The barrel roll is the go to maneuver. Good for offense and defense. Practice different sizes and limiting your forward travel, this is important in a rolling scissors which is a series of barrel rolls where you try to get behind the bandit.
Understanding when to use lead pursuit vs lag pursuit is basic to ACM. Lead pursuit gives you a turning shot, closes distance in a turn, and sets up a crossing shot. Lag pursuit helps you match flight paths to get into the control position and reduces energy loss in a turn compared to lead pursuit. The common mistake is to use lead pursuit when you don't have a chance to make the shot instead of flying to a good position first with lag pursuit.
