Like I said before, skill in this game is the ability to defeat your opponent(s) no matter how or what they are flying.
Very true
I will add a good player with a more energy efficient ride, using that energy advantage to B&Z your eyeballs out of your skull can be very frustrating but also takes a rather high level of experience and skill to do it aggressively. Those who go at it aggressively to "WIN" are very capable. Those who do it less aggressively and concentrate on "not losing" are generaly fodder.
Although maker and I have had our differences and I too believe the Brew to be very easy "out of the box" he is clearly and has always been one of these capable players.
I believe most issues in this game come down to basic philosophies that cultivate how peeps approach the game.
1- The "play to win" crowd, these folks seek out battle to win it disregarding the potential consiquences. These folks play in several styles, B&Z, T&B, and kind of soft middle ground of the 2. But the common ground for all these folks is the desire to win. This type of individual routinely will lock horns with an opponent and even though many other opponents will try and pick him he will always be trying to kill that 1st dude, he may be avoiding the others but you can be sure he knows exactly where the 1st dude is at all times, and this is because he has not won that engagement yet. This type uses his planes and situational advantage to push the fight towards victory and when he loses advantage and the fight it is most likely cause his desire to win overshadowed his fear of losing, so fleeing never was a solution for him.
2- The "play not to lose" crowd, These folks use their advantages to stay alive, they are always aware of a way to "get out" whether it be by diving away, maintaining enough energy to separate or one that is common for those in this crowd who fly turny birds to turn aggressively and HO thereby turning the fight in to a game of chance rather than a chess match. These players also play in the same styles as above, B&Z, T&B and the middle ground but intead of "winning" being formost on their thoughts, they reserve "not losing" as equal to winning. Not being shot down for them is some weird superiority even though they did not shoot down the other guy. This type also has no qualms over running away then returning for the simple pick when you are otherwise engaged. The "play to win" crowd usualy does not suffer this malody cause they never thought of running in the 1st place.
There is room for both philosophies in this game, but they surely will never see eye to eye cause one of them will always turn away

JUGgler