It started as something that I tried for exercise because it looked like a laugh. I don't particularly enjoy many sports and I have health issues which make any exercise painful so, even disregarding the usual laziness, I'm disinclined to walk let alone do something that is boring or annoying. But airsoft is so much more than a laugh.
The competitive aspect makes me try harder; the fact that hits often hurt makes me move; the mild 'action adventure' vibe about skirmishing is sorta recapturing my youth, but in a much safer way, which is good because a hospitalisation these days could easily be my last; there's a fantasy element to it too because I almost joined up, a few of my mates did, but I'm also glad that I didn't - so it's like the 'fun' bit of soldiering without the boring bits and the whole "if it moves, salute it - if it doesn't, paint it", or the crippling wounds;
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I also really enjoy dressing up - probably the least said about that the better on this forum, but it's nothing half as weird as that seems to sound :lol: ; out of the safe zone is a place where I can exercise parts of my character which are unhelpful in everyday life as well as my body, such as impatience, arrogance, revenge seeking; although I really don't want to actually hurt anybody (i mean i live by a whole 'tread lightly' philosophy), I do enjoy shooting them - I think it's because they hide and shoot back, you know, it's not like shooting targets (for me, as soon as I've mastered how to consistently hit as good a grouping as that gun is capable of without hundreds of hours practice, I've had enough)...
Then there's you lot. Airsoft allows me to meet people with whom I'd never come into contact normally, which is not only just nice on the simple gregariousness level, it's life affirming to be able to have a laugh together even though many of us have radically different points of view, lifestyles, expectations, aspirations, political ideas / lack thereof, etc and then there's a few people I've met with whom I'm becoming friends (you know who you are).