This article was originally published in the February 2002 Paintball 2-Xtremes Magazine.

After nearly ten years of playing, I have found that the most challenging form of paintball is the scenario game. Here you find yourself amidst infinite variables navigating all types of terrain in all kinds of weather with many various objectives. Games are usually suspended only during heavy downpours or lightning. The rain can make rocks, sticks, roots, or even patches of dirt into slippery dangers. Since many scenario games are 24 hours in duration, the added dimension of darkness can make movement even more treacherous. The perils are many that await the unwary ankle or knee during the day or night.

Besides paintball, one of my other favorite activities is training in the martial arts. About a year and a half ago I learned of and began training in the ROSS Training System. ROSS is the acronym for the Russian words Rossijskaya Otechestvennaya Sistema Samozashchity that can be translated as “Russian Native System of Self-defense”. But ROSS is much more than a means of preparing for self-defense. It is a methodological system for enhancing performance in any physical activity. The practice of ROSS has been a benefit to me as much on the paintball field as off.

One of the eight directions of training in ROSS is the Russian Health System, called Zdorovye. There are three main components to ROSS/Zdorovye training: biomechanical movement, structural alignment and enhanced respiration. Development in any one of these is dependent upon the others, as they must be trained together for a synergistic effect.

Biomechanical movement, called Dvizheniye, is comprised of exercises that are designed at first to recover the full movement potential of the joint systems in our bodies. The reclaimed range of motion (ROM) is then coordinated within particular activities and once these abilities are refined within our environment, movement becomes more efficient at all times. The exercises increase both the functional ROM and strength of the joints. Instead of using muscular strength for movement, practitioners learn to rely on joint function.

The human body can be thought of as having the capabilities of a system of levers, pulleys, screws and inclined planes. These are the four simple machines of mechanical efficiency and the principles of these machines can be applied to the human body. A joint can be considered akin to a pulley, although most joints can have multiple functions. Efficient movement is realized when the maximum number of joints, and therefore the maximum movement, is utilized to produce motion. The effort required for such movement is reduced. For example, when moving into and out of a squatting or crouching position, instead of the knees bending and traveling along one plane, the knees can be moved in screwing motions. This movement in three dimensions removes stress from the knee joints and allows for the generation and preservation of momentum.

The second component of ROSS/Zdorovye training is called Polozheniye and refers to the proper alignment of our structure, or musculo-skeletal system. Improper posture can over time lead to a number of unhealthy conditions. Through specialized exercises, practitioners learn to develop proper structural alignment for walking, running and any other movement. Over the course of a day or more of paintball, poor posture while carrying the added weight of paint, air tanks, water bottles, radios and so on can exacerbate the problems of poor posture alone. It can take only a moment of improper posture to create needless pain and suffering. Biomechanical movement relies upon the proper use of the body’s structure and so does the third component to ROSS/Zdorovye, which is respiratory enhancement.

Through practice of unique breathing exercises, called Dykhaniye, ROSS practitioners learn to expand lung capacity, increase the ROM of their movement, manage anxiety and energy expenditure and eventually recover energy and control heart rate. The exercises are broken down into three levels: upper, middle and lower respiratory. These three levels are then integrated to gain the ability to process oxygen more efficiently. By helping maintain the proper ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood these methods allow for respiration, and therefore energy expenditure, to be controlled.

ROSS training also deals with deconditioning of what is called our “fear-reactivity”, or our unique psycho-physiological responses to fear. While you would not normally think of a paintball game as a fear-inducing event, incidents on the field can be unnerving. Most of us would have some degree of fear if we found ourselves sliding down a wet, rocky hill, losing our footing on a log over a gully or slipping off the top step of a paint-covered flight of stairs.

Part of this process of deconditioning fear-reactivity involves methods for engaging and disengaging the ground. Simply put, it is falling with the least impact and getting up in the most efficient and relaxed manner. Without the interference of fear, the body can adapt to the situation as necessary. During a recent scenario game there were two occasions where I avoided injury as a result of this training. Both incidents involved slipping on wet, muddy surfaces. Not only was I able to adapt to and quickly recover from the fall, but also I felt no anxiety during or after.

Another benefit that I have found to paintball is endurance in running. Zdorovye has a method of trotting called Slavyanskiy Byeg that uses a smooth, relaxed gait designed to have a restorative effect on the body by minimizing impact to the ankles, knees and hips. It utilizes a natural stride that allows for constant feedback from the ground. Through reliance upon over-engineered running shoes we can lose awareness of and sensitivity to the ground. Use of this method can restore sensitivity so that the body can feel the way of running with the least impact. There is also no conscious focus upon inhalation. This occurs naturally when focus is shifted to a forceful exhalation every few steps.

The benefits of this type of training have obvious implications on the paintball field. An over-mobilized ankle can end your game very quickly. But if you’ve recovered the full ROM and strengthened your ankle, or any other joint for that matter, risk of injury from over-mobilization is minimized. Indeed, practice of ROSS methods can dramatically decrease the risks of injury when playing paintball. Sprinting from cover to cover, crouching and kneeling in bunkers, crawling in trenches, running up and down hills, weaving through thick brush, and so on for hours on end can also take its toll if we are not moving efficiently and managing energy expenditure. As a result of this training my endurance on the paintball field has greatly increased. In the past, after a 24-hour scenario game, I would often feel sore for a couple of days following. Since beginning training in ROSS, I now find that I have much less fatigue during and after games and all movement and breathing while on the field has become easier and more efficient.