13th Sept 09

After playing with the same layout for 4 months, finally we get to play on a new layout today. Being covered by the same bunkers for 4 months, there were patches of grass-less land everywhere. And because there are no grass and just plain dirt, last night's rain made the field super muddy, probably the muddiest yet.

Sliding on today's field was like being in a water slide, once you slide you'll go on and on and on and on.... and it was actually quite fun! Crawling in the snake was also super easy. Just lay down with your arms stretched out in front of you, and push with your legs. It's so slippery there was hardly any friction between the arm and the ground.

Playing in the slippery mud has its fun, but afterwards, you'll have to clean up like crazy. Every piece of my stuff was covered in mud, took me more than 3 hours to clean off everything. Surprisingly, my PMR still shoots fine even when it's all covered in mud. The only hiccup is the pellets don't shoot straight because of the wet barrel, other than that there are no problems at all. I'm liking my so-called 'unreliable' marker even more now :)

Dirtiest marker of the day...

Even MoMoTang wants to play paintball...

Notes to self:

• Move up the field together with your teammates. Don't go solo.
  
• If you're already near the 50 but your teammates are still far behind, be patient and guard your lane. Wait for them to catch up before moving up again.
• Bunkering doesn't mean you have to do a run through everytime. If it's too dangerous to run all the way up, you can always put a few shots on the target and move back behind the bunker for cover.
  

Back Pain

Hohoho!! Exam habis liao!!

There are 5 subjects in this semester but we only have to sit for 3 papers cause the other 2 are 100% coursework. You might think that i'm free now and will get to lenggang lenggang in a long holiday. Wrong.

Training for WCA has officially started. After stopping paintball for 3 weeks, and not doing any exercise in that period, paintball suddenly seem to tiring today. Having back pain now...
(Back pain from paintball!?! I am really really not in shape, have to work hard liao...)

All tired from shooting 'people'

But on the bright side, my diving is getting better and better. I used to think too much when diving - the jump, the landing, the arm position, blablabla - but today i dived into the dorito without even thinking of it, and it went smooth, it's becoming more like second nature, WooHoo!!

One more week and i have to go for my internship. Don't know how it will turn out. Lets hope it'll be a nice place, or else i'll have to bear with it for the next 4 months.

Ok, time to end this post and sleep liao, 2mro need to wake up at 6am again for paintball. Gnite.

Notes to self:

• Get enough sleep. Go to bed earlier if you have to wake up early for training.
• Some of them still can't hear you on the field. Apparently you're still not loud enough.

P.S. - The photo above is the first pic in this blog that was taken with my new phone! As such i'm uploading the picture in its original size. Click on image to see the ori size!

19th July

The grass has gone to almost knee-high on some parts of the field, luckily a new guy came to work, finally there's someone to help cut the grass :)

There were a large group of people that day. Even though some of my teammates didn't show up, we still had a lot of other players to play with.

I finally played the snake after more than 2 months of avoiding it after i injured my shoulder. No one wanted to play the snake so i volunteered. Tried out my new diving technique, went in nice and easy, without any damage to myself or my equipments! Woohoo! Finally i got it right...

My PMR's battery harness broke, had to replace a new one. After putting the gun back, the eyes ki siao again. I stuck my fingers down the feedneck and press against the eyes and they became fine. I released my fingers and the eyes went cacat again. Thinking of upgrading the stupid eyes soon. Maybe i should change a new board as well, together with an Ultralite frame, maybe a new barrel, or a new bolt, and add in an on/off ASA...

The list goes on and on...

Notes to self:

• Try to have an overall picture of the game when playing. Keep looking around and listening to others. Be alert of every players' movements, both teammates and opponents.
• When you are the only one left, do not panic, play your usual game and keep focused.
  

14th June

The field was low on paint and gas supply, each of us only get to shoot so few pellets, all with below 2000psi in our tanks.

