The sun was low in the sky and it looked like it would be a very beautiful morning and day when 10 new POMW shooters showed up in Ballerup to set up equipment for POMW 1C. POWM 1C is the last dry training course before they move on to POMW II, which is a wet training course where shooting is done on outdoor shooting ranges.
Setting up equipment is part of the learning in POWM, since as a shooter in the SDK Shooting Association you have to know what is behind it and how it all fits together. When you are a team and when everything is planned, it doesn't take long to solve a task. In approx. 40 minutes, 11 shooting ranges had been set up with associated safety areas and shooting lines. It was teamwork where everyone helped and made sure that no one was left alone with a task – this was in true Shindenkan spirit.
POMW 1 C gives shooters a taste of shooting formula 1, namely IPSC shooting. IPSC shooting is shooting at different targets while moving. Which can be a big challenge if you don't have control of yourself - so can a range shooting, but something more is needed when there is movement in the shooting 🙂
POMW 1C began with a recap of POMW 1B. That is where were the shooters in terms of attitude and how much have they practiced since the last time. There was a recap of safety on a shooting range, what it takes to get a DQ and review and practice of correct POMW shooting technique. From there it was on the shooting range with training and a recap of range shooting. It was now the truth had to come out, had the shooters practiced correctly and in the amount that is necessary to be able to progress in the course.
It went well and POMW shooting technique was integrated well with the individual shooters and good joints began to appear on the shooting discs, which showed that the shooters had understood what POMW shooting technique is about, namely a process which, if carried out correctly, can give a good result and last if you stick to the process, the result can be moved wherever you want, because it is the person behind the weapon who decides how the result will be and where it will end up.
After range shooting, it was time for the next step, namely transitions – shooting between different targets. This was on ordinary shooting discs which were placed at intervals so that the shooters initially had to figure out the process themselves. They did this quite quickly and this also meant that they were then ready for transitions at the next level according to the schooled approach.
This 2019 POMW team is the first team to get this knowledge and they were also proud that they were the first to learn how to make transitions faster and easier, without compromising on process and safety. And as a number of shooters found out, there is a direct link to Yakami Shinsei-ryu that we train in Shindenkan, which is not that bad at all 🙂
The mood also started to rise and when it was time for lunch and a good meditation, you could almost feel a sense of satisfaction and happiness among the registered POMW participants. With 20 minutes of meditation with a focus on the breath, which got everyone calm, which was good because now lesson 3 had to start, which was a taste of the different disciplines within movement shooting - IPSC. The smiles were also big among the male part of those registered - which is completely understandable.
Lesson 3 had 5 steps, each with its own learning and associated challenge. Shooting while moving can be both walking and running, as well as walking and running forward, as well as to the side - there are no obstacles that way. It can also be carried out around barricades, which, under various covers, are all challenges that the POMW gunners considered tasks to be solved. Even though as a shooter you can end up in situations that can be a bit challenging for your body and mind, safety must be in order and completely in place. A small misstep can cost lives on a shooting range if you as a shooter and shooting association can't have 100% control of yourself. We can do that at the SDK shooting association and focus on safety 100% on all fronts - both physically and psychologically.
When lesson 3 was successfully completed, the participants were challenged with a timed test. A test which contained more challenges than they had probably just expected, but where they had to use everything they had learned. It was also a test where there was a bit of competition, because Batman hasn't lived in vain 🙂 Of course there are rules and safety that must be observed and a single small misstep also resulted in a DQ, where the participant got 2 minutes on the bench to think about yourself and learn from it. Many DQ's are due to not having your attitude with you all the way, but it can cost lives when it happens on a shooting range and therefore the attitude is extremely important in everything Shindenkan works with.
Lesson 3 and the subsequent test created good energy and it was clear that the participants could continue for several hours afterwards. The mood was high and the atmosphere super friendly. This also became common when the entire set-up had to be taken down again – everyone helped everyone and within zero point five everything was cleaned up and put in the right places. It is clear that the atmosphere that has come to Shindenkan through, among other things, OBC also made a breakthrough at POMW.
After 10 hours of dry training, POMW IC was over and the participants were ready for the upcoming POMW II and POMW III, which are all wet training courses with real ammunition and on a real shooting range. Both the POMW I 2019 instructor team and the POMW 2019 team are very much looking forward to showing how good they all have become and it will be exciting to see the development that comes on the upcoming POMW II and III course parts.
The POMW I team says a thousand thanks to Kimu Sensei for being allowed to be instructors on the POMW I courses and also a thousand thanks to the team for a super good attitude and concentration during the POMW I course. You have clearly shown that it is the person behind the weapon that makes a difference.
