I Love Airsoft but....

[Cr0-Magnon]

About a month ago I detached one of my retinas. Shortly thereafter I had the surgery and I'm currently on the mend, pretty much past the first stage but it takes up to six months for the final results.

 

As per the title, I really do enjoy skirmishing. I hate this sedentary lifestyle most of us have bought into but need a purpose behind my exercise. 

 

However.....since it happened I've been nervous, sensitive and paranoid about my eyes. Of course I've got decent eyepro but I'm struggling with the idea of putting myself in the position to be shot on the face.

 

I suppose the question element of this, is has anyone else experienced injuries/medical issues etc which have put their airsofting future in doubt, even if it's just the mental aspect and how did you push through it?

Edited May 22, 2022 by Cr0-Magnon

[Shamal]

Glad to hear you are on the mend fella. Here's to a full recovery.👍

 

Not quite the same but about eight years ago I had a stroke.

Left sided dysphasia with a 1cm intracranial infarction or words to that effect lol.

 

For couple of months after I left hospital I wouldn't let myself sleep or lay down because in my mind I thought that by putting my head on a pillow I would constrict the blood vessels in my head and cause another blockage,irrational I know and when the doctor explained that that wouldn't happen I was ok albeit with help from Amy trip to the line.

 

Afterwards I was banging my head at every opportunity lol.

 

Wear good eypro or even two pairs if it helps you mentally but I'm sure that eventually you will get over the angst and be good to go.🙂

Take whatever time it takes to get yourself better and then venture out when you feel comfortable.

 

Hope that makes sense and best wishes 👍

 

Regards

 

 

 

 

 

[alxndrhll]

Glad to hear recovery is ongoing, and by the sounds of it as expected. My big two where annihilating the quad on my left leg (rectus femoris for those that care) by doing the extremely intense action of... standing up from crouching. And a completely shagged right shoulder from years of playing rugby when younger and just not taking care of injuries at the time.

 

The former of which was much more recent, and was affecting me while working (I'm a joiner, or carpenter to those that live down South).

 

I guess these are more of a physical worry than a mental one, with the mental aspect more being if I do something that puts me out of work for a period of time I'm leaking finances which eventually becomes a mental strain. And that's truthfully something that's at the back of my head everytime I play.

 

In terms of powering/pushing through, it's kinda just that for me. These things happen, and they can happen if you're charging around an airsoft field with all the protection in the world... or they can happen bending down to grab a pan out of a cupboard in the kitchen. And there are two ways you can go from there, bubble yourself away from everything that you perceive to be dangerous (which is potentially literally everything), or crack on with the things you enjoy while you enjoy them.

 

In terms of getting through the mental side of it, professional opinion has always helped me with these sorts of decision to give me a better idea of what risk, if any, is involved... and whether that risk is worth it for whatever I want to be doing. Shitty as it is, ultimately you're the only person that'll know when you're ready for that and I'm sure we all hope that when that time comes you have an absolute blast.

[Shamal]

Chippy. That's what we call wood butchers down south lol. 😉

 

Regards

[alxndrhll]

3 minutes ago, Shamal said:

Chippy. That's what we call wood butchers down south lol. 😉

 

Regards

 

Haha, I'm from the Midlands so carpenter/chippy is what I'd call it. I'd always consider a joiner to be a bench joiner, but up here carpenter just doesn't seem to be a word that exists 🤷‍♂️. It's all bashing timber around at the end of the day I suppose, bit confusing when looking at jobs initially though!

[Cr0-Magnon]

Thanks guys, I guess we all have our struggles.

 

I don't think there is anything specific in Airsoft which is a terrible idea for me going forward, apart from the whole getting shot in the eye but then who of us wants that!

[Tackle]

Blimey, where do I start, @Cr0-Magnon, my "burden", a lifetime of crap has left me with cumulative ptsd & the associated depression/anxiety that goes with, on the physical side there's a wrecked back from two serious rta's, both knees awaiting replacement thanks to serving in the infantry & years of ice hockey/rugby/boxing/running, add to that I've dealing with a growing prostate cancer since 2020, & even though I'm having treatment, no one can tell me if it's close to being beaten, which can be a daily mindfuck if you let it.

BUT, & THIS IS A MASSIVE BUT TO EVERYONE HERE...... 

we have one life, for some it's incredibly short, for others it's painfully long, & for those in the middle it can be meh at times, 

But if there's stuff you love doing, then find a way to do it, for me it's anything from robocop style knee braces, back braces, & copious mounts of pharmaceuticals if required, jabs in the knees too if I can, what am I gonna do, fuck em up, that ships sailed lol. 

