Paintball at the River
Trinity Church youth group played paintball
at some place out in the boonies. The pictures show all of the brave
souls. For more information contact Steel
Wind Paintball.
Paintball Essay - English 10
Sunday, February 09, 2003, 11:10:53 PM
Paintball is an integral component of many peoples’ lives. Paintball is played with .68 caliber paintballs, which are designed to explode on impact leaving a prominent mark. Powered with high-pressure carbon dioxide, CO2, the balls used in paintball can be painful. Protective facemasks are generally worn because of the risk of getting hit in the eyes, which would likely cause temporary or permanent blindness. Paintball is a popular sport in America, and it is also very popular in many other countries around the world. International conventions and tournaments are held. The stakes at these tournaments are high; the winning five man team members may each receive a brand new automobile. Paintball is a great tool that influences society, even though some pain may result to those playing the sport.
Although some pain results, paintball is a incredibly effective tool in combat training. A number of government and non-government organizations use paintball in this way. Even regular paintballers benefit from this intense combat like game play. If war breaks out and everyone has to shave their head, the paintballers will be prepared. Shooting opponents with paint is as close to the real thing as one can get. The alternate option is live fire training in which real ammunition and munitions are used; obviously, nonfatal training is the superior choice. The nonfatal lessons learned are extremely valuable when the trainees are out in the bush fighting for the freedom of the country. If paintball training did not exist, military personnel would be ill prepared for real combat. Pain really is gain in paintball combat training procedures.
Paintball provides a great way to release built-up aggression. Having been proven beyond reasonable argument that recreational physical activity reduces stress, paintball is just that. It is cutthroat, aerobic exercise in which people compete against each other to be the last man living. For example, if someone’s coworker aggravated him or her during the day they could take him or her out to the range to release their mounting aggression towards him or her. It’s hard for some to imagine how “Rambo style” people hunting can release anger, but it truly does. Paintballers are some of the least stressed workers in the world.
Most importantly, paintball gives the people playing a general appreciation for the world of firearms and explosives. Although paintball guns are not firearms, they do operate in much the same way. Pressurized gases force a projectile out of the barrel towards a target aimed at by the triggerman. The difference lies in the fatality factor. Because of the safety gear, very few paintball fatalities have ever occurred, but yet millions of firearm fatalities have occurred. In the bright light of the fatality factor, paintballers realize that guns are not dangerous unless the operator hasn’t the proper training, technique, or mindset. Many do not have respect for firearms, but once someone has been shot by something almost identical to a firearm, a paintball gun, that person develops respect in a matter of only a few painful moments. Paintballers receive the valuable, quality respect for firearms and explosives by playing the game of paintball.
Things like paintball positively affect society even though not many people notice it. Combat training is one of those things that people cannot live without in these days; without it, the United States of America would not be a world superpower. The aggression released by paintballers does more that it appears to, since anger is not visible. Yet, most importantly, the appreciation obtained for guns has to be the most valuable aspect of paintball’s influence on society. Paintball will forevermore influence society in ways that cannot all be seen or even realized, but the affects are present.
Ryan Kuester
