Here are some things you can so to get the ball rolling..

• Run!- Running is great aerobic exercise, which is great news for your heart and great for your endurance on the paintball field. Although other aerobic exercise is great, running mimics those sprints you’ll be doing on the speedball pitch during a game! Paintball days can be long and tiring, so endurance is everything.
• Strengthen your core! – Good strong core muscles are the key to better body control and alignment – and your performance in the game! So start working on those abs!
• Build up that muscle! – No one’s saying you have to be a bodybuilder, but increasing muscle will help your endurance on the paintball field. Start building up slowly and sensibly – injuries are not the way to go!

• Take your time! – If you’ve got time, use it! There’s no need to run like a madman every time you move on the pitch. Just going that little bit slower will make less noise and give you more chance to advance without being hit!
• Watch your feet! – When it comes to quiet footwear, soft is the way to go for paintball. Sneakers/trainers are great – but try and get ones with ankle support. Boots are good for support – but just be aware that hard soles will make much more noise!
• Soft not scratchy! – When it comes to clothes, again, soft is best for paintball. Soft clothes less likely to make a noise if they catch or rub against a bunker or tree.
• Watch your paintballs! – Loose paintballs rattling around in pods is sure to give your position away to the opposition! Make sure your hopper capacity can take a full pod of paintballs so when you reload your paintball marker, you never have a half-full pod left in your belt.

1. Keep Hydrated! – Number one, and for good reason! Make sure you drink lots of water throughout the day, and drinks like Gatorade, which replenishes lost electrolytes, even if you don’t feel thirsty. If you know you’re going to be playing a full day of paintball games, make sure you’re fully hydrated the day before.
2. Don’t wear too many layers! – Although long-sleeved clothes are best for paintball, make sure they’re relatively thin, or wear clothes with ventilation. If you decide to wear short-sleeves, do wear elbow pads to protect your forearms.
3. Keep out of the Sun – Obviously it’s unavoidable that you can’t keep out of the sun on the paintball field, but stay in the shade where possible. Most fields have sheltered areas that you can stay in between paintball games.
4. Keep Cool – Bring along a spray bottle filled with cold water to spray your face and body for direct relief from the heat! If you don’t have a spray bottle, bring along a flannel or washcloth that you can soak in water at the paintball field and keep with you for soothing relief.
5. Wear insect repellant – The last thing you want on a paintball day is mosquito bites irritating you during game play!

• STANDING: The most common paintball stance, and for good reason. Use the standing position whenever you’re able to. It gives the best mobility, if you can get a big enough bunker to hide behind. Try to keep balanced so you can move quickly in any direction if need be.
• ONE-KNEE KNEEL: Good paintball position to use when you’re behind a shorter bunker. To position one on knee properly, keep your support knee close to the bunker and keep your other leg tucked in so your foot is underneath you.
• TWO-KNEE KNEEL: To be used behind a shorter bunker, as with the one-knee. It offers more stability for shooting paintballs, but a lot less mobility. It’s harder to get out of this position and move quickly if need be. Keep your legs and elbows tucked in.
• BELLY CRAWL: Good for stealth movement through undergrowth or behind low bunkers. Keep as low to the ground as possible while keeping your paintball marker upright and ready. Try and keep bulky paintball gear to a minimum.

1. Tension release
   Paintball is an amazing stress relief game, making it a great sport to play after a hard week at work, or simply to shake off your day-to-day responsibilities. Everyday problems can seem trivial leading to a reduction of tensions in your life, without any real danger.
2. Exhilaration
   The pure exhilaration and adrenaline-rush of paintball is a great benefit. Playing paintball can really make you feel alive.
3. Character-building
   Paintball really is a character-building sport. Paintball can boost your self-confidence and hone your leadership skills. The way you react in-field often tells how you would react in real life circumstances.
4. Laughter
   Laughter, as they say, is the best medicine! Paintball definitely promotes laughter and humour, albeit dark, between the players. On a typical day paintballing, joking and laughing never seems to stop!
5. Feel like a kid!
   Paintball combines some of the most well played children’s games in history! Playing paintball can take you right back to the playground, and making you forget your adult worries as your run, hide, chase and laugh like a kid again!

Howe]]> http://paintsplatjm.com/blog/advanced/protecting-your-neck-from-paintballs/feed 0 http://paintsplatjm.com/blog/advanced/crawling-like-a-master http://paintsplatjm.com/blog/advanced/crawling-like-a-master#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:54:50 +0000 PaintSplat Crew http://paintsplatjm.com/?p=343 It’s not like in the movies, dragging your paintball marker along the ground may look cool but ultimately firing it will be a headache and you’ll probably damage it in the process.

Things to note beforehand:

• Be careful with your mask – being so close to the ground can cause mud and dirt to fly in your face, while heavy breathing and lack of movement can cause serious fogging.
• You may be close to the ground, but make sure your paintball marker isn’t dragging along it! For the majority of you, your marker will have a gravity-fed hopper so not only will you damage your marker, you won’t be able to fire either! Keep your marker upright!
• Being that close to the ground will mean a lot of dust and dirt so if you have asthma, it is not a good idea.

