by Austin Hale

Created on: July 07, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Rat-tat-tat. Paint splatters over your head at high velocity as the paintballs explode on your bunker. Your cover isn't going to protect you for very much longer. Even though you're playing paintball your honor is on the line and you don't want to lose. You need to get out of there. You need to move.

Serpentine

When you need to move while taking heavy paintball fire you have very few options for getting to cover safely. The best method by far is to run as fast as you possibly can in an "S" pattern or serpentine pattern.

While this can be an extremely daunting move it's success rate is actually quite high. Firstly by quickly standing and running after being pinned down you will surprise your opponent buying you precious time. Secondly it's difficult to hit a moving target, but it's even harder to hit a target running in a serpentine pattern.

Crouched Run

Sometimes when playing paintball you'll need stealth and speed. When this is the case running in a crouched position is the best choice. While still being able to run at the necessary speed being crouched provides you the benefits of a reduced profile and silhouette.

One tip while running in a crouched position is to run one foot in front of the other in a single file line. Some historians have speculated that early Native Americans used to run similar to this when the English first arrived in America. This manner or running helped to establish the superstitious English belief that the Native Americans could travel silently.

Prone Crawling

For times when absolute small and silent movement is required prone crawling or army crawling is going to be your best option. Crawling prone reduces your profile to its smallest stance and also completely eliminates your silhouette. Another benefit is offensive rather than defensive lying prone gives huge benefits to your accuracy.

The downside to crawling prone is your speed. Crawling like this is very slow and cumbersome. It is also very difficult to move completely quietly without great amounts of practice without great amounts of practice with all of your normal gear on.

Whether you are crawling prone, running in a serpentine pattern, or sprinting in a crouched position while playing paintball be sure to be conscientious of your surroundings and adjust accordingly. Being aware of whether you are running on leaves or concrete can be the biggest difference between being shot or being the shooter.

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