Gun-fu: The Martial Art of Paintball [Paperback]

Terry Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2004

Everything About Paintball Gun-fu: The Martial Art of Paintball is the complete guide to this exciting new sport. It is a solid education on every aspect of the game, and full of great training information. It speaks to every level of player, from armchair general to front line professional. Never has there been this depth on mental, psychological, and emotional training for Paintball , or a detailed analysis of body postures for playing specific cover, Zen and the Art of Paintball, and even strategy advice from masters like Sun Tzu and Musashi. This is the definitive work on Paintball and no player can be without one on the shelf.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" This book is essential to the development of the modern player." –Drago Lazetich, Paintball Competitor/Martial Artist

Writer/Director:Speedball -- Welcome to Speedball the Movie

"...an invaluable reference tool. Paintball deserves respect as a martial art."

Sensei Bill Handel, Player, Martial Artist, Senior Instructor, HOC -- House of Champions, Van Nuys, CA

"Gun-fu...opens interesting new patterns and facets to a player's game...skills, strategy, mindset...My team will read this one." -- Kristen

"I love what you wrote...this is a wonderful discovery -" - Bea Youngs, Korean/Caucasian, Vocalist/DJ, & Paintball Athlete/Promoter -- paintball.com

From the Author

I wrote this book as a Paintball Textbook for modern players. I wanted to give accurate and up to date training methods that went past the standard drills of shooting and scrimmaging that is the mainstay of most team-based paintball training.

I also wanted to present mental and psychological training from the former Soviet training programs that can be applied to Paintball immediately, with detailed exercises that were previously unknown in the West until very recently.

While the book is for everyone, I wanted to offer something more to players who see Paintball as much more than a game.

I really hope you enjoy it.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 201 pages
• Publisher: Talas, Inc. (May 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971659702
• ISBN-13: 978-0971659704
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A virtual encylopedia of paintball strategy and tactics, September 27, 2002

By 

Sensei Bill Handel, House of Champions, Van N... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gun-fu: The Martial Art of Paintball (Paperback)

As a martial arts instructor and paintball player, I found that
Gun-Fu: The Martial Art of Paintball has finally made the connection between martial arts and paintball.

Anyone that has studied martial arts or played paintball knows there are skill sets that take several years to acquire in order to become proficient. The karate student has an advantage as they practice several times a week and are usually under the guidance of a watchful teacher and follow a established tradition.

Paintball players are at a disadvantage as they play only on occasional weekends and there is no teacher other than experience and watching others. In other words, you wind up being a target for better players until you figure out how to survive and play better.

Gun-Fu: The Martial Art of Paintball provides instruction on the techniques, strategy, tactics and training methods that all paintball players need to know.

Gun-Fu has information on physical training, drills for running and shooting, bunkering, manuvering, signal codes, field positions, assessing a situation and much much more, There was information on getting a team together, team strategies, entering tournaments and even how to split the awards and prizes.

There most interesting part of the book were the parallels made between paintball and martial arts. For example the author likens a paintball player to Japanese bowman shooting an arrow. The paintball player must be calm and relaxed and lead his target. When the time is exactly right he will release his paintball to the target.

I really liked the book because it gave instruction on the sport of paintball the way that martial arts books explain certian styles or techniques.

I now believe that paintball is as much of a martial art as Karate, Kung Fu or Kickboxing.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read for the Bunker Bound, November 4, 2002

By 

Lady A (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gun-fu: The Martial Art of Paintball (Paperback)

I happened upon "Gun-Fu - The Martial Art of Paintball" and of course I ordered the book next day and it arrived by the end of the week. I read it in 4 days, lent it out a few times and recommended to my friends and teammates. If paintball is your game this might be your book.

Gun-Fu by Terry Adams is a perfect book for those entering tournament play or for those just wanting to step up their game. Mr. Adams does a fine job of translating the complicated world of strategy and self-awareness into this useful guide. I think this is a definite must for the "paint in the veins" enthusiast. I will say that I particularly enjoyed the analogies between paintball and Martial Arts. The first chapters were absolutely inspiring. I think any level player will find something in its pages. Even someone that has never played can find the knowledge they need to start. For the more advanced player you will find great perspective. The pictures are useful and the lessons are complete. For me, some of the book was more useful than the other parts but I did find golden words that did motivate me.

This book pushes technique and training methods that are proven in many other disciplines. The author draws on many similarities of paintball and other competitive sports and introduces training routines that can be incorporated into a successful paintball practice. Mental preparation is a repeated skill that is echoed throughout the pages. The science of competition is illustrated in ways that will challenge you to review your own thought processes when you are on the field and when you prepare for a game.

From a disciplined art perspective this book makes for a nice comparison between Martial Arts and Paintball. I realize that this book may find its critics as well. Especially from the Art of War quotes and Martial Art associations. Competition is a negative in many people's eyes as I have witnessed in the last 10 years. I have played in softball, chess, boxing, swordplay, fencing, all on a highly competitive level (some times it even paid my bills) and all of them have their critics. These same people that draw negative opinion don't like us as a sport anyways. Unfortunately to take the game to a competitive level you must draw on learned confrontation. And this is true, not just of paintball but as in any sport that requires strategy and team work. To attack and to defend is the tools by which we wage war that is the nature of competition. But I do think Terry's work was a book about competitive play much more so than it was about paintball. A definite must read for the bunker bound folks.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terry Adams has a hit!, August 28, 2002

By 

Scott Malensek (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gun-fu: The Martial Art of Paintball (Paperback)

In a world that sometimes seems obsessed with political correctness, Terry Adams has managed to write a martial arts book that doesn't even bruise egos! Far too often paintball survival games are illustrated as either pre-pubescent ...training activities or radical X-treme sports. With great organization and a fantastic flair for detail, Terry Adams clearly shows that the games are neither! Instead, he describes a sport that demands the highest levels of discipline, skill, awareness, and a strong sense of sportsmanship. Adams proves that most sports bear these same competitive elements. GUN FU takes lessons from different schools of hand-to-hand martial arts and applies them to paintball. Using these tools, paintball players can take their skills to higher levels; both on the field and-even more importantly-off the field between games. Many of these competitive elements carry over even further into other sports and even into our most routine daily events. GUN FU is a terrifically in-depth book that goes beyond the common components of all sports, and Terry Adams' well-organized approach makes it as entertaining as it is informative!