Customer Reviews

Gun-fu: The Martial Art of Paintball

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

If you plan to be better in paintballing and would like some USEFUL information, this book is what you need! It will show you how to move in different scenarios with more than just point and shoot.

It has to do with HOW you move and WHEN to shoot. Crawling, pop-shooting, training drills, and team advancement formation (and strategies).

It also talks about the mindset of being a paintballer. Remember when you had that day when you felt like you were an action hero? Where everything that was and wasn't planned still worked for the best? This book will show you how to be in that 'state' all the time and the powerful advantage of having your mindset in the right direction. You'll be amazed to what you can do.

This is a great addition to your collection of books. He doesn't mention anything about markers and which one is better. The best investment you can make in the game of paintball isn't a $1200+ marker or all the accessories in the world. It's yourself as a player! SO START READING!

This book teaches the whole concept of paintball to the newbie. It gives new insight, tactics, reminders and knowledge to the PROs. A helpful reminder for the things forgotten. It covers it all from finding out what paintball is to advanced tactics of tournament play.
Do you know how many Pro players I see that do not stretch before or after a game? They should have read this book!
How many new players have no clue about tournaments? Or how to make team. They should have read this book!
Best of all it shows team building techniques that will make your team strong and stick together longer!
Written by a paintball player for paintball players!
The paintball world will greatly improve with this book.
Thank You
Terry Adams

This book has excellent tips and strategies essential to the development of a tournament-ball paintball player. My younger brother has gotten the most out of its simple axioms, using the mindset and insight it provides to the reader to help push him to the next level of play -- division 3 tournament-ball. It alone is not enough; you have to practice and apply what the book talks about and fashion your own style that compliments your abilities as an individual player, but as as suppliment for understanding how to better your game it is top-notch. Comes with my recommendation.

We had a little trouble with Amazon delivering copies on time that seems to be solved, sorry about any delays.

We hope you enjoy the only book on Paintball that covers the entire spectrum of Paintball performance from mental prep and drills to team management and on-field specific strategy.

Paintball is modern gunfighting and this book gives you nuts and bolts specifics on how to succeed in every aspect of the game.

In addition, we offer the perspective of Paintball as a legitimate martial art and show parallels to other combat sports, as well as timeless wisdom you can use immediately, from beginner to pro.

We do not pad our book with gear reviews or article reprints, just how to hone your most important weapons, your mind and body, working together as one coordinated unit.

Enjoy!

The author

This book is very good. No, it does not get all Zen on you, but it does help get into a better and more competitive mindset. It helps in your day-to-day competitions and in your team strategy. The drills are very good, even though they get a bit long. The photos are good, even though there might be too many photos of stretching. On stretching, make sure you do not over-stretch -- you can do more harm than good. There are some typos and such, but the content is worth five stars.

"Who says you can't apply the Martial Arts to every aspect of your life? Gun-fu takes the principals and strategies of Martial Arts and general warfare, and successfully applies them to this competitive game. A "must have" for the beginner paintball enthusiast, and an excellent read for experienced players."

I'm giving this book 5 stars only because I refuse to impugn its content in order to bring you this important message: The availability for this item has never been as advertised. Order at your own peril!

And Barry, I'm sorry this book never arrived for your birthday when I originally ordered it back in AUGUST. Them's the breaks, kid.