8 minute read
ACTION AIR: THE FRESH PRINCE
THE
AIRSOFT ACTION’S “MAN IN TAIWAN”, STEWBACCA, GETS HIS GROOVE ON AS HE WRITES ABOUT HIS JOURNEY TO TAIWAN AND INTO ACTION AIR
OF ACTION AIR
“In East Midlands; Lincolnshire, born and raised, on the airsoft forums was where I spent most of my days, planning games, arguing and buyin’ softin’ goods, then shooting friends and strangers out in Midlands woods.
“When a few politicians worked up some reports, and started making it harder for me to play my sport I got fed up of the laws and to myself, I despaired; I’m moving to Taiwan, and getting into Action Air!”
That somewhat (intentionally) whimsical and musical summary as a nod to everyone’s favourite Will Smith TV series, at least sets the scene for a subset of my numerous activities since I arrived in Taiwan in late 2017. While a lot of my previous writing and playing has been centred around “traditional” skirmishing - if there is such a thing - and particularly a focus on CQB games, indoor or urban playing and involvement in Copehill Down weekenders or operations in Spain before my move abroad, since arriving on my island paradise I’ve become increasingly aware of Airsoft IPSC, or “Action Air” practical shooting disciplines.
With the long-standing restrictions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and, of course, the Chinese Mainland that mirror the last few decades of tightening firearms regulations in the UK, those who wanted to get involved in target shooting and related sports on this side of the world usually had to resort to trips to Thailand or Cambodia - including myself, having finally gotten hands on with a real M16A1 and AKM in Siem Reap back in 2015, on my third trip to Asia.
Whilst IDPA and IPSC are growing in the less restrictive Asian countries - including a great deal of shooting sports or public ranges and firearms ownership in the Philippines these days - those of us who are less mobile, or want to practice on a regular basis, are “relegated” to the use of airsoft GBB pistols to get our fix and work on our drills.
6MM TRAINING
The transferability of weapons handling experiences gained in airsoft, being applied in real steel environments, is probably worth an entirely separate article when I find the opportunity. No doubt most people are aware of TRex Arms’ Lucas Botkin, taking a Japanese player, Liku (who had never had experience of real firearms but plenty of GBB usage), under his wing and having him burn down the range among more seasoned US real steel
shooters in short order and impressing everyone with his fundamental abilities.
Similarly, an increasing number of police and military organisations are seeking to use airsoft or related systems in force on force training, including the Taiwanese police and SWAT teams, who sometimes train during the week at the same Linkou “Taiwan CQB Club”/”North Training” facility we skirmish at on some weekends. Also, an increased emphasis towards local
manufacturer’s T4E (Training For Engagement) systems shows that attitudes are changing and airgun shooting sports and training techniques are gaining more acceptance as of late, despite (perhaps) some earlier snubbing by many real steel users as “pointless” or “ineffective”.
With all that in mind, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and give it a go. I’d already dabbled in early 2019, when my Filipina skirmishing teammate, Belinda, invited me along to a friendly competition at her local AIPSC/Action Air “Spring Rain” team’s facility in South-Western Taipei and had been wanting to get into it more seriously since that first foray. However, until I moved up to Taipei properly, the logistics were just too prohibitive given most team’s training times conflicted with my afternoon and evening teaching work.
FIRST TASTE
Happily, in February a local friend noticed I had been getting my equipment repaired at KIC Airsoft’s shop in Sanchong, North West Taipei and told me that he trained in Action Air not far from there. Having struggled to get involved with the other teams in the area, such as “Spring Rain” (SR) and “Taipei Focus Action Shooters” (TFAS) due to my evening teaching work timetable for the last few months, I jumped at the opportunity to train with “Setup Project Practical Team” (SPPT), just a short bus ride from my new digs in central Taipei.
And so, after a brief exchange of details online I was welcomed along to my first session to get an idea for my abilities and what Action Air involves. I imagine I made a decent enough first impression, as I always have to be “that guy” who takes things perhaps a little too seriously. So, having dabbled in the aforementioned competition last year, I decided to prepare myself for the imminent move to pastures new by investing in the proper Double Alpha Academy belt kit and Safariland holsters, to go with the TTI Glock 34 I got for my 34th birthday.
Despite the continued language barrier that my limited functional Mandarin presents I was able to pick up the movements and key points relatively easily, thanks to Mars Liu’s tutelage and attentions on my first session and I was soon turning up on a regular basis to hone my skills. It has all been somewhat hectic in reality, fitting in around 20 training sessions within the first three months since starting but as usual, I don’t do things by halves!
GETTING LICENSED
Having started off March with our first Speedsoft-oriented tournament in Taipei - as featured in my previous Island Insider article ‘”Live and let DYE” - I decided to end it with qualifying for my Action Air Competition License following a whole day seminar. I understood a surprising amount, despite not always being able to translate every single word on the fly but it certainly helped to have prior understanding of real firearms, or live fire competitions and the material as they tend to transfer into Action Air rules and procedures. Those halcyon days in my school’s Combined Cadet Force and breezing through weapons handling tests were gladly put to good use once again!
Following a morning of procedural and administrative matters, as well as general structure, distribution and operation of the different levels of officials in the Asian region, we broke for lunch and got on with the practical assessment in the afternoon. Having already practiced, with Mars holding a few mock tests for me, on the lead up to the examination day, the practical shooting side was a breeze and, thankfully, the examiner also has an excellent
level of English so made sure there were no misunderstandings in what drill was expected.
By the end of a long day there were 11 new certified shooters from the various aforementioned teams spread around Taipei inaugurated into the Action Air/AIPSC shooting community. Were it not for the ongoing issues related to the Coronavirus causing cancellations, I would have immediately gotten involved in my first competition shoot barely a week later, in Hsinchu, where I had first lived and worked when I moved here. Unfortunately, as it was I had to wait until April for the next shoot in Northern Taichung, not too far from where my other half originates from - she was also very patient on the exam day and good enough to wait around all day in case there were any language issues that arose. Translating the written exam would certainly have been a lot harder without her but I managed to scrape through it with her help and that of the others who had less of a language barrier than myself, so many thanks to the ever-helpful Ms. Stewbacca!
LOOKING FORWARDS
One thing that I’ve noticed in all my adventures in airsoft and Action Air here, is that despite me still having a limited ability in conversation, or terminologically-specific material, everyone is still very welcoming and accommodating nonetheless and, regardless
of where you go in the world, shooting sports (or combat sports in general) attract the same kind of focused, disciplined, likeminded and decent folk who have to endure poor press and public reactions due to everyone else’s misunderstandings of our hobbies and interests.
Hopefully, out here I can put a bit more of a “big friendly foreigner” face on the whole thing and thus far I’ve always had plenty of interest from local players, young and old, as to what me and my other expat teammates are up to here and how we got into airsoft. I usually tell them that I’m a previous addict and that I moved here because it’s where airsoft seems to be focusing and flourishing the most. I’m very glad I did, given the warm reception and how easily I have been able to get involved in not only playing, but communicating with local players and companies as well as bridging the gap and introducing Taiwan’s airsoft community and manufacturing abilities to our global readership.
So, now I’m properly licensed to put pellets through paper against the clock, I’ve joined the SPPT regular team and continued my training regime at home and their training space. In my next installment I’ll be telling you how our experience of the first competition of the year in Taichung went - so keep your eyes peeled for that and join me on my continuing adventures in my new found Action Air addiction. AA
