@Grifter : Yup - be careful of head-shots. Definitely wear wrap-around eye-protection (full-sealing goggles or airsoft-specific "wire mesh" goggles are both even better), and think about also wearing some kind of facial (to include the nose and mouth)/ear covering, too.
And towards both @Grifter and @Snake45 's posts above -
Also critical to safety: if you start hosting others as a training-group and they are bringing their own airsoft, please take the time to carefully examine their "BYOairgun" to insure that they are actually airsoft, and not traditional BB/pellet guns that look/function akin to airsoft (like the one that @xdman cited above). While traditional BB/pellet guns will produce considerably better external ballistics, their muzzle energies as well as the bio-reactive nature of the metallic projectiles both are extreme safety hazards that should be restricted from Force-on-Force training use (for example, a few years ago, a fellow member on the Ohioans For Concealed Carry Forums purchased a replica M&P in traditional BB/pellet format, and - without malice [he merely did not truly understand the difference between the two formats] - brought it to use for the higher tier FoF exercises at TDI, thinking that it was the same as airsoft: the staff of-course did not allow him to use it).
In "CQB" type skirmish-play that allow open-face (note how few of the Japanese players in the Airsoft Japan videos I've cited above choose to use facial protection? this is because they are culturally very adherent to proper gaming etiquette: search up US and European airsoft skirmish gaming videos, and you'll see that many are dedicated to "cheaters" - it's just a different culture, there), noses, lips, and ears are sometimes lacerated, and chipped teeth are potential consequences, too. Given that your goal is actual training/practice, these are risks that are better minimized.
Unlike Sim/UTM, where more substantial clothing coverage for exposed skin -and more substantial neck protection- is preferred, the worst of what airsoft can do, even at close range, is well-mitigated by summer-weight long-sleeve tops and even thin leggings or pants-materials. A summer-weight neck gaiter -same as those used to ward off excess heat or bugs- can be used very successfully for neck protection.
Fingers can take a beating, too. While typically *not* serious (in my time gaming, I've only come across one single confirmed instance of a fractured finger due to BB hit), it is, IMveryHO, un-necessarily painful. Also, if you use your hands "for your living," bruised or cut knuckles and fingers can result. While even a thin "second skin" shooting glove will take off the worst of it without making hits so painless as to remove stress, those with more sensitive hands/fingers or with occupational needs (or previous injuries/preexisting disease) may wish for more "armored" gloves that are marketed specifically for paintball/airsoft, or something like the Mechanic M-Pact or Magpul Core-Breach, etc.
Specifically going back to the issue of induction of stress through painful stimulus.....
Airsoft is really rather innocuous where it comes to that. This is both good and bad, depending on the specific considerations at-play. (And again, no, it would *_not_* be smart to use traditional BB/pellet guns for this purpose: if more pain stimulus is seen as a necessity, stepping up to the RAP4/T4E or UTM/Simunition would be the correct way to go.). With winter clothing, in-particular, the relatively low-energy hits can make airsoft hits very, very hard to feel (for example, skirmish gamers wearing tactical body gear typically "listen for hits"), so training participants need to be aware of this potential shortfall, in order to insure that scenarios go smoothly and learning objectives are not breached unknowingly by participants. On the flip side, this less-painful nature of airsoft can also help bring more students into the fold, specifically for those whose preconceived notion of "this kind of training" may include a fear of pain or injury.
And towards both @Grifter and @Snake45 's posts above -
Also critical to safety: if you start hosting others as a training-group and they are bringing their own airsoft, please take the time to carefully examine their "BYOairgun" to insure that they are actually airsoft, and not traditional BB/pellet guns that look/function akin to airsoft (like the one that @xdman cited above). While traditional BB/pellet guns will produce considerably better external ballistics, their muzzle energies as well as the bio-reactive nature of the metallic projectiles both are extreme safety hazards that should be restricted from Force-on-Force training use (for example, a few years ago, a fellow member on the Ohioans For Concealed Carry Forums purchased a replica M&P in traditional BB/pellet format, and - without malice [he merely did not truly understand the difference between the two formats] - brought it to use for the higher tier FoF exercises at TDI, thinking that it was the same as airsoft: the staff of-course did not allow him to use it).
In "CQB" type skirmish-play that allow open-face (note how few of the Japanese players in the Airsoft Japan videos I've cited above choose to use facial protection? this is because they are culturally very adherent to proper gaming etiquette: search up US and European airsoft skirmish gaming videos, and you'll see that many are dedicated to "cheaters" - it's just a different culture, there), noses, lips, and ears are sometimes lacerated, and chipped teeth are potential consequences, too. Given that your goal is actual training/practice, these are risks that are better minimized.
Unlike Sim/UTM, where more substantial clothing coverage for exposed skin -and more substantial neck protection- is preferred, the worst of what airsoft can do, even at close range, is well-mitigated by summer-weight long-sleeve tops and even thin leggings or pants-materials. A summer-weight neck gaiter -same as those used to ward off excess heat or bugs- can be used very successfully for neck protection.
Fingers can take a beating, too. While typically *not* serious (in my time gaming, I've only come across one single confirmed instance of a fractured finger due to BB hit), it is, IMveryHO, un-necessarily painful. Also, if you use your hands "for your living," bruised or cut knuckles and fingers can result. While even a thin "second skin" shooting glove will take off the worst of it without making hits so painless as to remove stress, those with more sensitive hands/fingers or with occupational needs (or previous injuries/preexisting disease) may wish for more "armored" gloves that are marketed specifically for paintball/airsoft, or something like the Mechanic M-Pact or Magpul Core-Breach, etc.
Specifically going back to the issue of induction of stress through painful stimulus.....
Airsoft is really rather innocuous where it comes to that. This is both good and bad, depending on the specific considerations at-play. (And again, no, it would *_not_* be smart to use traditional BB/pellet guns for this purpose: if more pain stimulus is seen as a necessity, stepping up to the RAP4/T4E or UTM/Simunition would be the correct way to go.). With winter clothing, in-particular, the relatively low-energy hits can make airsoft hits very, very hard to feel (for example, skirmish gamers wearing tactical body gear typically "listen for hits"), so training participants need to be aware of this potential shortfall, in order to insure that scenarios go smoothly and learning objectives are not breached unknowingly by participants. On the flip side, this less-painful nature of airsoft can also help bring more students into the fold, specifically for those whose preconceived notion of "this kind of training" may include a fear of pain or injury.
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