The POMW I course (Project Old Modern Warrior) is a pistol shooting course for brown and black belts. The course is divided into three modules, which step by step build up the participants' skills.

The course starts with a historical review of the technological development of shooting, from bows to guns. Next, there is an introduction to modern firearms with a very thorough introduction to the safety rules:

1. Always treat a firearm as if it were loaded
2. Always point the gun in a safe direction
3. Never have your finger on the trigger before aiming at the target
4. Be sure of your goal and of what is behind it

Although during the course only airguns and laserguns are practiced, the safety rules are taken very seriously. This includes, among other things, that if you do not follow the prescribed procedures, you will be shouted "DQ" (eg Disqualified) and then you will smoke for 2 minutes on the bench: "Safety is a state of mind - take nothing for granted". Everyone therefore also wears safety glasses because the plastic balls from airguns can, in the worst case, poke out an eye. The airgun has enough power to shoot holes in the discs and I noticed that the plywood behind the discs was almost reduced to sawdust after a day's shooting.

Next, you get to review the essential shooting technical principles in five basic rules:

1. Correct double hand position
2. Correct use of aiming devices
3. Correct exhaust
4. Correct recoil control and overall position
5. Evaluate and correct errors

After the first module, we were asked to train at home with a water gun or similar to build routine and muscles in the hands and arms. This "dry training" continued for three weeks until the next module and had an amazingly good effect on accuracy.

During the course you are allowed to shoot at different distances 3 – 5 – 7 and 13 metres. The individual shot is timed, which gradually increases with the distance. On the last module, shooting against multiple targets and different types of walking shooting are also practiced. Some important points from the teaching are:

• You stand slightly bent forward to counteract the recoil
• You have to grip the gun tightly with your hands
• Aim with both eyes open
• You have to focus on the aiming device (eg the aiming cone) and not on the target itself
• You use the outermost part of the finger (the palm) to pull off with and not the finger joint

The essence of shooting is to ensure that all these conditions are met at the moment the shot is fired.

Everyone experienced that after quite a few training sessions they became reasonably accurate with a firearm even at long distances. Seen from that perspective, pistol shooting is infinitely faster and easier to learn than karate. It is therefore reassuring that the course is held in a serious tone and that safety is such an important part of the teaching. Still, POMW can't help but bring out the boyish ass in one – also in the girls.