MAINTAINING A BALANCE

There is balance in everything, evil is balanced by good, ignorance is balanced by knowledge, chaos is balanced by order. Balance is the natural way of things.

In paintball, you must also maintain a balance. Every game is a juggling act as players attempt to balance the opposing factors of the game. If you do not maintain a balance, then your game will suffer. Allow me to site a few examples.

- YOU MUST CONCENTRATE ON ELIMINATING YOUR OPPONENT.
- YOU MUST ENDEAVOUR TO BE AWARE OF THE GAME SURROUNDING YOU.

It is important that you can both focus on eliminating a single opponent, but at the same time maintaining an awareness of what is going on around you. If you are busy looking around, how can you aim and shoot at your opponent? If you are only concerned about one player, the rest of the game will pass you buy.

- YOU MUST KNOW AND UNDERSTAND YOUR OPPONENT.
- YOU MUST NOT ALLOW THIS KNOWLEDGE TO INFLUENCE YOU PSYCHOLOGICALLY.

Many times, when you play, you will know your opponents and be familiar with their personal traits and tactics. This is useful knowledge, so long as you do not allow it to mentally influence you. By this I mean that you will see a player and identify him. You know this player has been playing since oil based paint, he is a good player and a force to be reckoned with. You know that he also has weaknesses that can be exploited.

This is also true of players who have less experience than you do. The thought that such-and-such a player poses no threat to you is also a grave error.

Intimidation and overconfidence will be your undoing.

Any and every opponent should merely be a "shape in your sights". An inanimate target. Yes, you should know any special requirements you will need to hit that target, but as soon as you put the identity of the target as your foremost thought, your opponent has the upper hand.

- YOU HAVE THE CAPABILITY, WITH A SEMI-AUTO OR AN AUTOTRIGGER PUMP, TO POUR MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF PAINT AT YOUR OPPONENT.
- YOU MUST SHOOT ACCURATELY.

What is the good of fifty paintballs hitting a bunker three feet from your opponent? Yes, you miss every shot you don't take, but you miss even more when you're reloading.

- YOU MUST BE AGGRESSIVE.
- YET, YOU MUST ALSO EXERCISE CAUTION.

You must rush in, you must constantly push the opposition. There are times, however, when only a fool rushes in.

- SPEED IS THE KEY TO THIS GAME.
- STEALTH IS ALSO KEY.

You cannot have both. To effectively employ stealth, you must take your time. The faster you move, the more noise you are going to make.

- A TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE OVER YOUR OPPONENT IS ESSENTIAL.
- HOWEVER, TECHNOLOGY IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR SKILL, YOUR OWN SKILL IS IMPORTANT.

Having a technological advantage over your opponent is essential. This applies to stock, pump and semis classes. You must be able to shoot farther, and more accurately, and your equipment must be more reliable and efficient. However, relying solely on the technology you have at your disposal only makes you half a player.

- MOVEMENT IS THE KEY TO THE GAME.
- YOU MUST EMPLOY EFFECTIVE CAMOUFLAGE.

The you have to move, or you will be pinned down and out flanked. Stalemates usually are won by the luckiest player. However, movement defeats the best camouflage.

- YOU MUST BE ABLE TO REACT INSTANTLY TO ANY SITUATION.
- YOU MUST ALSO TAKE THE TIME TO DETERMINE YOUR BEST COURSE OF ACTION.

There are times when you don't have time to think, and there are other times where you must take the time to think.

- YOU MUST HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE YOUR INITIATIVE.
- AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE TEAM.

You must be able to aid the team in attaining the objective. However, your initiative must also be used to exploit weakness that become apparent to you. Your initiative should not take you away from achieving the common goal, but bring you towards it.

CONCLUSION

If you do not maintain a balance, you will only be half a player.