Paintball Magazine June 2018 | Page 146

Are you new to paintball or have a friend that needs vital help learning paintball? For almost 20 years DangerMan has been assisting new players ramp up and become established players quickly. Some of the best players in tournament paintball cut their teeth on instructional DangerMan videos. Why? Because DangerMan focuses on the one side of paintball where most players participate – Woodsball. Let’s dive right in. You’ve seen plenty of WHAT TO DO articles or videos. Here DangerMan offers a list of things you DO NOT do in paintball. This list will help make you a better player on two fronts. It will improve your game, and improve your game ethic, which is vitally important in the paintball community. 1: Don’t Assume This is the single worst mistake every player has made and will cost them an out. Assuming a section of field or bunker you are approaching is empty is an ongoing example. Often, a kid that was terrified and shell-shocked is in hiding only to see you walk 0146 paintball.media magazine by and shoot you in the ass. I’ve made this mistake. More than once. Years go by and eventually I think I’ve got room to disregard this nugget. That moment of hubris costs me and will cost you. In some cases you know you need to get through a section fast to sneak up on players further up-field, but at the very least keep your gun up as you trot through. Need another example? Don’t assume you are fully in cover. Many times players shoot exposed feet. Here is yet one more example - don’t assume a game is won because your team has six (6) players left and the other has two (2). The truth is they simply have more people to shoot at! Don’t assume you are out of range! I’ve ousted many players caught in this surprising moment. Don’t assume a player you shot is out! Don’t overshoot them either, but do verify a player is out if you just shot them and believe you broke paint on them. Perhaps you are shooting out of the right hand side of a bunker and the left hand side of your bunker isn’t being attacked. Don’t assume it will remain that way. In short, assumptions has cost more skilled players an out by giving an opponent a free shot than it has any other form of out. Did I mention embarrassing?