SummaryLast update of this page 02/25/2001
Advices to have the right style and to be in
Advices from professional to never miss : main techniques - improve your own technique
Advice to have the right style and to be in
Behave as a professional - Look at the playing ground - Take out the boulders where you are going to throw the bowl -Measure the point - Even if it is not necessary, it will upset your competitors - Give your team a blowing up about tactics : it always makes an exhibition !
Concentration is your most important arm - Don't let you fuck by your competitors, always waiting that you miss their bowl ("faire un trou") - Don't throw the bowl if you are not 100% ready - "Pétanque" is like a puzzle.
Only training and sometimes chance may give you the ideal manner - Try not to throw the bowl like at indoor bowling (with squittles) as it is not very fine and where is the show ? as it shows that you are a little player - Moreover it is not very precise - Rather try to throw your bowl at about 10cm behind the bowl or even directly ("en plein fer") : it is more professional !
You need to have the feet close together ("Pieds joints" - in provençal "Pieds tanqués" from which "Pétanque" comes from). Always try to keep the same motion - Hold the bowl smoothly (Don't grasp it!). Balance your arm in a natural way, front and back. Once you think to be in the right direction, use your wrist to give a reverse effect : the bounce will be reduced and your bowl can remain at the place of the other one if you hit it (It's called "un carreau"). Then good luck ...
Once your bowl has been thrown, two things may occur:
-You miss the bowl! In this case always invent an excuse "It's the fault of John - heis always moving" or " I heart my hand a few minutes ago, i can't plat" and so on ...
-You hit the bowl! "It was not paerfect, i should have done better" or "it's normal, i hit it but i have the impression to play at only 6 meters long - You all have short arms !"
Advices from professional to never miss
Like a bowling throw : "Tir à la rafle, à la rasbaille"
Even if authorised by the rules, this kind of throw 3 or 4 meters behind the bowl
addressed, in order to have it going very quickly up to this bowl , could be time to time
efficient, but can also create a gig mess into the game, as it my hit any bowl of the
game.
NB: It's said that it is better to have 80% of hits with 50% of successfull "carreau" than 90% of hits without "carreau" . Thoink to it and train yourself .
Front thow : "Tir devant"
One of the most usual way to miss the bowl is to jump over it ("la sauter")
- This means that tour bowl leap over the bowl, not far from the objective - It's quite
good, but still, yoou miss it.
In order to prevent that, a short throw of your bowl, 20 or 30cm behind the target, will
give it a rocket speed and you will hit the bowl if you were on the straight line.
Take care! Only use this method on sandy and smooth play field - On a strong field, the
first pebble will deflect your bowl from the goal
Direct throw : "tir au fer"
To be used on an irregular playground - You have to hit the bowl directly - It's the
most difficult throw, which requires a great accuracy as you do not have to hit the ground
- If your shhot is perfect, then you get a "carreau" : your bowl replaces the
competitor's one - This throw is the attribute of champions and ... chance
NB: you may hit the bowl on top of it - It's called a cap ("une casquette")
Jump throw : "la sautée"
It's an excellent exercise for becoming more and more precise - At about 8 or 9 meters
from where you stand, place two bowls, one behind the other, only separated by the size of
a bowl - You always have to hit the second bowl !
"Le carreau":
Once you are regular, you have to make a lot of "carreau" -For this, draw a
circle of 50cm in diameter and place the bowl in the middle - Train to hit it without
having your thrown ball going outside the circle - Begin in stayiong at 2 or 3 meters, and
increase the distance step by step, while reducing the size of the circle.
Pull back : "le rétro"
Put a spin on the bowl may lead to success - But this is really too difficult to explain,
but you will understand if you play billiard.
Hit the bowl :
To be good, you have to play scale, like a pianist.
Try to change the distance and even try to hit the jack.
You can also put the bowl on a piece of wood in order to adjust the height.