If you’ve played paintball before, you know how intense things can get when you’re in a shoot out with another player. Your vision begins to hyper-focus… and you become hell-bent on getting that player out if it’s the last thing you do.
And everything else around you seems to just fade away… it’s just you and them. Until you realize that you’re missing all of the REAL action, which is happening just a few feet away!
Or even worse… you totally miss seeing that sneaky bastard move up the field, which can cause big problems for you and your team.
If this happens to you, don’t feel bad. It happens to even the most experienced players.
The question is, how do you stop yourself from getting that terrible paintball tunnel vision? How do you stop that sneaky bastard from getting past you and shooting all of your buddies?
These three paintball tips will help you eliminate paintball tunnel vision and increase your awareness on the field.
1. Be aware that it is happening.
Ever realize you’re saying “um” too much during a speech? As soon as you realize this, you can stop immediately… but until that moment, you have no idea it’s happening. (But everyone else does!)
So, sometimes, all it takes to snap out of it is to simply be aware that it’s happening.
Paintball tunnel vision will happen usually when the shooting begins. Be aware that when you start shooting at each other, you’ll want to hyper focus on a particular target.
Think or even say to yourself “eyes wide” while you’re in battle. This will remind you to use your peripheral vision, which is absolutely essential in every single game you play.
2. Stop shooting and look around.
If your paintball tunnel vision is particularly bad while you’re shooting, take a second to stop shooting and evaluate your environment.
Even a second or two can make a huge difference, and this will train your brain to always be on the lookout for potential dangers and even opportunities.
3. Practice shooting at multiple targets.
One way of decreasing and eliminating paintball tunnel vision is to actively practice shooting at multiple targets.
To do this, set up three targets in your backyard. Now, face away from them and practice turning around and shooting three paintballs at each target.
If you have a friend handy, you can take turns. Have your friend call out the order, such as “right, left, center!” or “center, right, left!”, while you turn around and fire three paintballs at each target in the specified order.
This will increase your awareness on the fields and allow you to choose targets which seem more dangerous.
What if you don’t have a friend to practice with? Come up with your own shooting order and yell it out to yourself! Or go from left to right, then right to left.
Turning around and shooting will also improve your ability to shoot at opponents while behind a bunker or a tree.
So, in summary, be aware that you’re getting paintball tunnel vision, take a moment to stop shooting and look around, and practice shooting at multiple targets.
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