have accomplished in the sport, I fear no one. I only admire and respect them and their talents as a player and mostly as a person bowling for their living. It’s all I expect from them in return.
At this point in this competition Brunswick and Sean were no threat to Storm or myself and previous to Rash’s outburst, we were still good friends. I had no motive and nothing to gain from putting Rash off.

I have spent my entire career labeled a cheat because of the technique I have developed. I have spent years proving that I only beat you on the lanes because I was better than you on the day, not because I am breaking rules or trying to put people off.
I work harder than almost anyone with the promotion of bowling and I try my absolute best to give bowling the positive image it deserves. I stand up for bowling when people of the public slam it or when news reporters try to make  bowling into a joke story.

Why?
Because I respect the sport that has given me so much. I respect the sport I love.  I would never do anything to put bowling and it’s fragile image at any more risk than what it is at right now. Further more, I’m not one of the depressed, negative bowlers who believe bowling is ruined for all eternity, I believe in the words of Thomas Fuller,  “The Darkest hour is just before the dawn”.  This is bowling’s darkest hour and we as a bowling community need to do what we can to make sure we see the dawn rise. I don’t believe that cursing, abusing or trying to imply that a professional bowler on the PBA tour is out there cheating his way to victories by putting people off by popping a water bottle is the best way to promote bowling. Look, if I wanted to put them off using the water bottle I would throw the bottle at their heads.

I am completely insulted and disappointed by Rash and his actions. I am embarrassed and feel so stupid that I once not only called him a friend but when Rash was away from his family and friends in foreign lands across the world it was I who was there for him.
The PBA tour is tough to be on. The money is low, the expenses are high and time away from home is horrible for each player. I understand that the pressures of succeeding on tour are high and we all need to win to support our families and ourselves. I understand that at times this pressure leads to frustration, which will then lead to outbursts either on the lanes or behind closed doors.  Usually though, these outbursts are directed to ourselves because of the disappointment about our performance and the knowledge that we did something wrong for the entire event or on one special shot that caused our departure from the tournament, but never directed at another opponent.
This blatant verbal abuse and disrespect is not what the PBA deserves from one of it’s current and for sure future stars, nor do I deserve it as a player or as a human being.
I will say this loud and very clear and I say it to those who have bowled against me in the past, those I will play in the future and to the fans watching. I am a respectful, honourable and honest bowler and person. If you beat me, you did it because you were better than me on the day and the same goes if I beat you. Simple as that.
Jason Belmonte

The way you have to play this event is much different to any other event. 200 is a great game and no matter how bad it looks, you have to stay positive and make every spare you leave. I started my first game with a Prodigy playing 18 at the arrows to 10 at the breakpoint.
A little slow roll, up the back of the ball to try and tame the backend reaction. I had a great look, but a few nerves got in the way and i started 196.
I moved further left for the rest of the block, throwing it 26 to 14 with a Hy-Road. I was very gentle at the bottem with my fingers, just letting the ball do the work. The hy-road was much smoother down the lane and had just enough in back to carry. I didnt have any room to miss right with it though, but a couple I missed a board or so inside held and went high flush. I finished off the day with games of 215, 258, 218, 203, 224 – a total for the day of 114 over. A great start to the event.

I now play the late block tomorrow night, so be sure to leave all your good luck comments here on on my facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/belmofanpage) before 6pm tomorrow night.
Will keep you updated

The PBA season is half way through and I am sitting 2nd in the points behind the current ‘best bowler in the world’ Bill O’Neill. William is also one of my great mates, so if anyone should be beating me in the points then I’m glad its him.

I leave the for the states on the 12th of January  for the World Championship TV Show where i am seeded 8th. Just to make that show was awesome. I was more than 400 pins back of the cut with 3 days left and to somehow catch the guys at the top and squeeze in was something I will never forget. I pride myself on not giving up and if I could offer an advice to anyone it’s that it’s never over till it’s mathematically over.

Following that I will be competeing in the world biggest bowling event ever, the TOC. It’s pretty amazing to be bowling in an event that as big as this. $1 million dollar prize fund, just awesome.
This trip will be slightly more special for me as well.  Kimberly and Aria are flying over for 4 weeks to watch these two events and come for a little holiday. I can’t wait for all my mates in the USA to meet my doll. Plus, i’m hoping she brings daddy some much needed good luck while bowling on tour also.

