Now the time is approaching when 5 of Shindenkan's chief instructors must prove that the last 10 – 12 months of work with POMW is paying off. The results on ordinary shooting ranges say that we shoot in 1 Division according to DDS and DSkyU's requirements. But the real goal to be achieved is the results in shooting formula 1 – namely IPSC.

It is one thing to shoot when you are standing still and have plenty of time to aim, it is quite another to shoot while moving where the shot must land NOW. We have all passed the theoretical part of the course that will result in an A license and which gives access to shoot IPSC. We must now translate the theory into practice and must prove that what we know we must - that is also what we do.

Hhmmmm – how have we heard of this before 🙂

TLUS POMW III has been a course designed and developed by POMW chief developer, Kimu Sensei, who has taken us through the various phases that make up the differences between range shooting and IPSC. One of the tools that can be used for this is Terrain Shooting. Terrain shooting takes place outdoors and is at targets with different distances and sizes. You might think that it is much better to shoot outdoors as you get fresh air. And it is also correct, you need a lot of fresh air. Especially when it's windy like it did on part 2 of the course. But we will return to that.

The outdoor shooting took place at Hanebjerg shooting center. At Hanebjerg shooting center there is a place called "The Hole". It might sound a bit strange, but in fact it is a brilliant place to train terrain shooting and probably also IPSC.

The first part of the course took place on a Monday at the beginning of September. The day was a beautiful sunny day and that also meant that everyone's spirits were quite high. The heat was also up to some good degrees when I arrived at Hanebjerg and when I first entered the "Hole" it was almost like entering an oven.

The "hole" is surrounded by very high ramparts for security reasons. These ramparts also contribute to "The Hole" becoming like an oven. A factor that can play a big role if you don't take your precautions, such as a good cap and lots of liquid and food. After setting up targets and marking the distances we were to shoot from, we got started. The purpose of the training was to see where we were in terms of shooting technique, but also to cure what I suffer from, for example, fear of recoil.

As a man, you rarely want to admit when you are afraid of something. But I recognize that shooting with a 9 mm pistol is not my life right and that I react very tensely when I have to shoot with that type of pistol. The result is also after that, namely that my belief that I can't hit gets bigger and bigger. The training we had that day cured me completely and my results on the discs proved to myself that I can hit both short and long distances. So there was hope ahead for me too.

We shot at 7-12-15-20 and 50 meters distance standing still, starting from 45 degrees, i.e. that the gun points down towards the ground at a 45 degree angle. Only when the correct command was given did you have to raise your arms with the gun, take aim and shoot.

That day ended but a little competition between us. We had to shoot at a steel target 50 meters away and the first to compete were Jens Hanshi-Dai and Martin Renshi. The result here was, as far as I remember and at the risk of being reprimanded, about 6-4 to Martin Renshi. Then it was mine and Kjeld Renshi-Dai's turn. I quickly fell behind with 8-2 but got up to 8-6 and could see Kjeld getting a little nervous. You shoot until you miss and then the turn goes to the other. So Kjeld up to 12-6 and again I came back to 12 -10. But then he took hold and got the next 6 straight in rap. The ammunition ran out and then I thought, now he gets a planer. But when it read 18-14, my ammunition also ran out, so there was only planer for myself. It was a really good experience because it showed that you could hit with a gun at that distance and it sounded really good when you hit the steel target 🙂

We shot about 600 9 mm rounds of approx. 5 hours that day. The next morning you could feel yourself and your internal organs. But it was only good because then we knew what we were getting into.

When the course part was over, it was home and until the next part, the areas of improvement that had been found had to be practiced.

When the day for part 2 arrived, the weather had changed from sunny to overcast and with a good and cold wind. So one's clothes again had to be adapted to the conditions. The cap was turned upside down because it kept the heat in and provided shade when the sun occasionally peeked through. The course part started with a recap from the end and was followed up by checking with "reset" on the gun. That is to be able to feel on the trigger when it was ready for the next shot. When you can control this, you can shoot up to 4-6 shots per second. It may well be that you shoot quickly on film, but the best shooters in IPSC can shoot even faster.

It is not easy, because at the same time as you have to sense the "reset" on the gun, you are also affected by the conditions you are in. Here I could feel that one's training paid off for concentration and focus was kept at a good level and today's shooting went really well. There were still areas for improvement but progress had been made since last time and the fear of recoil was largely gone. So now it was all about pulling and maintaining hand position the whole time. That day we shot around 600 shots again and again you could feel yourself the next day.

Both on part I and II we had the opportunity to shoot trasitions. That is shoot at targets in different places, different distances and at different heights. Here we got a really good overview of what was important to think about when shooting at several targets. So like the utilization of the recoil and which disc to start with and which one to end with. A really important and instructive review and test which will be exciting to try out this coming weekend.

When you have targets with different distances, e.g. at 7 meters and one at 20 meters, you have to decide with yourself which one should be shot at first. Should you take the nearest one and gain some confidence by hitting it, or should you believe in yourself right away and take the one that is far away first. A task that only the individual shooter can answer for himself.

Part III of the course was a collection and test of how much we had learned through the three parts and whether we could translate it into action. Fast shooting at different distances, fast shooting at targets with different locations and heights, deciding which target to shoot at first and which one to take next. A really good training and review that summed it all up and gave insight into what we have to go through during the A license course. It gave us all a really good idea of what you have to go through as an IPSC shooter mentally.

Of course, there is also something physical, but mentally there is more going on than you first expect. The influences are great and if you can't shut off and focus on the task, then you can't complete it in the right way either.

I think, without exception, that everyone is looking forward to the A-license course. Both to pass it, but to a large extent also to translate many months of training and preparation into some action that would like to give a good and passing result.

We have all seen a lot of IPSC shootings on "youtube" and of course there is also some boyishness in all of us, we are only men after all.

Hhmmmm - I guess we've heard that before too :-)