A few days ago, the first holding of the POMW course ended. A course which dealt with modern weapons, or more precisely shooting with a pistol. And if I have to say what the result was, I can do it like this:

A month ago I had never used a gun. When I first tried it, I couldn't hit accurately at just 3 or 5 meters. And at 7 meters it was a challenge just to hit the target. Now I dare to say that I can shoot safely at up to 15 meters or more. I can switch between several targets, and I can even hit fairly well even while moving. So, if I do say so myself, quite a leap has happened!

But how did it happen? This is perhaps the most interesting. From the first time we met and tried to shoot until we came to the end here last weekend, not a single shot was fired from the POMW participants. For 21 days, all we trained was holding the weapon correctly, taking aim, and pulling the trigger. Completely out of ammunition! Some of us bought an airgun for practice, others just used a toy gun. And who had done what was actually hard to say. The fact was that when we met again, all participants could shoot significantly better. Where previously there was a large spread in the holes, everyone could now see a collection on the disc!

What kind of hocus pocus is that? Had we all been given a magic potion that made us better shooters, or what? No, we had simply practiced the essence, just as we always do. Because it's not about hitting. It is not about where the hole is on the disc. It is about the correct technique and attitude, just as we are used to in karate.

Even though we all ended up getting significantly better at hitting, it wasn't because that was what the course focused on the most. One of the things that took the most time was security. And this is despite the fact that we only shot with airguns. We trained as if we were handling real weapons.

Whoa wait a minute! I haven't mentioned that we were shooting with airguns and not real guns. Aren't they very different things? The fact is that all the chief instructors have been training with real pistols. They say that when you shoot with low caliber (light ammunition) there is almost no difference. With heavier bullets, there is a challenge in handling the recoil, otherwise it is exactly the same technique you use.

So the difference is very small, and when you think about it, it's actually very good to start with airguns, where you don't need to be hired at a shooting range, and a possibly safety errors (did not happen on the POMW course) do not end in someone getting hurt.

With that said, myself, and most others, will most likely continue to next year with real weapons in the next installment of POMW. Then there are probably very few people who will question it 🙂

And if it still seems strange, it's actually quite simple. Firearms are a modern invention, which has been created so that with short training you can achieve high efficiency. You can become a top shooter much faster than you can become e.g. sword master. And we have just used the skills we have from our normal training to train disciplined and efficiently, as best as we can now 🙂

It has certainly been an exciting experience. And there's no need to feel uncomfortable because firearms are closer to reality than samurai swords are. Both things are just weapons, and here in Shindenkan we choose to deal with things, instead of looking the other way and hoping that someone else will take charge for us.