Airsoft is a modern combat-recreational hobby in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other with spherical paint pellets launched from airsoft guns. Participants typically employ the use of varying types of weapons designed as replicas of real firearms, tactical gear and accessories used by modern military and police organizations.Airsoft guns (also known as "Soft Air" guns by some manufacturers, such as Cybergun and Crosman) are spring, electric, or gas powered air guns that fire small spherical plastic pellets of either 6 mm or 8 mm diameter (0.24 or 0.32 inches), although spring-operated "air guns" may be disputed as air guns altogether.
Inexpensive airsoft guns are often very low powered, some people use them as professional airsofters would but they would play in areas like a house's backyard. Airsoft guns, regardless of cost or speed the gun shoots, are NEVER toys. Some of the more expensive models may be used for playing professional Airsoft, which is similar in concept to Paintball.
Generally they are replicas (in appearance only) of real firearms, but occasionally fictional firearms are available, such as the M41A Pulse Rifle from the Aliens films. Some very inexpensive airsoft guns are reduced scale models (such as the Boys models by some makers) or caricatures (like the mini-electrics) of firearms. Also some designs are replicas of firearms that never even went into service or production, such as XM8 prototypes.
While in essence the three types of airsoft guns, spring, gas, and electric, all work on the same principle of compressed gas expanding to force a pellet down the gun's barrel, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Airsoft has its roots in late-1970s East-Asia, specifically Japan, where firearms were difficult or impossible to obtain due to local laws that people sought a legal alternative for enjoying their passions with firearms.
Airsoft was developed in Japan in the late 1970s to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis was therefore placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms.
In contrast, paintball was developed in the United States in 1981 as a variation of hide and seek tag, through the use of utility companies' paint marking guns, which mark power/utility poles, and continues to focus more on their function than their form or aesthetic qualities. Paintball has quickly gained greater popularity than airsoft in the United States.
However, in Asia, airsoft is much more popular and paintball is nearly non-existent. In the interests of a more family-friendly image, paintball as an industry usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the movement towards spectator-friendly speedball). Similarly airsoft has taken a dual route, moving away from this (as seen in airsplat) as well as embracing them. This sometimes extends to full MilSim play.
Airsoft is still today most popular in several Asian regions, which includes Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and to certain extent, Indonesia and the Philippines. The vast majority of airsoft guns, accessories and after-market upgrade parts are also manufactured in these countries.
Some employees of Trinity University of Asia organized a group interested in pursuing this hobby. The group is named Trinity Airsoft Assault (TAA), which group aims to search for alternative ways for the members to legally enjoy their passions of guns as well as promote the responsible gun handling and ownership.
If you are interested in joining the Trinity Airsoft Assault, just approach the team founders, Juvi Diente of the Instructional Media Center and Jeremy Virtudez of the Graduate School. (Reference: Wikipedia)
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