The frost lay lightly over Hanebjerg Shooting Center when POMW IIIB had to be completed this Sunday morning. The team had been setting up all the practical things to be used for the shooting in the first 3 hours. The first part of POMW IIIB was to take place on the shooting area called T1, also called "The Hole". It is an open gravel area with the possibility of shooting at up to 45 metres. The other POMW teams have also been to this shooting range and they have also had the opportunity to shoot at the same distance.

When the first POMW shooters arrived it was clear that they were affected by the cold even though the sun was shining from a cloudless sky - it was now that it was to be shown that it really was the man behind the weapon that makes a difference. POMW IIIB is what is called a fun-shoot. That is the shooters get the opportunity to try shooting as they know it, but with slightly different targets than on score discs. The first lesson was about some of the challenges IPSC shooters face during a match – barrier shooting. For the purpose, Kimu Sensei had brought his SIRT pistols, which are laser pistols in the same shape and with the same weight as real pistols.

It is a training pistol that many of the world's best military elite corps also use, as it tells you directly whether the trigger and the sights are correct. The possibility to train with the SIRTs also meant that we could start POMW IIIB already half an hour before time. It was clear to see the joy in the shooters' eyes when they started the lesson and the effect of the cold disappeared for a short moment.

After the barrier shooting with the SIRTs, IPSC targets had to be shot at two levels. On all shooting ranges, there are range instructions that tell you how targets must be set up so that all safety rules are observed - this applies especially to the shooting ranges where you, as a shooter, have the opportunity to build the ranges yourself. Therefore, the range instructions for the T1 shooting range were also read by everyone from the practical team, so that all rules were observed.

The IPSC discs were in 2 levels so that transitions could now be trained both up and down as well as to the right as well as the left side and from different distances - this was indeed a fun shoot and very different from just aiming at a score disc. It was now that the man behind the weapon made the difference. Would the cold affect how you reacted when the empty cartridge casings from the person next to you were constantly thrown over the head of the person standing on the right and could you maintain correct shooting technique when the surface you were standing on was uneven. There were many parameters that could affect the shooting and we must not forget the biggest parameter, namely being good to yourself 🙂

It was also clear that some had a good day and others a not so good day, but the good thing is that when you listen to Kimu Sensei's instructions and take it to heart, you can go from a bad day to a fantastic one day in a split second – the whole difference lies in the person behind the weapon. At POMW IIB and POMW IIIA, Kimu Sensei had worked very hard to show the entire POMW 2019 team incl. instructors and the BIO POMW shooters how big a difference you as a person can make if you are good to yourself, instead of belittling yourself all the time.

Almost all people want to feel good and would rather be praised than rice. One can then wonder that the resistance to being good to oneself is so enormous, as opposed to the resistance to denigrating oneself, which is very small - is it because it is easier or is it because the Jante law comes into play? You have to remember that when you point fingers at others, there are always three fingers pointing at yourself 🙂

Shooting in Shindenkan is used as a tool to show the individual shooter a snapshot of whether one is in balance physically and mentally or if there is something that needs to be worked on.

What you as a shooter do with that image and that learning is entirely up to you. On POMW IIIB, the tool was the same and it's no secret that shooting brings out the worst in people. There are many reasons for this, but influences of various kinds clearly come into play. And that is precisely why shooting in Shindenkan is a really good tool, because it is here that actions and decisions are shown directly.

Can you abstract from the external influences and, despite the pressure, still perform, or do you allow yourself to be influenced completely and make it all very difficult for yourself. Some choose to be influenced and others think about it and decide to be good to themselves and a third think: "yes, yes, but let's just be alone".

It became more and more clear as the day went on with POMW IIIB that each individual participant found out how the whole POMW course was connected. The start with POMW I where some couldn't hit targets even from 3 meters and up to POMW IIIB where they hammered 9 mm bullets directly into the target at several different distances and with a result that looked like a dug out Swiss Alpine cheese - yes, it was more and more clear that it is the person behind the weapon who makes the difference.

The question was simply whether man only made a difference once or whether man wanted to be constant – that is what changes in life are all about if they are to be forever.

POMW is structured in the same way as life is structured.:

POMW I – Dry training – the introduction to Minouchi Sensei's thesis.

