By Michael Bekker, SDKSkyt, Ballerup
The last part of the POMW II course was this time to take place on an outdoor course and it was planned to shoot with a 9mm pistol in addition to the caliber 22 which we use mostly on the POMW II course.
Expectations were high and I had been looking forward to shooting on a 25 meter outdoor range for the first time and not least to see if my skills had improved after some dry training at home. At the same time, there was also a bit of nervousness, because you just have a different respect for firearms and the way they should be handled - There is simply no room for mistakes, which in the worst case can have fatal consequences.
We arrived early in the morning and right from the start the atmosphere was super positive and the plan was for a great day, despite the fact that it was also the day when we had to be tested and show that we hadn't been lying on the sofa with a bag of popcorn and watched a Clint Eastwood movie so we could see how to handle a gun.
Firstly, the safety of the locations and the area had to be reviewed so that there was no doubt about the regulations and behaviour. After that we had to warm up with 50 rounds with a caliber 22 just to get the feeling back from the last, make sure the gun handling was in order and get a handle on the sight. The first thing I noticed was that one of my legs was shaking and it was almost impossible to get a steady aim, so I just had to take a second breath and make sure I wasn't standing on a shaking sander. Since that was not the case, it had to be me who had to control my breathing and find the right position (as Kimu Sensei had "coincidentally" also noticed!).
After that, I found my composure and slowly began to feel that my focus became sharper and the shots on the target came together. From the shootings on the previous POMW courses, I initially felt a little hampered by the fact that I could only see the target very vaguely because I wear glasses and can therefore only see the sights clearly. But that is precisely one of the things that is the essence of the POMW course - Believe in the process and yourself and you will find that you can easily hit the target if you have control of the aiming device and the basic technique we have learned throughout the course. In reality, it is simple; we humans have a tendency to make things unnecessarily complicated and turn generalities into chaos, but why do that when it can be made simple - if you've just learned it.
After the first shot, we were told that the next round with caliber 22 we had to compensate with the correction that we had experienced from the first round and that would be with points and be part of the test, i.e. that now we had to do what we had learned - every time, and the points were counted for the next 50 shots.
But before then, you had to shoot with a 9mm pistol, which has a somewhat greater recoil (the recoil of the pistol after the shot has been fired) and the pistol handling was even more important as the pistol, in the worst case, can smoke out of the hand. At the same time, it can be more mentally taxing, as the blast is a lot louder than a caliber 22 and the effect is more powerful. With a 9mm, everything is more extreme than a caliber 22 and therefore it is important to use your basic technique optimally.
The instructors did a thorough demonstration so we could hear the bang up close and practice magazine loading. The first two shots were not particularly scary, but gave a respect for the weapon as you could really feel that it had to be held firmly and the position was important.
The subsequent shots were easier to place and somehow it seemed easier to shoot with a 9mm than a caliber 22, but it was also only from 15 meters compared to 25 meters, so it made it somewhat easier to hit it black spot on the disc.
It was a little hard not to think of Clint Eastwood waving his Magnum 357 at the bandits and saying the famous (infamous?) words: Do you feel lucky today…punk? (and they were rarely lucky!)
Today you were just a little bit Clint Eastwood where the black spot on the disc was completely pierced....like that.
It also turned out that the order of trying a 9mm before we had to complete the test with our caliber 22 was not completely random - Coming back to caliber 22 now felt like a small pea gun and we had to feel if there was actually a recoil (it was there, of course, but it was now something we didn't really count on).
We got everyone ready for the test and by that time we had been on the marks for several hours and you could tell that it required a little more from the top shelf to maintain concentration. But everyone was still positive and the mood could hardly be much better - It is the typical Shindenkan spirit that even if there is pressure and you are tired, you can do much more than you think and this is supported by a lot of fantastic people who everyone has tried to be in the same situations during our training.
The test began and the instructors, who had also been involved in the shooting all day, also had to complete the test. There was great focus from everyone and the results gradually started to come in and it was clear that everyone had benefited from trying a 9mm before the test and that the basic technique was in place as everyone came out with pretty good results that we could be proud of - After all, it was proof that the basic ideas and methods behind the POMW course actually work and can also be transferred both to our normal training and in everyday life (Ed. 268 points, 25 m shot author)
It was exactly what I was curious about when I started POMW I and II, and to that I must say that it has met my expectations and more than that as we have gone through the courses. It has actually activated some kind of "contact" in me, as I have realized that the learning and experience can be used in everything I do and will certainly benefit in many ways in the future.
After approx. 12 hours, then the day was over and there was still some energy left on the middle shelf, well supported by a fantastic energy from the training mates, although you could see that it had been a long but exciting day.
Now I have the POMW III course to look forward to and it can only be fantastic. Last but not least, a big thank you to Kimu Sensei and all the instructors for their impressive efforts to complete the courses so nicely and efficiently - It has required what you call an extraordinary effort - Thank you for that.
