At the next intersection turn right?

From 3on3

Most say we all have to be a little mad to play paintball. When my alarm went of at 3:45am this morning I should have thought the same thing about myself... I'm usually only just going to bed at this time on a Sunday morning...

All week the team had been excited to get their hands dirty in our first official tournament... this anticipation sometimes leads to sleep deprevation... which ends in us not getting to Causeway until 6am... detours, thumb prints, MS checks and finally we get into JB... being tech heads we try to use the GPS voice to guide us to our destination... I think we got better directions from the uncle at Caltex!!!

Anyway we get to Southern Extreme with enough time to walk the field and chat to the friendly guys at SX.



At first glance the field looked like a campers paradise with two large lanes running vertically through the field and small hammers that didn't cross the centreline. The rest of the teams slowly joined us and geared up. Not sure how the draw was worked out but we didn't have any much ups with Singapore teams.

Scouts JB Bravo
Evolution
Sat Spade (Our Opponents Game #3)
RPG (Our Opponents Game #5)
PSG Warfreak
Shoot In Rage
JI Team (Our Opponents Game #2 - Loss)
Queen Slayer (Our Opponents Game #4)
Killashadow
My Bro Team
Sang Kuriang (Our Opponents Game #1)
and..... Team Damnation

Scouting spies told us to be not sit back as the majority of the other teams would push up hard... First match we attack the left and right snakes with one player at the back dorito - this is how the game ended with neither team losing a player...

As we were each taking turns to substitute, each time we took to the field there was a different team combo. In hindsight probably not the smartest move but we were there for the experience so winning wasn't the priority - problem is we're competitive %$#$%^s. The rest of the matches were as much of a blur as the first - different team member combos lead to different results each game - even if we had a game plan it was forgotten 5 seconds after the break. Despite this, we got some great advice from other players and observers on how we play - and what we need to start doing to get better.

Watching the other teams compete was great - a lot showed great snap shooting skills great movement and teamwork. Some even showed you don't even need proper branded paintball gear to win.

After not making much progress in our 5 matches, our day was over. With our left over paint we tried a range of e-markers during the lunch break to get a feel for what the big boys use... (I'll let the others TD boys give their reviews on these items). I think after today we are now even more determined to drill until out legs drop off. Of course we we're still griping about how practicing paintball in SG is akin to practicing tennis without a tennis racquet - as any tennis coach will tell you how you hold the tennis racquet is paramount to your playing performance... but I'm sure this is nothing any serious Singaporean paintballer has griped about before...

So I look forward to our next training session - I think the lessons we learnt today will help improve our game a lot...

TD Away Day - SX 3v3 Sunday Match

We're heading for our first tournament outside of Singapore on Sunday and it feels like such a giant leap for TD. Actually it is our first OFFICIAL tournament since the RD5 is technically a no-frills league and more akin to ad-hoc skirmishes.

It's not that I'm belittling RD5, on the contrary I think the two Sundays we've skirmished at RD will stand us in good stead for this Sunday. We'll know how far we've come in the last two weeks and how far we have yet to go.

Only Rocket, Houdini, Myaadraal and myself will be making the trip across the causeway, our front player Dean missing out on this trip due to personal committments. We'll just have to adjust as we see fit on Sunday and hopefully come back with something positive from the trip.

Sunday, Sunday...

I arrived at Red Dynasty on a lazy Sunday afternoon expecting to have a light training session with the boys. I had previously strained my calf on Friday and in lieu of the upcoming 3 vs 3 Tourney in JB, did not want to further aggravate my leg.

Turns out that the RD5 Speedball league was on and the 'DAMNED' were playing! I got dressed thinking that they would be able to continue playing without me and we'd be able to train and discuss after their match-ups. No such luxury... I was tossed a harness and told to get my pods and hopper filled. I was going to play.

Needless to say, due to my bummed leg, some adjustments had to be made. I joined the backline and we played 3 Back, 1 Mid, 1 Front. A short huddle with positions and strategy discussed and away we were.

Playing as an extra backman took a little getting used to. I hugged the barriers, watched the lines and cross field angles. Called out what I could see and pinned the opposition as best I could. But I was itching to move forward, to sneak, slide and run my arse off... I had to remind myself constantly not to go sliding into the bunkers, to stay put and most of all, not to over extend my leg.