POMW II – Wet training – bring POMW I into reality.

POMW III – Wet Training – Ties POMW I and II together for me.

On POMW I, the foundation is laid as is built on top of POMW II and POMW III. Without a foundation, nothing can be built. It is then up to the individual shooter to make the foundation solid and stable so that it can last in the long run. In the same way as Kata is built up. A solid foundation via Kihon – walls through Kumite and Kata as a roof – POMW I is Kihon – POMW II is Kumite and POMW III is Kata. Could it be more coherent to Yakami Shinsei-Ryu?

You must also remember that a shooting range under Shindenkan is like a dojo. It is an area for information and learning in the long run. This is where you get time for yourself, which can then be taken further out into your own world. That is that dojo-kun applies in the same way as in a traditional martial arts dojo – there is no difference and why not? Because it is about acceptance and respect for learning, regardless of the framework within - it is the content of the bottle that is decisive and not the design of the bottle.

After more than 84 hours of shooting and with over 60,000 shots, one must conclude that POMW 2019 has gone in the same direction as previous POMW teams. However, this POMW team no. 5 has been more in-depth with the training in that it really is the person behind the weapon that makes a difference and that it is the constancy of the individual person that can help change the world.

There should also be no doubt that many of the participants were excited about whether the instructors could shoot and whether everything other POMW participants have told and written about was correct. Which there are many others in the Danish and foreign shooting world who are also curious about 🙂 In particular, there has been great interest in Kimu Sensei's achievements on the shooting range. Has he really been so humble that he has had the attitude that he had to crawl before he could walk and walk before he could run? And has he really been able to learn so quickly just because his attitude has been in place all along?

But you also have to recognize that when, during 2 months of concentrated shooting training, he gets second place in an IPSC license course where he was up against PET people, operative frogmen and bodyguards with more than 35 years of shooting experience, then there must be something to the story.

There is no doubt that everyone's expectations were met and if there was anyone who had any doubts about Kimu Sensei's shooting, it was clarified very quickly 🙂 There were several of the participants who along the way just had to pick up their jaws again when it was lost a bit when they saw the shooting speed and precision Kimu Sensei showed - it was faster than Batman on film, but as Kimu Sensei humbly says himself, he is a bit rusty and only at 25% of his level from when he was at the top.

Despite this, four POMW participants had to load magazines to accompany Kimu Sensei when he had to shoot. And even with a gun that got hot and thus gave way in all directions and edges, there was absolutely no doubt that his shooting technique was right in the closet, because there wasn't much white tape to be used after the shootings. And at the same time he was able to call his shots so he could produce some shots with a demonstration shooting that was incredibly educational.

Several of the shooting instructors have trained with Kimu Sensei many times over the years and they know very well that with Kimu Sensei the reality surpasses anything they have seen before. Even at one of the preparatory POMW trainings, one of the police's chief shooting instructors and AKS got a vision for the case and had to surrender completely when he asked how many shots Kimu Sensei had fired that day. Approx. 1,700 pcs. replied Kimu Sensei, to which the Police instructor replied "ahh, can it be okay now because you've only been in business for approx. 2.5 hours”. At the same time he looked down towards the disc and could see that the entire black circle on the 25 meter discs was gone. He immediately turned his head and looked directly at Kimu Sensei and said with a huge smile on his face: "OK, I don't think there's anything more to come here". After which he hurried over to his colleagues, where the conversation turned to the whole big blade about Kimu Sensei and who SDKSkyt was.

Yes, that's just the way it is when you have the attitude and the consistency, then you can perform all the time in everything you set your mind to. These results show that with the right attitude you can learn very quickly and that it actually IS the person behind the weapon that makes a difference AND shooters are designed so that everyone can become as effective as possible as quickly as possible.

At Shindenkan we believe in empowerment and it is now up to the POMW 2019 team to show that they do the same. Others have stepped in the way for them so it is only a matter of hanging on and being good to yourself – which is far easier than resisting. Don't we all want the best for ourselves? Yes, so who can do anything about this? It is ourselves - because we are the people behind everything in our lives and every change starts with the first step - so POMW team 2019, chalk the shoes and let's show together who we are and what we can do. It is us who can make a difference to those who come after 🙂