Learnt one important thing today - the dives you see so often done by the pros are not for yeng-ness, it's actually very useful in staying alive! I'm still a lousy diver - hitting my loader on the ground and break paint, getting my barrel stuck in the ground, landing in awkward positions.... really need to work on dives after coming back from Kuantan.

Notes to self:

• Dive into hard-to-get-to bunkers to avoid getting shot. Don't hesitate when diving, just do it!
• Wrap the bunker and put your opponents in before proceeding to the next bunker, you'll have a higher possibility of making it alive.
  

13th June

It's been more than a month I haven't went for paintball on Saturdays. This morning felt so lazy to go, no mood. But Captain wants us all to attend because My-NPL is just a week away. I'm glad i went because Jeff from X-Pursuit was there, and boy was he fast...

Learned from him to be more relaxed in a game. I dont mean lenggang-lenggang on the field, but to stay focus and never panic. 1st and 2nd game, the 5 of us NPL-bound players played against Shion, Jeff, and Vincent, 5on3. With the X-Pursuit players working as a team, it's hard to beat them. We lost both games. They really proved that the tables can still be turned even if the team is down on bodies, the key is to communicate, work as a team and S-Y-N-C-H-R-O-N-I-S-E!!

Changed the field layout to Field 3 of My-NPL Kuantan under the hot afternoon sun. An hour into it and I was already so exhausted and thirsty, but Jeff the Polis was still hard at work, hardly seem tired, really 不简单。。。

I got two blisters on my hand from hammering the bunkers, big and round. Can't show any pics cause my phone is rosak :(

Will have to buy a new phone soon... any recommendations?

Notes to self:

• Relax and don't panic, keep calm and do what you have to do. Instead of feeling all tensed, just enjoy the game :)
• Work with your snakeman, don't rush up alone, you'll only hurt the team by ending up getting shot. SYNCHRONIZE!!
• Talk to your teammates. Even if you can't see anything in front of you and have no idea where your opponents are, talk back by repeating what your teammates shouted so they'll know you've heard them and are still alive.
  

Playing with Freaks Unit

Exam is finally over!! Actually it's already over last Friday, the reason why i'm only posting this now is because i've been busy playing paintball after the exam, from Saturday to Wednesday! 5 days in a row! Hohoho... Hopefully i can score enough to retain my scholarship...

Team X-Pursuit from Penang and team Freaks Unit (click here for the translated page)from Switzerland are going to join forces in the upcoming International Super Seven Championship 2009 (ISSC), which will be held in PJ on the 1st of May. The swiss were here to train for the past few days, and we had to change the field layout from field 1 to field 3 for their training! OMG i tell you, changing layouts can be so so so so tiring, plus you can get super tanned...


Besides changing layouts, we also had to fix the netting cause on Sunday night, there were heavy rain and wind, ripping off the nets and pulling the poles off the ground. How strong was the wind you ask? Imagine the center big spike, with 6 spikes nailing it to the ground, being blown over the approximately-8-meter-high net and out of the field. That was what happened!

ISSC 2009 field 3, view from above...

The games with the Swiss were all wet and muddy, almost like last time when we trained sliding and diving (click here to view previous post), the only difference is it wasn't raining this time.

Other than shooting angmos, there was another incident. I'm not going to write about it cause it's getting late now and i want to go to sleep liao. You can read about it on Meilin's blog here...

You can also read about their adventures in Malaysia here. It's written in a foreign language, German i think. Click on 'Fotos Malaysia' to see the pics they posted, or you can use google translator to read everything...

Notes to self:

• If not sure what's in front you, don't run up the snake all the way, go up one bunker at a time instead, popping up at various spots.
• try to keep your head up while diving, you don't want to knock off your mask on the ground.
  

5th April

First of all, i would like to advice all drivers out there to switch on their headlights when it's dark!! Yesterday during the heavy downpour, visibility was low and still there were some cars on the road without lights on. And today around 6pm was raining again with low visibility, again, no lights on!! Pleeeeease la, later accident eh si only want to blame others. It's hard to see you coming from behind when want to switch lanes la. And please... switch on the H-E-A-D-L-I-G-H-T-S, not the hazard ligths! FYI, hazard lights are only used when vehicles broke down and are stationary at the road side!! Got study undang-undang de ma? Don't gao gao simply go use la.... Haiyo!

