Sunday 7 January was the team's first shooting day. That is shooting with small white balls in a gymnasium. We shot at discs, at slightly larger pieces of cardboard and from different distances. It's reminiscent of real shooting and it's undoubtedly a cheap way to get started.
There is a lot of elementary to be learned. The word safety was mentioned many times and we were taught four principles which were something like:
- Always treat the weapon as if it were loaded
- Always point the weapon in a safe direction
- Only have your finger on the trigger when you have the target in your sights
- Keep track of what's behind your target (perhaps the bullet continues)
It sounds and is very logical, but it proved difficult to comply with in practice. To emphasize the seriousness, a bench was set up to which people were referred if they broke the rules.
And it wasn't just a bench that was set up. We had helped to furnish or transform the hall into a shooting range. With weapons zone, loading zone, a covered target area and a lot of tape on the floor. The whole setting seemed very convincing and so did the program for the day.
The time passed quickly, and the program seemed suitably varied even though the exercise was basically the same. Each shot had to follow the same process, even if there were trends that could be corrected. On the whole, there was less focus on hitting and more focus on practicing a process. A process where the whole body is activated in the single shot, where the position is slightly bent forward, and where breathing fits with taking aim so as not to forget the rear sight (new aim after the shot is fired and before the gun is lowered). And of course the gun must be held in a special way and even though it might seem simple at first, it is not and the answers to one's approach or process are clear - the hole in the target is the clear proof.
A lot of English expressions were used by the instructor and you got used to it. We had two instructors and there were only six in the team, so there was a good opportunity to get help. But you have to work to learn the technique, and therefore we were given lessons for which were both about physical strength in the hands and shoulders and then 'dry training' in the aiming process. It simply consists of raising the gun, aiming and pulling the trigger. But even without a shot, it becomes clear if you are able to keep the gun still. It's simple and difficult - a good challenge that everyone can take part in.