This led to me being bunkered in one match, being left behind camping while the 'DAMNED' moved up in another match and basically just shooting into bunkers the rest of the day. That left us 1 win & 1 loss against the RED SEVENS, 1 win & 1 loss against the RED DYNASTY STAFF team. (Apologies if I left out any team) Not toooooo bad but definitely not how I would have liked to have played.

I wish I could have had an afternoon of fast running and gunning and if not for the leg I just might have. But having said that, it was still tremendously fun and thus...

C'est si bon,
So I say it to you,
Like the French people do,
Because it's oh, so good!

Gear Review

I got to test out my newly acquired gear during the last BTO and here is a short review of each item.



JTUSA SPECTRA FLEX-8 FULL COVER MASK
Fits really snug even without adjusting the strap. The top head cover allows the mask to rest on the head and helps spread out the weight of the mask. Profile is small and it comes with a chin strap to prevent the mask from lifting during a slide.

The mask was a really good fit for me. I didn't feel the mask at all the whole time I had it on. I experienced zero fogging and everything was clear as day through the lens. The vents allowed me to breathe very easily even after a hard sprint.



DYE C7 JERSEY - MECCA
Nice Limited Edition at a really low price. L size fit me perfectly with all the paddings seated where they should and without undue travel. Comes with a micro-fiber cloth hidden in the left cuff, useful for those fast lens wipedowns.

Sitting through the briefing with my jersey on did make me feel unduly warm. Once I got onto the field though, all that disappeared. Sprinting from the break and moving forward from bunker to bunker posed no problems. I was feeling cool and had complete freedom of movement without any of that sticky fabric on skin feeling.



PROTO 07 PANTS - GREY
Medium sized and another perfect fit with all the padding seated nicely, length too was spot on for me.

I had good movement in these and it gave me the confidence to slide into bunkers as well. Venting felt adequate and since I don't remember much while I had them on, that must mean that it did a good job.



ADIDAS PREDATOR ABSOLION TRX FG WIDE FIT - METALLIC IRON/BLACK/SILVER
Good cleats for firm ground use. Light and very good traction.

Allowed me to sprint towards bunkers and stop in time without losing my footing. Low price.

So there you have it. I'm really happy with my choices, everything works perfectly and best of all I didn't blow a hole in my pocket.

The dictator retorts

Ha ha... have to find my stop watch... I'm now thinking those knee guards may have been a decent investment!!! See you on Sunday (evil laugh)

I'll let Mr Schwarzenegger's quotes speak on my behalf...

"The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens."


"Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tone the spirit just as exercise conditions the body."

Arnold Schwarzenegger

No RD5 this week &%#@!

Title says it all. Kinda disappointing since we getting Rocket and Dean BTOed tonite and we won't be able to give em a baptism of fire like we had last week. What a bloody waste.

RD5 is prolly the best way to learn to be tournament players and even though there were 15 teams in SPNS 2, we can't even get four teams to turn up on Sundays. Come on guys, where else you gonna be able to get this kinda tournament style play without going across the Causeway?

TD is still gonna turn up at RD on Sunday anyway, from 3pm onwards so if anyone wanna skirmish we open for business as long as Dictator Trainer from Hell Houdini feels we've done enough drilling for the day.

RD5 Game Footage

Link to a little footage taken from the RD5 League at Red Dynasty

YouTube

Sunday 13/07 - RD5 skirmish training with help from Jayex XXL. Practiced communications. Practiced field awareness. Practiced PB technique... basically went all out to hold our own against well seasoned teams and players for our first venture onto a speedball field. I won't say we did well but we learnt a lot about each others playing style...

Lessons learnt:
- If you have protective elbow guards wear them!!!!
- If you get hit keep as close to bunker as possible while checking for paint, stepping away from the bunker will results in further hits...
- Proper naming of all bunkers by the entire team is essential if you are to communicate opposition positions properly to each other
- Don't always get caught up in firefights across the field, take a few seconds to listen as your eyes aren't the only things that can determine the positions of the opposition