Some paintball people want to know about Sensei Jim. I've written articles, done paintball tactical videos, and written a book (soon to be available at bookstores and Amazon). So, people are asking about me. First, I am a Christian. Second, I am a player. Third, I am a field operator. Yes, for more than ten years, I ran a field, and played too. If you put all three together, you have an unusual combination.
As a player,I am a pointman. I am the lead hunter. We still play on a big field that is over 180 acres. We use the whole area. So, when I say pointman, then you know exactly what I mean. As a field owner, I have (had) to play every week. 50 weeks a year. We played 5 or 8 games per day. In five years, I played "about" 1250 games.
As a field owner, and player I get all the new guys. I am usually the one that trains them. We often play against older players and even teams of older players. (In 1989, I lead a group of newbie Boy Scouts against a veteran team, and we did very well) I try to lead by example, so I play with the worst gun on the field. Why do I have to use the worst gun? Well, if I show him that I can do well with my marker, then he knows he can do well with his. If he is using a stingray, then his gun is about 5 times faster than mine.
You can see my gun, the Dog Soldier deluxe, in the photo to your right. It was made in 1990, and is modified to accept a 40 round rotary magazine. It is a double action, and shoots less than 1 ball per second. There is one catch to using a slow gun and being an example: you have to be successful. The better you do, the more the new guys listen. No one will believe you if you go out and get mauled. Incidentally, see that camo netting that is on my magazine? That is there for a reason. When I am in an ambush position, I use it to put leaves or vegatation.
What do I teach? I teach tactics, paintball tactics. Just as football is a form of combat, and has a precise set of tactics, so does paintball. To use a slow (rental) gun against modern guns, you need skill and tactics. I use the term "paintball tactics" for a reason. Paintball is "armed combat," but it is very different from real combat, and naturally, the two have very different tactics. The nature of the guns and the paintball ammo, make simulating reality difficult. In the real world, with most weapons, you can hit a playing card at 100 yards. So, in the real world, remaining concealed is no problem. When the enemy is 100 yards away and you can hit him at that distance, then concealment is easy. However, in piantball, the effective range is shorter, and we must manage to stay hidden at 20 yards or less. So, how can you compare the two? Some people get mad when I talk about paintball tactics. These people don't feel that there are "tactics." They want spend money and make loud noises. By that I mean they want better guns so they can shoot faster and use more ammo. They don't like moving quietly and shooting just once or twice. It isn't easy hiding in the winter or fall. I think I know why they don't want to try. When they were newbies, (we were all newbies once) they tried to hide, and were found, and were pounded by some vet with a high speed gun. Then, they resolved to get a good gun and pound that vet. I don't blame them. I have "gunners" behind me when I walk point. Some appreciate my skill, and others have called me "cannon fodder." I don't care, I like being in front on offense. I also like being the first defender that the enemy meets. But, as I said, at the beginning, I like taking a newbie, showing him the ropes, and then becoming friends with some of these guys.
Do I have gunners that have no woods skill. Yes, unfortunately, I do. They want to skip the stealth and get right to the furball. The term "furball" is taken from aviator's way of describing the mixed up nature of air combat. I love these guys. Having them behind me is comforting. And, I also have gunners that can and do hunt.
As a Christian, I believe strongly in God. How this affects my game. If I act badly, then people will think badly of my God. That is natural. So, I try hard not to offend. That is how I promote my religion.
Now, here is the real question, "Am I good?" I try to be. My players think I am. As I said, they see me take on the vets that have "pimped" out guns. They know that when I get kills, it is because I have skills.
------ We ---do--- not----play-paintball --the---way that the rest of the world does!!!!! What is different? Well, let me ask you. You have boundary tape protecting your flank, but if there was no tape, would you feel safer or more exposed? Your field is 100 yards long and fity yards wide? Our field is at least 800 yards across. Is it easier to find the enemy on your field? Over time, we developed techniques for finding the enemy. You will too. We put a one hour time limit on our games, but the games usually didn't last more than a half an hour. In the old days, on defense, we would wait 15 minutes and then start looking for the attacking team.
We don't use boundaries and our field is huge. Maybe 100 times bigger than a reg field. No, we don't get lost. We also have no trouble finding the enemy. (For more about our style of play, go to page 3) Having enough referees to cover that area was impossible, so we decided that each player would act as a ref. To play this way, you need honor. For more about playing and dealing with cheaters, go to page 3.
Since 1987, I let the players decide what we would do. "Capture the flag" is not something they wanted to do. So, we didn't do them. We did mil- sims and scenarios. We went on, in 1994, to a "mission" format. We gave the guys maps and timed missions. That went really well. The players like it when they played longer games. We went to sign ins. In a sign in, to re-enter the game, you sign a sheet. This sheet is in the dead zone. You have to go from there to a base. At the base, you can re-enter the game. This keeps the exit of the dead zone from becoming a war zone.
Now, back to our style of play, we don't use boundaries, referees, or time limits. We use sign in sheets to record the eliminations, and the dead go right back into the game. No waiting for a game to end. therefore, our games can go on for hours. We also have no bunkers. In 1992, we found that the weak players were "camping" in the bunkers, and the other players were tired of it So, we got rid of the bunkers. This implies no insult to modern gamesl. At that time, the players decided that it was just annoying.
Dog Soldier website.
To live, for me, is Jesus
Now, if you rip me, I may not post your message.
