crawling
- Thread starter norman ferguson
- Start date
does any one know anything about crawling like when to do it and/or how it should be done?
Norm, Crawling is an art form and a good crawl is a joy to behold...to explain all the dos and don't about crawling would take a whole article - in fact, PGI carried one by Erik Felix on that self-same subject a few years back and hopefully, Tyger or Justin will do an updated version real soon, but in the mean time...
How: check out the field/areas of the field you're gonna play before you play em...get down low and look from bunker to bunker from both ends of the field. Why? Cos sometimes there are crawling 'lanes' (areas in which you can crawl) that are only obvious from down low - heck, sometimes you can make a crawl in the open. What looks like w flat open space from a standing position can actually be a great crawling lane that's obscured from your opponent if he is tucked behind a bunker down low, so check it out from the kind of height the other team will see you from.
Keep your gun out in front of you and keep that butt low! Use your elbows and knees to drag yourself along. If you're making a short crawl to a bunker further upfield, try getting your back guy to lay paint on the opponent with a clear shot on you to keep him in. If it's a long crawl to get round the back of the opposition and it's through dense cover, just take your time and be sure and listen to what's going on around you - whthwer your guys/their guys are aware of what you're doing, or one teams is pushing on the other...
When:
When you want to make a bunker and it's too far/too risky to run it but you think it's crawl-able.
When there's a lot of dense undergrowth but not many bunkers on a field, you can use a crawl to gain ground.
When you want to get through the opposition's line and get round the back of them.
When there's a guy stuck behind a bunker and not coming out and it's too far to run him down, try crawling to the other side of his bunker then going over the top on his unsuspecting ass.
Man, there's soooooo much involved in a good crawl, and I ain't a crawler, but I hope this helps.
Do you play rec or tourney?
Peace out,
TJ
How: check out the field/areas of the field you're gonna play before you play em...get down low and look from bunker to bunker from both ends of the field. Why? Cos sometimes there are crawling 'lanes' (areas in which you can crawl) that are only obvious from down low - heck, sometimes you can make a crawl in the open. What looks like w flat open space from a standing position can actually be a great crawling lane that's obscured from your opponent if he is tucked behind a bunker down low, so check it out from the kind of height the other team will see you from.
Keep your gun out in front of you and keep that butt low! Use your elbows and knees to drag yourself along. If you're making a short crawl to a bunker further upfield, try getting your back guy to lay paint on the opponent with a clear shot on you to keep him in. If it's a long crawl to get round the back of the opposition and it's through dense cover, just take your time and be sure and listen to what's going on around you - whthwer your guys/their guys are aware of what you're doing, or one teams is pushing on the other...
When:
When you want to make a bunker and it's too far/too risky to run it but you think it's crawl-able.
When there's a lot of dense undergrowth but not many bunkers on a field, you can use a crawl to gain ground.
When you want to get through the opposition's line and get round the back of them.
When there's a guy stuck behind a bunker and not coming out and it's too far to run him down, try crawling to the other side of his bunker then going over the top on his unsuspecting ass.
Man, there's soooooo much involved in a good crawl, and I ain't a crawler, but I hope this helps.
Do you play rec or tourney?
Peace out,
TJ
I play rec ball I usually play in my friends woods. The place I usually go is awsome, it is like a huge circle (just not that lame) and has alot of elevation change and alot of brush to crawl through. I use a tippmann and I am usually on the winning team. But I have never played in a tourney.
Man, I really think that this is a lost artform in today's major tournaments. But, I love doing it. It's a huge adrenalin rush. Walk the field and look for lanes. Line up trees, bunkers, bushes, whatever between you and your opponents. Don't be afraid to take your time. I've heard that the human eye picks up fast movement better than slow movement, and I believe it. Be patient and don't shoot too soon. Make sure that you are dictating what you want to do, unless of course you are caught.
My brother pulled off a sweet crawl in an APL tournament last year at Urban Assult outside of Pittsburgh. If any of you have ever seen the Star Field, you know where we were. He got on top of one of the spokes and just took his time. Some of the bushes were super thick. He was able to get about 5 feet from the guy before he let him have it. He admitted later that he really didn't want to get that close, but with the density of the brush, had no choice if he wanted to get his paint through.
I had a good one last year. Playing the 10-man division at the Zap Amateur open in the semi's against Tippmann Effect. I was on the 50 on the right tape (a wooded field) with a team mate about 40 feet to my left. I crawled half way out, told my team mate to look at me (he recognized what I was doing just by seeing my body laying on the ground and half of it forward of my bunker) I slowly made my way up until I was about 10 feet from their back line. There were two of them, and I was hiding behind a board that was nailed to a tree. The board was about a foot high (the top piece to the bunker had been knocked off of the bunker) and six feet long. Man, I have no cover. I lined up on the first guy, and damn it if I didn't shoot the only little bush between me and him. Well, I gave my position away and lived in there for about five minutes before time started running out and I got up to bunker them. I'll tell you, I had no business getting to that bunker or living in it, but it all worked because I used my surroundings. You just have to do it to get good at it.
My brother pulled off a sweet crawl in an APL tournament last year at Urban Assult outside of Pittsburgh. If any of you have ever seen the Star Field, you know where we were. He got on top of one of the spokes and just took his time. Some of the bushes were super thick. He was able to get about 5 feet from the guy before he let him have it. He admitted later that he really didn't want to get that close, but with the density of the brush, had no choice if he wanted to get his paint through.
I had a good one last year. Playing the 10-man division at the Zap Amateur open in the semi's against Tippmann Effect. I was on the 50 on the right tape (a wooded field) with a team mate about 40 feet to my left. I crawled half way out, told my team mate to look at me (he recognized what I was doing just by seeing my body laying on the ground and half of it forward of my bunker) I slowly made my way up until I was about 10 feet from their back line. There were two of them, and I was hiding behind a board that was nailed to a tree. The board was about a foot high (the top piece to the bunker had been knocked off of the bunker) and six feet long. Man, I have no cover. I lined up on the first guy, and damn it if I didn't shoot the only little bush between me and him. Well, I gave my position away and lived in there for about five minutes before time started running out and I got up to bunker them. I'll tell you, I had no business getting to that bunker or living in it, but it all worked because I used my surroundings. You just have to do it to get good at it.