I will keep you posted more regularly this year and I look forwarded to hearing from you guys with questions, comments or anything bowling related.

be good all

Meet the International Art of Bowling (IAB) team.
The IAB is a brand new coaching company that is unlike anything you have seen before. 3 unique coaches sharing 3 very unique techniques of coaching.
Visit the website and find out about the coaches, what we do and where we are going to next.

www.internationalartofbowling.com

Be good

This will be a little long, but it will cover The Samho Korea Cup victory and the Japan Storm Fair -

Side note – you can also click on the pictures to enlarge them

KOREA:

I flew to Korea for 2 reasons. The first was to do some coaching clinics with Sean Rash and Parker Bohn on a few US Military Bases. Sean, Parker and I had a really great time working together. Both guys are funny and have a bunch of stories to tell. Most days we discussed the PBA Tour or bowling in general. It’s nice to talk about our game in a positive manner and both these guys are always trying to think of ways to better our sport.
We traveled by car mostly to the bases but one time we took the high speed train. When i say high speed i mean HIGH speed, about 300km/h.
That didnt stop Parker though from catching a few Z’s on the ride home – had to take a picture because, and i’ll think you’ll agree, he looked hilarious

Sean is a rare breed of bowler. He oozes confidence and has the ability to back up that confidence with pure talent, he true meaning of a power player. Parker on the other hand is your classic touring pro. Simple and elegant game and a wealth of experience, hence why I bugged him as often as i could with questions. Parker was ranked in the top 10 bowlers of PBA history, but i think whats more impressive is he would be in the top 10 nicest guys to ever roll a ball.
Together we helped kids of all ages, troops of all averages and those who work on the bases. Everyone was unreal to work with. So nice and polite. They loved to have fun and learn.
It can be quite emotional talking to the troops, even though I am not American, i respected these American troops and thanked them for their services. Sean and Parker of course felt that emotion even more than I did because they were helping defend their country.
After 4 days work with these guys, we then moved on to competing against each other in the Sam Ho Korea Cup.

The Sam Ho Korean Cup is the biggest event on the Korean Professional Bowlers Association  (KPBA) tour schedule, many Korean and Japanese pro’s plus not only was Sean and Parker there, but so were to another 10 PBA pro bowlers.
My best result in this event was 3rd – which was 3 years ago. since then, I have always had a little trouble making it to the final 12 the past couple years, so this year i wanted to change that.

I finished qualifying in 5th position. This qualified me for the next 6 games of the top 36. I dropped to 6th after those 6 games and didnt really bowl well. I now had 12 games round robin to get into the top 5 for the TV show.
I was 310 pins away from 1st and about 60 pins out side the top 5.
The round robin started and im telling you, I bowled like i was possessed. Everything i did, every move i made was the right move and I was in perfect rhythm. Plus i was lofting the ball half way down the lane. Which is always fun.
I bowled games of :

I went from 6th, 310 pins from first, to the top position 178 pins clear of 2nd. Like i said, I was possessed.
The top 5 included 2 Koreans, one Pro and one amateur and 3 PBA Tour players, (Sean Rash, Tommy Jones and myself)
I then had one more game to win to be crowned the champion.
I watched the matches prior to me and  who should bowl the title match with – Sean Rash.  A week ago he was my friend, helping me work, now he was my enemy on the lanes.
We both bowled a really good game but neither of us could strike. Solid 7’s, 9’s, 10’s galore from us both.
It came down to the 10th frame and I needed a strike to shut him out – I stepped up, focused on what i needed to do and let the ball go perfectly. Messenger onto the 10 pin for the win.
30,000,000 Korean WON and a KPBA tour title – awesome
For those who want to see what 30 Million WON looks like – here is a picture

30 million Korean Won works out to be about $25000 US – but it looks better in Korean WON dont your agree?

