Twice over the past 5 years the POMW pistol course series has been held at Shindenkan. The first time with Kimu Sensei as one man on the battlefield, setting the standard and developing the POMW courses 100% without compromise. In the powder smoke, 5 chief instructors followed all the way to the A+ license. It was the experience base that went on to the first POMW course after the pilot in 2011 and then in 2013. So, almost on a purely routine basis, POMW I-III was launched starting on 26 June 2015 with a thorough introduction to firearms.

POMW I 26 June – 22 August

Tjørnelyskolen once again formed the framework for the POMW I course series, the practical part. Before that, the 12 participants had gone through a 4-hour course with the main emphasis on history and the development of firearms throughout history. This course was also a clarification course, as the participants were faced with a difficult dilemma if you are not clear about firearms, but you can read much more about that in the inspiring articles here on the website or www.pomwproject.com

In the days leading up to the practical part, the 3 instructors Søren Renshi, Martin Renshi and Kjeld Renshi-dai had prepared, coordinated and prepared the gymnasium at Tjørnely School for the first of 2 practical POMW I days (also called POMW 1B and 1C) based on Kimu Senseoi original courses. Thus the gymnasium was transformed into a shooting range, not for real guns 😊, but for airguns and SIRTs. First, the 14 participants were taken through a presentation, where there was of course a lot of recap from the first course - firearms are a dangerous thing in the wrong or unsafe hands, so it bears repeating. But of course there was also new material, and the 3 chief instructors could spice things up with their own experiences, both the good and the bad from the shooting world.

A very important part and the prerequisite for the entire POMW course was then reviewed by Kjeld Renshi-dai – POMW shooting technical handbook. The POMW shooting technique handbook is Kimu Sensei's signature on the POMW course – the essence of all shooting in all its simplicity. This is the formula that many before him have tried to find, if it was nuclear physics it would probably have been for a pure Nobel prize in physics 😊 POMW shooting technique is actually quite simple, if you otherwise want to adhere to it EVERY time you train and fire a shot regardless of whether it is dry or wet training. POMW shooting technique was reviewed by one of the POMW course's best shooters after Kimu Sensei – Kjeld Renshi-dai. They listened very intently and asked questions about the technical review, which had the main focus on safety, hand grip and body posture, which are some of the most important elements in shooting. Sure enough, the participants in POMW I "only" had to shoot with CO2 powered airsoftguns, but a weapon is a weapon and just as a bokuto is treated like a sharp katana, a plastic gun is treated like a real gun. This is the right approach and setting from the start.

Thus equipped to operate a gun optimally and safely, the participants could proceed to the practical part of the course. At first, quite ordinary range shooting from different distances was trained. This is the classic discipline practiced in all shooting associations. It is stationary shooting and a stationary target, whereby there is only one factor that comes into play - the shooter's operation of the weapon 😊 Thus it is also the prerequisite for more advanced shooting, but at the same time also the most revealing if the technique is not in order including focus, setting , breathing and exhalation. Initially, when the participants were close to the target, it went relatively well for most participants, there were only a few so-called DQ's for safety errors, such as finger in the trigger guard before the gun points to the target or pointing in an uncertain direction. As the participants got further away from the distance during the day, the technique became very crucial and this could immediately be read on the disc, where the spread became greater. In many places, the disappointment but also the astonishment could be read on the faces of the participants. However, the joy was greater again at the end of the day, when they again got close to the target and were able to make good combinations. A good foundation for POMW 1C and with the invitation to the participants before the last POMW IC course went home and practiced dry training every day with the CZ Airguns purchased for the occasion.

When 10 out of 12 participants after the summer holidays in August trooped up to the last part of the POMW I course, one participant even in a wheelchair due to a broken ankle, it became interesting whether they had trained during the summer holidays. The majority had practiced, but not every day, and the bulk around 50-75% of the time. The participants were then divided into groups according to how much they had practiced, as this would probably be reflected in the shooting.

That was also the case, but even those who hadn't practiced quite as much caught up quite a bit, so everyone got to shoot pretty well. This part of the POMW I course was technically more demanding as the participants went through transition shooting (switching between 2 or more targets in straight lines), Shooting in motion – forward, back and to the side. Additional use was also made of the so-called SIRTs, which are precision laser pistols used by all kinds of special and task forces to dry train correct trigger, aiming etc. Also steel targets were introduced in the form of plates and poppers, which are the part of the IPSC shooting. The end of the POMW In the mug was actually an IPSC course where you shoot at all types of targets and on time. It was also the highlight for all the participants, as it suddenly goes "boyish". But still a big focus on safety, so here too it was 5 DQ's, much to the chagrin of those who made the mistakes, but hopefully also educational.

All participants left the course tired, but with a smile on their face, with the will and attitude to go home and do dry training every day leading up to the first POMW II course day and with it real guns and real bullets….