Gear:

• Blend in! – If you’re going to be crawling around in the open, best to do it in something that blends into the background. Camo is great for woodsball, whereas dark colours may be better for speedball.
• Wear comfortable footwear and thick socks– boots or trainers/sneakers are best for paintball.
• Limit your paintball gear – bulky or heavy accessories or clothing will make it much harder to crawl with ease.
• Check out your clothing and paintball gear to make sure there is nothing that will catch on the ground as you move.

The Crawl:

• First things first, lay flat on your stomach. Keep your paintball marker upright in one hand, while using your free hand, knees and elbows to move along the ground.
• Twist away! When you step forward, try to twist your toes into the ground to give yourself a better grip.
• Keep digging! While your twisting your toes into the ground, try and dig your elbows into the ground to keep you balanced.
• Push! – Use the twisting and digging to get yourself in a good position to push forward and propel yourself across the paintball field.
• Hide! Just because you’re on the floor, doesn’t mean that you forget about using bunkers and obstacles to cover your movements. Where possible, stay out of open ground.
• Move at random! Being able to more irregularly is your friend when trying to avoid detection. Steady movement attracts much more attention than unpredictable bursts of movement.
• Practice at home! Crawling around stealthily while holding a paintball marker in your hand is not easy so if you really want to be fast and invisible then practice is the way to go!

Here’s the lowdown on how a paintball marker or gun is made:

1. The trigger frame is made from plastic or aluminium. The trigger is hooked to a set of springs and levers that propels the hammer forward each time it is pulled.
2. The trigger mechanism is enclosed by frame that allows your finger to fit comfortably and safely between it and the trigger.
3. The bolt and valve mechanism is constructed. Most paintball guns today contain a bolt with an in-built valve. The bolt is primarily designed to control the direction of compressed air filled in the tank and the valve controls whether the paintball gun is firing efficiently.
4. The main body of the paintball gun is made from PVC, lightweight metal or aluminium, which is strong enough to enclose all the paintball marker components.
5. A paintball marker handle and a chamber for the valve & bolt assembly is constructed and added.
6. Once the main body of the paintball marker is made, then all the customisable parts including hopper, barrel and gas canister can be attached to the corresponding spaces, so now you are ready to play paintball!

1. Wear Camo! – Camouflage is probably still the least detectable fabric in the woods. Ghillie suits (dark clothing with burlap strips) may disguise you even more but are banned on many fields. If you don’t have camo clothing, then dark clothing, especially brown, grey or green, can be just as effective at concealing yourself.
2. Move slowly – In woodsball especially, movement doesn’t go unnoticed. When you do have to move, do so as slowly as you can. The opposition will be looking for any little movements that look unnatural.
3. Watch your head! – Your face is distinct and is bound to stick out in the woods. Try and wrap a camo/brown/green head scarf around yourself to blend in further.
4. Check your shadow! – Your shadow can be very telling, especially on a bright summer’s day. Check to see where it is, and if it gives away your position.
5. Stay in the shade – If you can, stay in the shady areas. Not only will it help hid your shadow, but it will also help to hide parts of your paintball gear that give off a glare like your goggle lenses.
]]> http://paintsplatjm.com/blog/advanced/how-to-be-invisible-in-woodsball/feed 0 http://paintsplatjm.com/blog/advanced/avoiding-being-hit-in-paintball http://paintsplatjm.com/blog/advanced/avoiding-being-hit-in-paintball#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:22:22 +0000 PaintSplat Crew http://paintsplatjm.com/?p=300 No one likes getting shot in paintball – well, apart from those who love to show off their bruises! Getting shot is all part of the fun of the paintball game, but for those who would rather avoid it, here are some top tips for you…
• Stick to your bunker: One of the easiest things to remember in a paintball game is to keep close to your bunker – this means tucking everything in! When you’ve taken up a position, make sure you only expose yourself when you need to. This gives your opponent less of a target, so there’s less chance they’ll hit.
• Avoid the open: When you’re moving up the paintball pitch, try to use obstacles and bunkers and avoid running into the open when you’ll be an easy target for the opposition.
• Keep to the side: When you move up the middle of the paintball field, opponents can come at you straight on, on the right and on the left. When you move up on a side of the paintball field, opponents can come at you straight and from just one side.
• Blend in: If you’re in a woodsball game, and you’re wearing bright pink, I’d be very surprised if you’re weren’t shot within 5 seconds of the game beginning! Wear darker clothing for a speedball game and camouflage for woodsball and you’ll be more likely to avoid paintball fire.
• Don’t be stupid: Feel free to act like Rambo and play out your movie fantasies but just know that you’re not invincible and you’re likely to get shot! Running and gunning may work for a short distance, but running across the paintball pitch guns-a-blazing may lead to your untimely exit.
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