Ok, now back to topic.

More and more people are coming to play at the field!! WooHoo!! Although not as much people as last time b4 i joined, it was still an improvement over the recent drop in players...

Played a few games of 6v6, the most players on each side i've ever played...lol. After USM Open, don't know why i became a bit 差ki. Is it because i played back today? I like front, running past lanes, sliding into bunkers, bunkering, make the kill and get killed.... being at the back was so a little 不习惯.

And thanks to Eric for the jersey, now i know my size!!

Notes to self:

• Play your role!! If assigned as a back player, don't rush to the front, leave that to the front players!! Stay back and provide support!!
• Don't hesitate when making a move. A split second delay is all it takes to get eliminated.

8th March

Boom!! Suddenly there were so many customers today. Initially i was just going to play in the afternoon nia, but ended up working because there were so many people, so many until our supply of paint ran out...

In the morning alone, there were a group of 40 people from Intima, apparently they were having some camp. And then in the afternoon, Edmond brought his friends, a group of about 8 people. While they were playing, another group of 9 came. This time a boy was having his birthday party, a paintball party!! Walau eh, kids nowadays so rich nia... Then a group of 9 walkons came at around 5pm. We only get to go back at 8 something pm...

This week suddenly so good business. Yesterday about 30 people came, today about 60 people came. If this continues on, sure ho gia liao..... :)

Snakeman jaga field all day and was super exhausted, cannot tahan anymore so didn't join us for training. We only played 3 games. Suddenly so aggressive ki. 1st game was 3on3, i killed 3. 2nd game was 2on3, i killed 0. 3rd game was 3on3 again, i killed 2. Not bad hor, killed 5 in total and only mati once... Ollie Lang in the making!!! Hohohoho..... But really, i played hero and went solo most of the time, and this is not good in paintball, must have teamwork. "It's not about ME, but US", need to remember this...

To sum up today:

• most customers in a day
• most people working at the field at one time
• the latest i went home from the field (8 something at night)
• least number of games ever played during training
• first ever outing with PB on a Sunday :)
• first time eating Shillin :)

Notes to self:

• Work in a team!!
• Lower marker when snap-shooting. Realized i got shot so many times in the hopper was because i was holding the marker too high all this while...

24th January

Played a few games with the new inti guys and the regulars. All those snap shooting drills have paid off, my snapshooting is getting better. I've noticed i can do it with more ease and speed. There is, however, still one thing to correct - my stance was sometimes outside of the 'magic line' (To understand what the 'magic line' is, go watch Max's OneWithTheGun DVD). Another thing was the paint we were using was so bad, the dents on the balls made them curve left and right...swt. Banana ball is good for football but bad for paintball.

Business was also better than usual. In the morning alone there were 3 groups playing - one angmo group, one chinese teenage group, and us. There was one super move by one of the chinese. We were using My-NPL 2009 Event1 Field2. That guy ran up from the baby spike to the 50 spike, run around the 50 spike like how you would drive around a roundabout, and then ran back into the baby spike where we came from, without being shot!! OMG, that was so funny...

The field is now closed for the CNY holidays, there'll be no more pb this Sunday. We then emptied all bunkers of air and everything is flat... totally flat.


Oh, and one more thing... we got belanja-ed Seoul Garden!! Woohoo!!


HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!


Notes to self:

• stay inside the 'magic line'
• be careful of gaps between and under the bunkers, where opponents might see you
• again, anticipate the opponent's next move, know their intentions! Be proactive instead of being reactive and stay there doing nothing!
  

4th Jan

Hohoho.... newly cut grass and a new layout, the field looks so new. These two days at the field, my hands were so tired from all the labour - grass cutting, bunker moving, spike hammering...

Anyway, next week's going to be busy again, a big group is coming to play, perhaps the biggest group i have seen yet...

