HIT!!! I’M OUT!!! DEAD MAN COMING THROUGH!!! I could not remember the exact number of times that I have shouted these words every month on the skirmish field. On my first day of Airsoft I was eliminated in the first 10 minutes of the game. But that was okay because all I had to do was to take a short walk to the regeneration point and, like in those video games, I’m back in the thick of the fight again.

I even found this as an advantage as once you walk out towards the regen-point, it is so easy to pick out your opponent’s positions and, especially if they are newbies who would just sit where they are, wipe them all out when you return. Some teams, I know, play so well because they have a “sacrificial lamb” who will just run into the middle of the battle field, way ahead of his team, and allow himself to get taken out just to expose the other team’s position. And again, all he has to do is a quick dash to the regen-point and he’s back.

Getting hit on every single game does not mean you are a bad player, but actually the opposite of this. Accepting that you felt or thought that one of those pesky BBs hit you is the one of the best things in the game, that you value honour and honesty. I know that many will disagree with this and say that winning and kicking the opposite team's ass is the aim of the game. True… but players who say this should remember that without honest players who call their hits, there would be no winners but a lot of trash-talking, bad-mouthing, finger pointing unhappy players.

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Taking a hit is indeed an art, as it takes a lot of courage and honesty to accept that someone actually beat you to the draw or that someone was better in hiding than you, or that someone is, in plain and simple terms, just a better player than you.

I have come up with a list on the advantages of taking a hit. Not everyone may agree with them, but they do work.

1. Your opponent will stop shooting at you

It can never be as simple as this. Especially in close quarter battles where it can really become up close and painful, you should always be prepared to shout, “HIT!!!” as loud as you possibly can or be prepared to pay the price.

2. It will blow your opponent’s cover

Some clever players actually will call a hit when pinned down, pin point the shooter’s position, take a quick dash to the regen-point and engage that shooter at a different angle, if he is stupid enough to stay there.

3. Make the marshal your friend

More and more sites lately have adopted the habit of marshals shooting at players intentionally to test if they are taking hits. So if this happens to you, and there is a good chance that it will if you are a new face in the site, this will build your reputation as a good player and will, hopefully stop them from shooting at you again.

4. Get the respect of players, marshals and even site managers

As I have mentioned earlier, a real airsoft player is not the one who gets the flag or gets the most kills, but the one who acknowledges the fact that he got hit, called it and took himself out of the game. By doing this, you will be known and respected by other players and marshals. Site managers would like you to play in their site and players will reward you by being honest as well when they play against you.

Airsoft is a game of honesty, and that is the main fact. Without honest players, our beloved sport will become a worthless, time wasting, moneymaking piece of nonsense.  Every person, man or woman, who decides to get into this wonderful game, must always keep in mind that this is a gentleman’s sport and are expected to act as such.

So if you think you that cannot play by this high standard of responsibility, then time for you to play something else. Hide and seek maybe?