why play airsoft?

There is a lot of info out there that explains how to play, what to use, and where to go. I want to explain to yoy why you should play.

You might have questions such as "Does it teach me anything?" or "Is it just an excuse for grown men to shoot each other with B-B's?".

I hope to show you that there is so much more to this beloved sport than what may first meet the eye.

I'll start with teamwork. If you think you are Rambo, and try to lone wolf it without any communication to your team, you will most likely die, and die fast at that. Many games and operations are based at least loosely on possible real life military situations.

You must act like an actual military group to succeed. This means that communication teamwork, and a sense of working for the GROUP and not YOURSELF are absolutely neccasary to acheive your objectives.

Another thing you will learn on the airsoft field is that you must really think about you actions before you rush headlong into a fray. Granted, there may well be times when you have little option but to rely on your instincts, but I can assure you those times will be the lesser.

Stop, take your time, and outsmart your enemy. Anyone can rush headlong in on a suicicde run (and concidering your not gonna die from getting shot, it really makes you look more stupid and less couragous), but it takes a real tactician to make the enemy run a suicide run to you.

Another thing you will is that you need to forget what you saw in all those big budget hollywood movies. Forget them long before you ever hit the field if you want to save yourself a lot of headache. What you will find out is that most of those hollywood directors know even less than you do, and those tactics displayed a thousand times over in movies are just so much B.S.

Airsoft can also teach you control and discipline. The first time you spend many long painful minutes crawling on your belly through dirt, pine cones, pine needles, and sharp rocks only to jump the gun and give your position away without a single enemy, will most likely be your last also. Take your time, know your shot, and have a clear line of escape open in case the you know what hits the proverbial fan.

The last lesson I want to touch on is probably the most important. Being on the same field every weekend, with the same folks, winning and loosing respectivley, will teach a good life lesson. You will learn that you can be competitive, and agressive on the field; but you never take it back off.

I have shot many a person up (and vice versa) and then walked off the field laughing and chatting about what we did right or wrong in that situation. Play with good folks long enough and you will learn perhaps the best lessons of all; there is a time and place for everything, and just because you CAN do something,doesnt mean you SHOULD.

Now go sling some plastic at each other already!