Today we played some games with two walk-ins. I fared really bad. I realized my problem is all these while, i had been playing without a real game plan! Will have to work on my game planning more if i ever want to win any games...

Notes to self:

• Game plan! Game plan! Don't play without a game plan!
• Part of game planning - identify your own advantages, and use them to the maximum. The same goes to weaknesses.
  
• Be aware of everyone on the field as much as possible - all teammates and opponents - don't just focus on one part of the action.

Gettin Slow...

Things are getting slow on the field lately. With no teams playing, we only get to do 1 on 1, or 2 on 1 drills for the pass month. I missed the thrill and excitement of playing some real matches, the satisfaction of playing as a complete team...

Playing with ourselves for the pass month, I'm starting to falter. I forgot how to play tight, keep exposing myself too much. Couple that with the unfamiliarity of using a new marker (it's leaking air again, and my o-ring supplies are super low), I'm so not in shape.

The upcoming mini tournament later this month will be a good warm-up for next year's tournament season. Let's hope things will start to pick up soon....

Notes to self :

• Always treat every game as a real match, let the subconscious mind get used to playing competitively.
• Do not come out of the same spot when snap shooting. Fully utilize every angle of a bunker, mix up your timing, and keep your opponents guessing.
  
• Play TIGHT!! Play TIGHT!!
• Always be ready to shoot on sight.
  

19th Oct

Realized i forgot to bring my cleats after arriving at the field, had to drive all the way back home to get it.

Didn't play much today, two My-NPL bound teams were trying out the My-NPL field2 setup. I only get to do some drills i made up my own, using cones after everyone left.

It goes like this...

"GAME ON!! and there goes the one-man blue team, running to the snake off the break, and he dives!! Playing tight on that snake tombstone... What a great shot! the guy in the dorito is out. Ohh.... there goes another one in the middle spike. What's he going to do next... a perfect slide into the second snake! That guy in the other dorito better watch out... oohh, and he's out, together with his teammate in the bumper.

Blue team makes his way up the snake... still going... still going... aaaand, he pops up, taking out the guy filling in the dorito. And now it's a one-on-one with the corner baby spike. Snap once, snap twice... and blue team is the champ!! What an exciting game..."


Actually is wasn't this perfect, did some silly dives. But hey, it doesn't hurt to visualize it that way... lol

Notes to self:

• Learn how to play tight and snap shoot in every single bunker, still sloppy in playing low bunkers.
  

18th Oct

"Barrel Sock ON!!"

That was what i was shouting most of the day... This was my first day looking after the field, first to arrive and last to leave.

Two batches came to play today. The first was in the morning, a gang of youngsters, most of them playing for the first time. The second batch was in the evening, a group of adults playing for fun. Those guys in the second batch were using their own high-end e-markers, and they aren't even playing for tournaments! There was one limited edition PM8 Mimosa, one limited edition carbon-finish Etek2, one PM6, and another i don't recognize the model. Cannot TAHAN!!!

PM8 Mimosa. Nice...

Not much training today. Played a few games with the regulars. One of the game was actually not bad, now i know the benefits of playing crossovers, shot out one guy without him even spotting me, woohoo!! (but then i did a wrong move after that and got shot until my left arm became numbed)

Other than that was mostly running around ref-fing games. Oh, and one more thing... i superman-dived with gun i hand for the first time! And it worked out well! :0

Haven't eaten anything but a few buns the whole day, was seriously hungry. Got back home at 8 and guess what... mom made something out of the ordinary for dinner!! :)

Notes to self:

• Do not have doubts when sliding or diving, JUST DO IT!!
• Gun should be up as soon as possible after doing a slide or dive.
• Tuck in arm when snap shooting.
  
• Do not over-inflate the bunkers.
  

11th Oct

It's been 3 weeks since i last played, occupied with work and the raya holidays. Glad to be out of paintball hiatus.

This time the field size has been reduced 50%. Half of the previous field is now unoccupied. Since the field layout has been the same for the past month, any change is good. This fresh change is meant to train speed and agility. Off the break, the other team was so near, you can almost see where their eyes were looking through their masks!!