Almost forgot – something i saw that im sure doesnt happen very often. My hotel was in a pretty cool place, lots of restaurants and shopping. Well one morning Wes Malott, Timmy Mack and I were walking to get some dinner when we noticed a massive hole in the road. Apparently there was some construction going on in the middle of the night and the road collapsed – Crazy. Below is a picture of it – have you ever seen anything like it?

Told you it was huge -

JAPAN
Storm Fair – a week long demonstration and coaching tour that we do once a year. 4 groups of Storm Staff PBA stars travel around Japan showing off our new products and help coach those who come. The flight from Korea to Japan was a little funny – but it was at Wes Malott’s expense. Companies who make areoplanes really never did think about guys who are a big as Wes. I died laughing watchng him try and eat and drink and sit – here is a picture of what i mean – tell me it’s not funny.

The Japanese are by far the nicest race of people in the world. Their traditions reflect the respect and kindness of their people.
The days are long, we start at 8am and finish at about 11pm – its long and hard (thats what she said – had to throw that in there) but worth it.

Our schedule looked like this -
8am – wake up
830am – drive to the next city
12pm – product demo/coaching
3pm-  drive to the next city
6pm – product demo/coaching
8pm – 3 game pro am
midnight – BED!
Next day – repeat.

I traveled with Timmy Mack, Hank Boomershine, Tak (our translator) and the sales rep/driver Mr. Inawaga ( wish i knew how to spell his name). This made the trip even better because all these guys are awesome. Lots of funny stories and lots of funny moments. One such funny moment was a picture i saw.
I found this picture in a bathroom in one of the bowling centres – thank god they had it there, otherwise I would of been clueless as what to do

I really love Japan.
The last pro am was probably the best – right before we started a group of high school kids were bowling a random game of bowling. When i walked in, one of the guys knew who i was. Very excited to see me, he came running up, ripped his shirt open and said “Sign here” – caught me off guard a little, but happily said yes…. Took a picture too

Funny right?
This pro-am had a awesome atmosphere to it – 36 lanes, 6 bowlers per pair, heaps of people watching behind and every strike we bowled was like it was the best thing they had ever seen.
We finished the Storm Fair that night with a awesome traditional dinner called Shabu Shabu. ITS UNREAL. Love it.
3am rolled around quickly and then it was all done. Storm Fair completely over. Sad i guess, even though the days were long and tough, i always have a great time there. In saying that, I was also very happy it was over for one main reason – I was able to fly home and see my girls.
Over 3 weeks away from the family and I can tell you that it felt like 3 years.

My next trip away will be when i leave for the World Series of bowling and to be apart of my coaching company The International Art of Bowling (which i will write all about next week – so look out for that)
Till then boys and girls
Be good

Jason Brown, one of my best mates, is also my ball driller. Together we lay out and drill each of Storms new bowling ball range when they come in for me to use.
I try not to venture away too far from drillings that I love. Drillings that work for me.
Under ‘About Belmo’ on the home page you will see in the drop down bar – equipment specs. Click that to see a picture of the drilling and a review of how that ball performed for me.

I also have a 10 second clip of me throwing the ball so you can see the reaction of the ball down the lane.

Cheers gang

Last week was a great week for a few reasons, but mostly because It was my birthday week. I woke up on the 29th of July with both my wonderful girls in bed opening presents by both of them. Just to be home with my girls is a good enough present for me. I boxed with Bobby Williams (Ex Australian Boxing Olympian) and sweated like i always do, i had lunch with the nonnas, dinner with my parents, a little party at my sisters and dinner at the in-laws and ate way too much but loved every bite.  I then had to box with Bobby so i could fit into my jeans again.
I got messages and calls from all over the world, from Sweden to Chicago, It’s wonderful having so many friends from all over the world.
The week finished up with a 10 year school reunion. WOW – What a crazy fun night. Seeing people you haven’t seen for 10 years was awesome. We celebrated the night at the Park View Hotel which was appropriate because thats where we would all go for a night out 10 years ago together.
Just like it was back then, the place was awesome, food and drinks were plentiful and the staff extremely helpful – is there a better bartender in the world then Mr Linklater?, if there is, ive never met him.
So the past week was quite an eventful one. Being 27 now, ill need this week to recovery, im not 18 anymore haha.

Be good Everyone