SEIZAN -- SURVIVAL

With all that said and done, you can increase your odds at staying in the game and tip the balance of Fate.

There is only one instance when you are useful to your team, when you are in the game. Once you have been eliminated, you aren't even good for cover. (In other words, inanimate objects become more useful.)

Are you SERIOUS about staying in the game longer? Are you SERIOUS about improving your playing abilities? Then keep reading.

If you are like me, you're just out to have some fun, and couldn't care less -- then this part will sound like I'm chastising you. I am not. There are times when even I take the game seriously and try my best. (They're rare, but they do happen.)

Here are two rules to live by:

RULE NUMBER 1:
Your Seizan is Paramount

There is no glory in sacrificing yourself for the team. (Unless it's a tournament and you can get points for "first pull" and go down in a stream of paint.) In recreational paintball, all you are doing is needlessly causing yourself to be eliminated. Most people are eliminated through their own mistakes. If you get eliminated, it means the opponents were doing their jobs, and you were not doing yours. Many times teammates will comfort you by saying it was unavoidable. In rare instances, it is. If you are lucky enough to only have played this game for a short time, you have a legitimate excuse. If you have been playing for a while, you do not.

You cannot use your experience, skill or excellent marksmanship if you have been eliminated from the game. In fact, your getting eliminated causes MORE problems for your team.

What it boils down to is KNOW how to use cover the right way, KNOW the limitations of your marker, KNOW your physical limitations, KNOW how to move, etc.

RULE NUMBER TWO
You Must Protect Your Teammates' Seizan

You're no good to me as a teammate if you're not going to cover me, when I expect you will. The same is true the other way around. If I am on someone's left flank, I want them to know that their left side is covered, and I'm on it.

This is a TEAM sport. Every member of the team works in obtaining the objective, but MUST do it as a team. Teamwork doesn't just mean working together, it means covering each other and providing support.

There is no worse feeling than getting shot from the very place your teammate was supposed to be. (Until he got distracted and went somewhere else -- leaving you with the false impression that you were still covered.)

This doesn't mean you can't leave a teammate alone. Letting your teammate that you are leaving is being supportive, too. At least now, they know you're gone and can take that into consideration and start watching their flank.

HOW THE HECK DO YOU DO THESE TWO THINGS?

It's easy. It's called COMMON SENSE. (Some players call it experience, but it's really common sense.) How many times have you pulled a "bonehead move" and realized it, as you were doing it? Or (better still) stop yourself from doing it because you knew it was an unnecessary risk?

There are risks, calculated risks and unnecessary risks. Keep a calm and level head, pay attention to what is going on around you. Weigh your choices carefully and do your best not violate the two rules above.

I'm not saying that if you get eliminated that you're a loser. We all get eliminated from play. However, to get eliminated by a superior opponent cannot be helped, sometimes. Getting eliminated through your own carelessness is something you can always avoid.