Arrived a little late, so didn't get to walk the field. Right of the first game, ran straight up to the left temple and shot a guy in the middle car wash (kind of a first for me... this was my first time of actually shooting someone in a match! shh...). I may not be the best among them, but i'm surely improving... Ok, enough with the joy, after that i lost every single game. Got shot directly in the mask countless times, until i got paint in my mouth. Paintballs taste terrible!!

Training was really short today. Arrived at 11.30am, finished at about 3pm, never get to do any specific drills.

Notes to self:

• Improve your aiming!! Luan luan shoot won't get you anywhere (remember remember!!)
• Always be thinking of the next move, anticipate opponent's move.
• Don't just run to bunker off the break, look across to see where the other team is going.
• Again... communicate! Listen and report!
  

20th Sept

I have one thing to say about paintball training, everyone was not fully utilizing the time!

Last time with the archery squad, everyone arrives on time, immediately sets up equipment after arrival, after 15 mins will start to do stretching exercise together and then start to shoot. For paintball, some arrive at 9am, some at 10am, some at 11am, some at 12pm, swt... And those that arrive early would sit there blabbering until noon, then only start putting on their gear, swt again... Every time i would arrive on time, get ready, and then sit there waiting for them... I felt so UNPRODUCTIVE!!!

Ok, enough of the complaining. Got a new feedneck for my marker. Now the hopper is sitting lower and less of a target. The feedneck is a bit big though, have to really crank it down to get a good grip on the hopper.


We are starting to do various drills other than just snap shoot and play games. But other than that, training was like usual, i'm still having trouble with field awareness. One time in the game i ran out of pellets, was pretty much a sitting duck. There's not much i can do and i thought to myself, lets see how far down the field i can go. So i just ran down the field and see how fast i can get into a bunker without getting shot. Bad move, got shot instantly and had a big welt on my chest...


Notes to self :

• Check if you have enough pods on the field. Being a sitting duck is not helping the team.
• Playing front is not all about rushing forward. There are times to push, and times to hold back.
• Never fill hopper to the brim. Paint will easily break inside hopper.
• Shoot cross, better chance of eliminating someone.
• Communication is not about shouting only, it involves listening too!!
• Don't luan luan shoot... AIM!!

13th Sept Training

Super motivated for this training after watching all those tournament videos, semangat...

Forgot to bring back my mask on last week's training, this morning it's nice to see my precious mask again.

Nothing special today, except for doing some bunkering moves and sliding with gun in hand (last time was sliding empty handed). The grass is so dry and sliding was so much difficult then last week. The mud from last week dried up and the ground was so hard. The pads feel like brakes when they hit the ground, so much geseran...

Some notes to self:

• Use opponent's bunker as cover when doing a bunkering move
• Wrap around the bunker (or whatever it's called) and surprise someone... a Shocker used this trick and shot me
• Know when they are not shooting at you and make a move
• Stay out of useless bunkers
• Spread out and surround the enemy!!

6th Sept Training

Was a little late for training, woke up and was raining so decided not to go. Only went around noon after the rain stopped.

Today's training was out of routine. When i arrived they were having try-outs for new players. Then joined them for field-walking, and when we were ready for the first game it rained again. Since we can't shoot in the rain and the field was slippery, it was the perfect time to learn diving... woohoo!!

For 1 to 2 hours, we were in full gear sliding and diving, like a bunch of kampung boys playing with mud. We were soaked to the skin and covered in mud. I learned one thing from this experience - when doing superman-dive into puddles of mud, it's wise to close and zip your mouth. Unfortunately none of us did that and we got the chance to taste mud and grass and sand and bugs and whatever was in the muddy waters... (i'm using a lot of the word 'mud'.... can't help it, was really a muddy day)

Because i didn't play any paintball matches and didn't shoot one single paint, today's training was free of charge!! Zero spending for paintball training, except for fuel cost...

