Once again, I agree with Kirk. When I practice by myself, I work hard on pushing whatever combat model I am flying to it's limits... that is, to the point it snaps, and then I trim it back in terms of control throws to just below snapping. This is mainly in elevator throw. I have never flown a combat model that snapped from too much aileron throw. Once trimmed, practice tight knife edge 360 degree turns, tight loops, emmelmans, and just like in WWI, Cobra rolls with or without half rolls can be excellent for streamer cutting. Having a buddy fly around as Kirk suggests is a great idea to develop your depth perception and your following technique. I would be world champion if I had depth perception! My biggest tendency is to fly "outside" the opponent. That is, what I perceive as being behind another airplane can be fifty or one hundred feet beyond that airplanes actual line of flight. If you have only one airframe, fly around the perimeter of the "hairball" as the hairball is where you are going to get whacked. At our Texas Nationals, it was typical to launch 9 to 12 planes per heat. Typically, only three or four would make it through the five minute round before being mid-aired. Most contests don't have this many per heat, however.

I have been flying R/C for thirty years now, and nothing compares to the fun I have had or the friends I have made flying combat.