If I can't do what I enjoy whats the point, Airsoft, riding bikes & hopefully getting back out on the water on my yam super jet at some point in the future once the knees are sorted. 

In your position I'd be considering a fencing style mask with safety glasses underneath, & change your playing style to minimise the possibility of falls or knocks to the head, essentially slow the fuck down & embrace being a sneaky bastard, works for me, tortoise & the hare lol. 

On Thursday I lost a good friend, 77 years young, all his life he had numerous serious health problems, including a severe curvature of his spine & diverticulitis, later life prostate cancer, but he became an awesome teacher & scout leader, literally inspiring so many & often leading by example in sports etc. 

So don't let shit get you down, you'll figure out a way to overcome it if you really want to. 

Good luck matey👍

 

[EDcase]

Yeah, the years take a toll even if you try to look after yourself.  My lower back is a problem but I haven't been able to get it checked yet.

As Tackle said, you can still enjoy a game of airsoft at a slower pace from further back and wearing good eyepro will protect the peepers no problem.

[Cr0-Magnon]

Totally agree @Tackle, you do have to take at least a calculated chance to do the things you enjoy in life.

 

Obviously banging my head wouldn't be ideal but my main concern are the shots which hit the cheek bone kinda area from time to time.

 

Will keep looking for suitable masks etc, as I do have a very nice DMR which I can hang back with.

 

@EDcase - Bloody lower backs! It's always "fun" seizing up at lunchtime and then having to head back out on the field isn't it 😬

 

 

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

I drag a fucked leg around.  Given enough meds and willpower it can still work-ish.  

 

I can sit at home in pain or get out and enjoy life.  

 

As to eyes...  when motorcycling or airsofting I have double+ eyepro.  Glasses, tinted visor plus actual visor on the bike.  Double lensed full seal goggles and contacts for airsoft.  I figure that BB shrapnel is better embedded in a lens than my eye if the lenses fail.    

 

I still enjoy martial arts, boxing etc, and a detached retina is a risk in many of the things that we enjoy.   I wear eyepro sparring these days.  No real reason not too.  Take it sensible and do what you love.  

 

If it helps I can recommend Uvex goggles. .  I drilled a series of holes in a pair of ancient Uvex goggles and put a 40 Mike into them at 6".   I then shot them with a bolty at 480ish fps.  The sniper marked the lenses but they held up 100%.  Fucking tough and inexpensive.  If you are worried about cheek strikes a fencing style mask may be the thing.  

 

Good luck finding your personal solution!

 

 

[DoooomRider]

I unfortunately took a glaive to my eye a few years back, it's left seemingly no permanent damage but I'm always aware of my eyes nowadays as honestly I've never felt anything as terrifying as suddenly losing my vision. I took my time getting back into airsoft after that and since I take care to always use good eye-pro and be willing to fall back if it gets too hairy, I'll personally fall back a bit than engage in CQB too much.

 

Honestly taking a few shots to my eye-pro actually relieved me of my tension about my eyes.

 

Good luck to yourself and take it steady

[Skullchewer]

17 minutes ago, DoooomRider said:

I unfortunately took a glaive to my eye a few years back

I don't think you can casually drop taking a glaive to they eye into a conversation without explaining the circumstances.

[MadMole]

Heart attack and I'm blind in right eye. Go for it.

 

I wear a Warq to make sure I'm fully protected. 

[strykerles]

I love airsoft but my knees don't 😪

[SussexMatt]

Two blown ACLs, hip replacement last year, laser eye surgery last year too. 

 

Lifetime of hip and knee issues (yomping, deadlifting, martial arts) just keep on going, hip replacement was a goddamn revelation though. Didn't think I'd ever be back to running and was super nervous about weight training, running about in the woods all sorts, now don't give it a second thought. 

 

With regard to eyes I had shitty eyesight and now have 20/20 after surgery, much more aware of eye injury etc, have some decent Annette shooting glasses and got a set of Wiley X, the arnettes have taken a few hits in the last few weeks and not even had a scratch. 

[Shamal]

1 hour ago, Skullchewer said:

I don't think you can casually drop taking a glaive to they eye into a conversation without explaining the circumstances.

I agree.

Just looked up glaive cause I'm thick and didn't know what it was.

Do now though and what the feck was that doing near your eyes???

 

Regards

 

[Cr0-Magnon]

1 hour ago, MadMole said:

I wear a Warq to make sure I'm fully protected. 

 

Ooh that's interesting. I was looking at those. The cheek weld doesn't look great though?

1 hour ago, DoooomRider said:

I unfortunately took a glaive to my eye a few years back

 

Good luck to yourself and take it steady

 

I had to Google "Glaive" haha, yeah we need more on that!

 

Cheers for the words of encouragement.

