FEATURE
ACTION AIR - TAIWAN
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, like-
minded 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
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