The first water themed paintball field in the world!!

P.S. - Our new team member pulled out, so we are back to 5 players now...

23rd Aug Training

Two weeks absent from training due to exams. Now back in the game.

Found that knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. Still having my marker down at the wrong time at the wrong place. Be aware of the field and ever ready to shoot!! As someone used to say, have to set it into the unconscious mind... have to go back to the good old visualization technique.

New member joined today, did 1 on 2 with us against Mr Captain. Aiyo, lost 2 games out of 3 games, if tournament like that sure bo bin, after game won't take off mask liao don't show my face...

And then it's off to endurance training, running to and fro across the field until my legs got muscle cramp, even have to carry someone close to 70kg and run (FYI, i'm below 60kg).

Hope the cramps won't come back when i'm working 2moro...

Training on 2 Aug 2008

Ho... 2day had my first experience of being a marshall. There's nothing to it, just stood there keeping watch. Can't expect much from marshalling a casual recreational game...

Anyway, i'm still way behind the others. I had no kills and plenty of deaths. My list of hits includes a forehead shot, a thigh shot, wrist shot, chest shot, a back shot... This is by far the most shots i ever received in a paintball session, thanks to more and more e-marker's arrival.

Later in the afternoon did some snap shooting. Man i tell you, this really is a demanding sport. Did 50 shots on each hand and my thighs and back are already killing me!! Lean out, lean in, lean out, lean in, lean out, lean in....

The last part in the late evening was the most fun, albeit wasting paint and being already so tired - laning the other team while they do the breakout. Woo!! i tell you, they really got covered in paint!! Now i know why they say the first 15 seconds of the game is the most important.

I guess i should list down my mistakes and things i learned from this session, as a reminder.

• Always steer clear of tunnel vision, it's already too late when you realized it.
• Play tight, hug the bunker. Minimum exposure means minimum danger. And watch the marker, the mighty hopper can be an easy target.
• Always keep marker in shooting position.
• Don't overshoot or run straight into a bunker!! That's an idiot's job!!
• Do the unexpected!! Predictable people get shot.
• Seize the chance. The window for making a move is only so small, so don't hesitate!!
  

Training on 26th July 2008

Everyone of my Saturdays has been the same, wake up late, skip breakfast, laze around with a sleepy face...but 2day was different, cause it's my first day of paintball training!!

Woke up late again 2day so have to rush to the field, had to eat breakfast while driving... When i reached there i thought i was going to be late, but turns out some team building people are playing so our training hasn't started yet....wooo.

My first day there's already an injury, a girl hurt her knee and were unable to play, ke lian her. Found out most of the people there are still considered newbies, but still i'm way behind them...got a long way to go.

The marker i used is some house marker bought by the college (Spyder TL-X). Useable, but not in good condition. The bolt has scratches on it, the barrel has scratches in it, the bolt got stuck at one point, and the drop forward was a little loose. But what the hell, i don't have to pay for it...hehehe.


The first game was a blur, zero field awareness. Even though everyone was shouting and relaying information on the field, i couldn't understand them, i was in total blur. Then i got shot out by a black epiphany. 1 death 0 kill. The 3 on 3 second round at least i got someone when some angmo came and decided to join us, they were wearing short pants and slippers!! Then we play 2 on 3, JC and i against the angmos. It was going well until that bugger angmo still shoots at me after i hit his hopper. WTF!! (After the game i talked to him, apparently he doesn't know that a hit on the hopper is still considered a hit.) He was stubborn to stay in there and guarding the lane, have to go around the other side and that's when i got shot by another angmo... or else the game would have gone in our favour. But in the end JC still managed to win, 1 on 3!! WooHoo!!

After that went to have lunner (a new term by me, lunch+dinner) at PizzaHut, wearing our playing apparels!! Everyone was looking at us like we're from the zoo or something...


This was the most tiring paintball game i ever played, have to hit the gym more often to build stamina liao... only 3 more months to tourney!!! But first i have to get some pads, crawling on sand was not as harmless as i thought.