[Druid799]

Just to build on what the lads have said I had a rather pathetic low speed motorbike crash that resulted in 5mths in a wheelchair, several reconstructive surgeries on my Left foot and ankle full cruciate reconstruction of the right knee and 11mths off work AND the orthopod said the two probable outcomes I was looking at where either 85-90% recovery or sub 20% due to the nature of my injures and as he was leaving my bed side he casually threw out “oh by the way this was a one off fix as well , if ANYTHING happens to your ankle you’ll be loosing the leg below the knee !” And then casually walked off to his next patient ! So for the next year-18mths I was equally apprehensive/scared of the potential effect on my life in general if I did injure it again . 

So yea this whole thing had a hell of an effect on my Airsofting due to just the worry about potential injuries . 
All I’d say is listen to what others say but ultimately only you can come up with game plan your happy with , and I promise there IS one out there somewhere.😉👍

[Rogerborg]

11 hours ago, Shamal said:

Just looked up glaive cause I'm thick and didn't know what it was.

Do now though and what the feck was that doing near your eyes???

 

I expect historic reenactment or HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts), i.e. fighting with swords and axes and glaives and such.  Generally pretty safe as most training starts with not hurting people, but accidents happen even with blunted weapons.  I'm down a front tooth due to a langsaex, I'd love to say doing something heroic, but it was dropped on my face while I was lying on the ground.

 

There seems to be a fair bit of overlap between airsoft, punchy and hitty-weapon sports, and motorcycling, which I would generalise as "adrenaline, warrior spirit, dumbness and optimism".

 

My most pathetic current injury is a strained thumb from hauling on the anchors too hard on my Royal Enfield which is making it ouchy to grip a toy gun so I'm involuntarily practicing off-hand shooting.  Life, and idiots, find a way. 🙄

[Cr0-Magnon]

43 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

Life, and idiots, find a way. 🙄

 

That's meant to be read/imagined in Jeff Goldblum's voice, right?

[Tackle]

22 minutes ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

 

That's meant to be read/imagined in Jeff Goldblum's voice, right?

I was thinking Morgan Freeman actually lol🤔

1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

 

There seems to be a fair bit of overlap between airsoft, punchy and hitty-weapon sports, and motorcycling, which I would generalise as "adrenaline, warrior spirit, dumbness and optimism".

🙄

This👆, 1000,000% 👍

(especially the dumbness🤣) 

[Cr0-Magnon]

@Tackle - I was thinking:

 

 

[DoooomRider]

13 hours ago, Skullchewer said:

I don't think you can casually drop taking a glaive to they eye into a conversation without explaining the circumstances.

 

12 hours ago, Shamal said:

I agree.

Just looked up glaive cause I'm thick and didn't know what it was.

Do now though and what the feck was that doing near your eyes???

 

Regards

 

 

12 hours ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

 

Ooh that's interesting. I was looking at those. The cheek weld doesn't look great though?

 

I had to Google "Glaive" haha, yeah we need more on that!

 

Cheers for the words of encouragement.

 

1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

 

I expect historic reenactment or HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts), i.e. fighting with swords and axes and glaives and such.  Generally pretty safe as most training starts with not hurting people, but accidents happen even with blunted weapons.  I'm down a front tooth due to a langsaex, I'd love to say doing something heroic, but it was dropped on my face while I was lying on the ground.

 

 

Ding ding ding, we have a winner yeah it was a 1v1 reenactment fight, we were both wearing full-plate armour, I had a poleaxe he had a glaive, our weapons locked pushed against each other somehow, I don't remember it too well (metal stick hitting you in the head has that affect), it struck my cheek cut either side of my eye, cut through my eyelid and smooshed my eye leaving a 90% graze on my eyeball, I almost lost consciousness managed to steady myself but neither of my eyes would open which is bloody scary, went to the hospital they poured disinfectant into my eye which really hurts (to quote the nurse "like having an icicle jammed in your eye") and had to put cream on the eyeball for a while. was kinda cool crying blood occasionally but as a teacher not great but yeah not the most fun

[Rogerborg]

Ouch.  I went up to early 14th century, padding + mail + curies / coats-of-plates, and my anecdotal experience was that the more armour folk were wearing (or facing), the worse the injuries tended to get.  Dark age stuff with mostly spears and squishies seemed much more restrained and safe.

[DoooomRider]

I did late Roman (410AD) and War of the Roses (Late 15th) and yeah more armour equals more ouchies honestly, you tend to have a lot more mass which means if you screw up it tends to be all or nothing, I broke 3 ribs in my first ever event and then once I got plate I ended up with a ridiculous list of injuries. So far airsoft has been much kinder on me