Paintball Power Moves

During a game of paintball, no matter the style of game, there are times you must make decisive moves. These are your Power Moves and they can make the difference between being the first out and the last man standing. There are three basic types of power moves and they are labeled by when you will be using them. There are attacking, defensive and neutral powers moves and are all distinguished by what you are doing at that given moment. A power move is a combination of strategy, body position, and transitions. The first point to understanding what a power move is to imagine yourself at the field. Picture yourself there. You may be in the trees or behind an air bunker. Maybe you are peeking around the edge of culvert tube. You have a good idea where they are and they might have an idea where to look for you. What do you do? This next step needs to be decisive. A power move is what gives you the advantage and makes an otherwise blind gallop to the next bunker an offensive advantage. A power move will minimize exposure while allowing you to be an attacker. A power move will either give you a lane of attack or put you into a position of dominance. The speed of today’s paintball markers has increased the overall speed of the game like a turbo charged Volkswagen. With today’s insane speeds it is important to quickly grab any and every advantage you can muster and hold one to it like your life depended on it. In woods and rec games there is often a contingent of Kamikaze players who either are taken out in 60 seconds or decide the game in 30. Speedball games are more often measured in seconds than minutes. You have to find a way to make every move count and power moves are the answer. It is important to remember as I explain power moves to keep that image of yourself and your game play in your mind. Take the things that I am saying and mold them to your own application. There are so many different types of games being played out there that there is not one single bit of advice I can give for each individually but as a whole, power moves will be as effective on a small scenario game as it would be for a large rec game or competitive speedball.

Attacking Power Moves

This is probably the easiest of the three to understand without really delving into it. You see someone and you run at them, no big deal, right? This is not quite what I mean by an attacking power move. There is a balance on the field. Sometimes the scale is tipped in your favor and other times you are just scrambling to grasp the edge before falling off. In that balance for every position you take there is a certain amount of exposure you must be willing to risk to take. Before going for the next bunker there could be a gauntlet you must run through to get there. For arguments sake we assume that this move will give you a greater vantage point and put you in a position to make marks. To get there you should move with your head up and marker in a ready position to fire. If you are already receiving fire return it quickly to get their heads down. If you are not getting flak then keeping your marker silent might be to your advantage. Your marker should be pointed in the most likely angle of attack already and should be ready to go. When making your attacking power move you should be going for a spot that will either give you an immediate opportunity to fire or soon there after. When aiming during your move keep your marker pointed at the ground, just past the edge of the bunker you will likely be taking fire from. There are two reasons for this. First every marker has some sort of recoil, no matter how slight. It is much easier to pull up with the recoil than to push against it. You will be able to pop several more accurate shots pulling up while firing than pushing down (Don’t believe me? Try it while plinking someday!) Second reason is that sometimes you might need to duck or lower yourself during the transition. When you lower you torso it is natural for your arms to rise slightly. It is even more pronounced under fire and while running. We have all seen the guy out in the kill zone with no idea of what to do. His arms are up his head is down. He’s trying to duck but he looks like he’s doing the chicken dance. Yeah, don’t be that guy.

Defensive Power Moves

Here is where you find yourself on the high end of the scale. You are down in numbers. You might be running low on air or paint. You can feel the footsteps and you can hear the banter of the opposing players. They are coming for you. What do you do? When you are in a defensive posture you are usually ducking behind something. This cuts you off visually from the game and now you must rely on your other senses and instinct to get you through. If you were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the on coming swarm you will have an idea from which direction your impending doom is traveling. This is the direction you should be prepared to defend first. Unless you are certain that an attack from your blind side is near impossible you should not fully commit to the most likely lane of attack, especially if I have coached them! Keep your body low, I prefer crouching over kneeling as this gives you greater range of motion and gets you moving quicker after a mark. Hopefully you chose wisely and your attacker presents himself right where you were planning. You should be aiming waist high. This gives you the best possible chance of being first to mark and you can adjust your aim according to what body part is unfortunate enough to present itself first. As you make your mark take the attackers position. Most attackers don’t travel in pairs. This will give you the chance to take your next breathe, make an attacking move and go on to win the round. You might not need to take another position. If the hole you are in is going to continue to work for you, keep it. Keep in mind though; it is usually the smarter players that are left at the end of the game. Not always but usually and these players are less likely to make the same error as their teammate. You might need to make that move even if you don’t want to.

Neutral Power Moves

These are the hardest to define. When are you in neutral on the field, right? Remember I told you to keep that image of yourself at the field in mind? You’re not slipping on me, right? There you are. You are in a great position for attack. You have three lanes to fish from if there was anyone moving to the right. There isn’t anyone moving right though. All the action is moving left. You are going to be a spectator if you don’t do something. Neutral power moves are those that are taken away from likely action. Now on a speedball field this is unlikely unless the field is very large. Rec and woods games will find this more often. You need to get yourself in a position that is more effective without getting yourself taken out trying. Nothing ticks a guy off more than running 50 yards to just to get marked out in the open. You should have just stayed put and let them do all the running then! With a neutral power move you are using the surrounding bunkers as a shield to disguise your movements and to protect you during the transition. This may mean running wide and past a bunker to continue towards the action. You may be moving to a support post to surround the opponents or to give covering fire for your teammates. You might be moving right to the front lines. Either way you need to use the cover around you to give you the best chances to get there the same color as when you started the game. One effective tip is to fake a move towards a bunker and then continuing past it. This often gets a lot of attention in your direction and can help your teammates by pulling some heat from them. If you are lucky enough to be unseen during the move then you might get a chance to barrel tap a startled player out and have bragging rights later! If you are caught out in the open without cover you might need to take the indirect path. If you run a straight line you are giving everyone on the other team to play “shoot the duck”. If they don’t get you on the first shot they can lead you and open a rope for you to run right in to. Change your path and try to be somewhat erratic. It might look silly from a distance but it might make the difference of playing and watching the game. Since a neutral power move is made away from likely action having your paintball marker up is less important than speed. You will still need to keep your head up for changes around you but get yourself moving as fast as you can. Seconds make the difference in paintball.

I hope these tips will help you the next time you are out on the field. Thanks for reading!