By Martin E. Hansen, Member until 2018

It was time for the big exam day, or it was actually a whole weekend in October, when the preparations in POMW 3 had to be put to the test for the IPSC A license course. We were 5 chief instructors, as we have all gone through the special POMW course to become Shindenkan shooting instructors, which requires a significantly higher level than in the traditional shooting associations. The first part of the course had already been passed in the form of the theoretical test that all chief instructors had passed during POMW.Praha, where a theoretical test had to be answered online, which are mainly safety questions in the IPSC handbook. The practical test was supposed to show whether we had understood the theory, but at the same time there would also be test questions for the theory. The most important thing, however, was that we were not allowed to be DQed during the exam itself, which consisted of 4 IPSC stages.

On Saturday 13 October, the telephone alarm clock rang at 6.30, the big day had come when POMW 3 had to take his exam for the IPSC A license course. Kimu Sensei had already prepared us that it would be a few hard days and at the same time the weather forecast said that on top of that it would be quite wet with rain on both Saturday and Sunday. I had packed most of the stuff the day before and cleaned my gun thoroughly. It was a heavy pack, as I also had an ammunition box with 1000 9mm cartridges to lug around. In addition to this, I had packed quite a few clothes, as it would be both cold and wet. I was picked up by my brother – Claus Shishu around 7.15, as we had to be at Hanebjerg in North Zealand exactly at 8.30. We arrived around 8.15, when Jens Hanshi-dai and Kjeld Renshi-dai had arrived, but as agreed in advance we did not know each other, which was agreed since it should not put additional pressure on the POMW project, that the IPSC instructors knew that 5 Shindenkaners with only 5-7 months of structured shooting experience was required for the A-license exam 🙂 An elderly cigar-smoking gentleman, who later turned out to be one of our instructors, received us under the half roof at the building where we were to start with breakfast and an introduction to the course. Søren Renshi also appeared, whom we greeted nicely and formally, just like the other course participants who also arrived. Finally we were seated inside and waited only for Claus Henneberg, who was the main instructor and the one we had registered with and had all communication with along the way. When Claus Henneberg finally appeared 5 min. delayed, there was applause both from his co-instructors but also from some students, to which he replied "Yes, you have to remember who will finally issue your A-license". During breakfast we then had to introduce ourselves after the instructors had explained in true "ego trip" fashion how many people they had met around the world and how far they had traveled etc. When the tour came to me I told them that I had shot for a few years, but had grown tired of range shooting and wanted to try something else. I could only hope that I didn't fail when it finally came to the shooting. It must be said that there were also quite good instructors on the team who did not look for the slightest opportunity or weakness with which they could "bully" us. We had been warned in advance about the harsh tone and the characters, so I took it in stride and ran the play all the way if I could.

We started the practical exercises in the "hole", where we had also practiced POMW shooting technique and IPSC with SIRT laser guns for 3 full days under Kimu Sensei's expert guidance, so that some of us were on "home ground". The first exercise was actually very simple, as we had already tried it before, it basically involved learning to shoot on an IPSC target, i.e. where to aim (alpha, charlie and delta) and basic shooting technique. In terms of shooting technique, we were already levels above what was shown, but we played along and did as we were told and later returned to what we had learned from Kimu Sensei. Claus Henneberg basically explained how he thought a gun should be operated and he said directly "A lot of gold nuggets come out of my mouth during this course, so you better listen", after which he explained a lot that we already knew, but that He couldn't know. Most of the team shot quite well, but I also saw, without boasting, that I was the one, together with the other chief instructors, who actually had the best collections, and not much was said either. The funny thing was that the others on the team were a combination of shooters, including with a police background who had all been shooting for several years. We were quickly divided into two teams, with Søren, Kjeld and I on one team and Jens and Claus on the other team. We were asked if anyone on the 2 "squads" knew each other, to which we answered no 🙂 My team went to a short "course" near the "hole". It was really just an excavation in a large rampart and was a real mud hole. From here until lunch we had the pleasure of Claus Henneberg as instructor. One of the first things he said was "Our task is to make it as difficult as possible for you so that we can DQ you" Actually quite nice, because the harder it is, the more you learn. So the next thing we were introduced to was transitions :-), which I was then again at home in, i.e. the alternation between several targets. We were also introduced to the commands within IPSC shooting, which we had also practiced for skinlessness (load and make ready, are you ready, standby... etc.) All the while Claus Henneberg and the other instructors tried to make it more difficult for us, and on at one point he said that we were actually really good, which was a compliment. Before lunch we also managed to be introduced to shooting in motion, ie. it was quite simple, where we had to run up to a box, marked by four wooden strips, and from this fire a 2 IPSC discs. First we were given the task of showing what we could do, which I think we did very well, it wasn't fast but safe. Claus put on his equipment and said "Now you have to see how I want to shoot it, but when I have to show it I can never hit anything". Inside myself, I thought "How can you, as a director and role model, tell something like this and tell us how to do it, but not do it yourself!" When he demonstrated it, he was also really, really fast, but as he said, he didn't hit anything either, at least not the disc and not at all the alpha zone. It was time for lunch and a good thing, because we had just got indoors when it really started to rain.

