So it was now. Right now that the shot had to be fired, not soon but right now. There was just one problem, my trigger finger had cramped and I couldn't move it down on the trigger and thus not shoot. What the f….. am I doing I thought. Now I've been walking around all weekend making sure that my finger wasn't on the trigger when it shouldn't be and when it really wants to be, it can't because it's cramping. I could only come up with one thought, the gun had to be bulled into the target, because if it was hit it would have to.

But no matter how hard I tried to throw the gun, it stuck on my index finger. The finger was like glued on with super glue. Ok, so plan C applies, now that disc should be hit with the left hand. But I couldn't move and I started to sink into the ground.

Yes, then it was my turn for stage 1 and I woke up from my nightmare. In fact, it wasn't because I slept, but all this weekend we had been told that only people's sick thoughts could turn IPSC shooting into something other than a sport on an equal footing with football. And then I just thought to wonder how sick my thinking is. But we won't get into that now, because then I'll probably be hospitalized 🙂 During the course, safety is constantly being worked on so that the participants get it sitting on their spine and maybe even dream about it at night - or during the day between the shootings 🙂

In the last approx. 10 months, seriously the 5-7 months of structured shooting, have 5 pcs. of the chief instructors worked hard to get ready for the IPSC A license course. A course that should make us familiar with shooting's Formula 1 and which would be the crowning glory of a work that has created a stir in the duck pond in several places in the world.

Could it be different with what we do in Shindenkan? No, because we don't do anything randomly and we don't do anything if it doesn't make sense. The POMW project is absolutely no exception. The IPSC A license was supposed to be the end of part 1 of the POMW project that everyone had worked towards. There is probably just one more step, but we will probably get there.

For my own part, the journey leading up to this weekend had been full of challenges, which were about some people in the shooting world not quite feeling comfortable with me having to shoot IPSC and who could not be happy about it. But who would rather try to stop it. And to them I can only say: It takes more than that to stop a Shindenkaner who has a goal.

I could have chosen a path towards the goal that didn't present great challenges, but I tend not to always listen to other people's experiences and unfortunately I have to learn it the hard way.

The course started with a cup of coffee and a presentation of all the participants and the instructors. Then the trip went down to the shooting ranges, where ranges were to be built and where we had to show how we shot. That is were we able to hit the target at all and how did we hit it.

Were the shots spread over the whole disc or were they gathered in one of the zones the disc is divided into (alpha, charlie and the delta zone with alpha being the best to hit). As far as I was concerned, they lay together in the border between the alpha zone and the charlie zone. Most of it was in the alpha zone so it was actually ok shooting in this exercise. I also just skimmed the discs with the other chief instructors and could see that they had also collected their shots in groups. After this shooting we were divided into teams and then had to shoot on two different ranges. There were four of us on my team. A fireman and three Shindenkaners, myself, Martin Renshi and Kjeld Renshi-dai.

My team had to start on the small shooting range, which does not mean that the shooting will be easier - on the contrary. Because here you could build courses where great demands were placed on correct movement with the gun.

When shooting IPSC, there are certain safety angles on each range that you must not exceed. This means that the muzzle of the gun must not point in a direction that is outside these angles. On the courses we had to go through here, the safety angles became smaller and smaller, while the movement options became more and more difficult. A big challenge for all of us but also a very educational one. You can also say that the training all the head instructors had received from Kimu Sensei had left its mark. Because we very quickly got a handle on how to move around the courses and we also got some good shots in the alpha zone.

IPSC is about executing a shot with precision, power and speed. That is it's about getting through as quickly as possible, with as good shots as possible and the combination of these two things shows the power factor it's done with. At the same time, you must comply with all safety rules, so that you do not become DQ (disqualified). Because if you do that, you won't get another chance in that match.

During the course it was ok to be DQed because here it was about learning. So every time you were DQed, you could shoot again - which wasn't so bad. The only time when you absolutely should not be DQed was during the exam because then it was just over with that license.

When the group had gone through a large part of the courses in the small area, we switched with the other group and moved up to the large area. Here we had to move over longer distances and with more targets to be hit. Among other things. discs that topple and discs that swing from side to side. We also had to take slightly different shooting positions and do a bit of karate, kicking in a door to gain access to some targets. Yes, there's a bit of boyishness going on in that shooting, because it's great fun. But you have to remember that even though it's fun, it's life-threatening if you don't observe safety all the time. It can go horribly wrong if the safety slips and a shot goes in the wrong direction. The kind of DQ I got a couple of times was that my trigger finger was on the trigger at times it absolutely shouldn't be there. A thing that you don't think too much about, but which is very important. It was also something that I worked very hard to remember and which got my thoughts in the direction that I described at the beginning of this article.

Most of the participants had been shooting with rifles and pistols for many years. In fact, they had between 7 and 30 years of experience. Shindenkan's chief instructors have between 5-7 months of serious pistol experience. By serious we mean structured training approx. 1-2 times a week. Before then, all the chief instructors had not much experience with pistols, only a little shooting with rifle and pistol for some and a single one with experience from soldiering. But it was not at all in the same category as the other participants. All the instructors were also very experienced people in shooting and one was actually the first IPSC shooter here in Denmark.

As the course progressed, it became more and more clear to all of us that if you really want to show what you can do with a modern weapon, IPSC is not without reason the formula 1 of shooting. Standing on a range and spending all that time in the world you have to aim at can be learned by everyone. But learning how to shoot with speed, precision and power is reserved for the few. IPSC is without comparison in shooting, here it is only one who can decide the result and only one who can be blamed when things go wrong. Unfortunately, very few of the IPSC shooters I have met think like that. But that might be because they see IPSC as a sport a la football and in football, we all know that it's the grass's fault when a team loses 🙂

You must always remember that there is a person behind the weapon. It is the human who breaks the safety, it is the human who does not hit the disc and it is the human who does not run fast enough on the field. But it is also only man himself who can do the opposite and thus better. Therefore, you also have to look at yourself when things are not going well and of course also when things are going well. One thing that I noticed a lot during the course was that all the instructors were very open about sharing experience. They also made a point of pointing out that you should just ask if you wanted to know something. On the other hand, it was also pointed out that if you found a nugget of gold, you should not share it with others, right away. A bit strange to think about and the opposite of what we are used to in Shindenkan. If you have a nugget here, share it so that everyone can learn from it and maybe also do it better. But conversely, we don't compare ourselves to football or other sports either. But recognize what and who we are and are not. Because we can't be anyone but ourselves.

After many hours of training in mud and rain, the time finally came for the exam, where we had to go through four stages (courses) without being DQed. The first two my group had to go through were in the small area and were first with both hands and then shooting on almost the same course, but only with "stronghand", i.e. one's shooting hand. As far as I was concerned, I thought it went well. I got through and could see that my score wasn't quite up to par. Martin Renshi then leveled the "stronghand" course, where he shot double alpha all the way through. That is two shots in the alpha zone on all discs. This is how it should be cut.