Fortunately, it calmed down a bit and it only drizzled a little when we had to start over lunch. Here we started on the actual internships, which we would meet during the exam the next day and if we got to a real competition. Claus Henneberg is really good at building courses, so it was a real pleasure to train according to his imagination. We had actually started shooting stages somewhat earlier than planned, because as he said "You are so talented and have such good momentum that we are already in Sunday's programme". We then spent the rest of the afternoon shooting stages, i.e. the same stage was modified and at one point we also exchanged with the others in the "hole" so that we could shoot the stage they had built there. We were constantly challenged on safety angles and barricade shooting, which was almost impossible to do without being DQ, and if it wasn't, the course was just made even more difficult. I also managed to get DQ myself a couple of times both on pointing angles (ie the gun must not point outside a safety angle indicated by 2 flags), which were very narrow, but also on the fact that the finger was in the trigger guard without me aiming. But I was full of confidence when we drove home after the first day, knowing what to look out for. I didn't have to think about shooting well because I could, it was just about safety, safety and safety. So when I got home in the evening I cleaned the gun and dry trained focusing especially on having the finger out of the trigger guard for the exam the next day, this would mean a DQ and thus you could retake the course and the rest of the planning towards the A+ license would fall to the ground.

On Sunday we started just as early, where after breakfast we immediately set about preparing stages we could practice on before we had to take the final exam over lunch. It went really well and I was able to start focusing more on some technique and shooting on the move as we had practiced with SIRTs during POMW 3. However, I managed to get DQed a couple of times on the same course with aiming angle and too to sweep (Pointing at one's own body part with a loaded weapon), but then I learned something again, on the other hand, my trigger finger was cured 🙂 The time until lunch went very quickly, and you get quite hungry from running around and shooting all morning, so they 3 pieces. smørrebrød that was per man was quickly digested. After lunch we were asked to stay in the main building where we had also eaten while the instructors wanted to build the courses for our exam. While we were waiting, we had the opportunity to talk together in the Shihan-kai, as all the instructors were busy building courses a good distance away. So we just talked a little bit about what we should focus on so that we could all get in the house without being DQed. After approx. 45 minutes later we were picked up, and the rain had picked up again, but we could soon see an end to it all, so it didn't matter much. Two fairly good stages had been built, which then, with modifications, became no. three and four as well. One was built in the hole and the other in the "bay", i.e. the same places we had trained. It was some pretty cool courses and to our great relief it was with fairly normal safety angles, so it had become somewhat easier than during the course itself. After I had shot the first stage, I was asked to accompany Claus Henneberg, it surprised me a little, but it turned out that he was just going to ask about some of the theory, where I, among other things, had to score a "difficult" disc and talk about some rules in case of material failure on a stage. It went well and I could return to the rest of the team and wait for the next stage. Shooting all 4 stages went really well and most importantly, none of us got DQed. When we had all gone through and cleared the tracks away we went down to the main building where the instructors sat and voted. One by one we were called in for a short feedback and a hopefully passing result. Everyone before me came out with the little plastic card that meant they had their temporary A licence, so I was pretty sure I'd passed too. I was called in and was excited for my feedback. They said straight away that I had of course passed and there was nothing to delay. In fact, they saw me as a really good IPSC shooter, they were sure they would see a lot more on the ranges. I was also told that I was really good at moving. I also gave them a short feedback about the course, as they wanted to know what I thought about it, after which I went out to the others who were waiting. When everyone had received feedback and had passed, Claus Henneberg came out and congratulated everyone, we had done well and we were the best team he had been through. He still hadn't suspected that five of us came from Shindenkan even though we had the same cleaning kit and rangebags that he had seen the day before when he wanted to show us how to properly clean a CZ 75 SP-01 shadow, we had it same way and error (in their opinion) when we pulled from holster, we had identical equipment and a few other little things 🙂

It was with great satisfaction that we left the course, where we could now call ourselves provisional A-license shooters. We managed to keep hidden that we all knew each other and that we come from Shindenkan and the POMW project. We didn't fall through and actually had much better shooting technique than most others on the team. We can thank Kimu Sensei for the optimal preparation for the license course, both technically and mentally, and we knew 100% what we were going for and what our focus should be regardless of what was said to us during the course. When the results of the 4 exam placements appeared on Monday afternoon after the course, it also spoke its own language. Søren Renshi had the highest score followed by me by a hair's breadth, equivalent to 1.72 points or a single point shot. In fact, there were only 2 other shooters that interfered from us having the first 5 positions. It went very well considering that the others on the course had many years of experience in shooting. The next step will then be to complete 2 matches without DQ, after which we can call ourselves permanent A-license shooters. The first match will also be at Hanebjerg on 20/10-2012, where we will participate in SSIN's club championship.