By Jesper Hjorth, SDKSkyt, Ballerup
Three fantastic sunny days have just come to an end, full of energy and high spirits, and during the course we have developed into self-propelled shooters, with control over the handling of weapons, recoil and, not least, the safety of weapons.
But as always, you have to be prepared for a little bit of everything. So before the first day of the course, we were challenged on our creativity and zeal. We had to come up with a flexible support device to be used when shooting from a sitting position. The instructions specified a seating and table height and that it should be a cheap and adjustable set-up. Super challenging task to make us think about the shooting and the course we were about to embark on.
The first day started early at 7:30 on Hanebjerg, with preparation and not least presenting our support device and the thoughts behind it. It was super interesting to see the different devices and how each of us had tackled the task and reached the goal.
The first shooting is always the most interesting. There are nerves and thoughts swarming around; Have I trained enough? Can I even hit the target? What do I expect to achieve? Will it be cool?
But before long the day just started, and we started with 20 rounds of test shots and had the sights adjusted on the guns. After that we shot the first 2*30 scoring shots. But with a little more pressure as the intensity was increased, with the introduction of timed shooting. Each shot had to be completed within 8 seconds, followed by a 4 second break, after which the next shot had to be completed. A pressure we haven't experienced before, and as if that wasn't enough, we also had to do Shot-calling.
Shot-calling – what is it? Are we not allowed to see our targets and where we have hit? Do I even know how many points I've shot? Dare I dare the fur and come up with a number? It was quite clear, the nervousness was at its peak. Virtually everyone submitted a lower score than reality. Naturally, there were a few natural talents that the rest of us couldn't measure up to. They had cracked the code, had control of breathing and followed the process. For the rest of us, the result on the disc showed that 25 meters is a long way away 😊. But we had only just begun, so there was still hope 😊.
After a day of high concentration, commuting control and 110 shots with cal .22, the first day ended after another 13 hours of training.
The second day started like the first at 7:30 with high sun on Hanebjerg. As always, spirits were high and I was excited to see if the dry training had borne fruit. The day started with introduction and feedback from the end by Kimu Sensei, who prepared us for a long day where the demands and focus would be increased.
The shooting started with cal .22 firing and scoring shots. But unlike the first day, it was alternating sitting and standing shooting and we got to shoot 120 cal .22 shots. It quickly turned out that the dry training had borne fruit, and I was able to make some really good shots, of which I was incredibly proud.
But the day was soon to become extra exciting, as we had to start 9mm shooting. Once the fear of the noise and the flying casings was under control, I could concentrate on the shooting, recoil control and breathing. I got the hang of press-squeeze (it took a while, I admit), but I got 162 rounds through the 9mm and the fear was put to rest. It was a long but fantastic day, and I was spent and tired, but in good company, with a good mood and a nice cake, the time went by incredibly quickly 😊
The third day was by far the most fun day, when we started early again so we could start shooting at 9.00am and again we were blessed with lovely sunshine, although it had become a little colder. But the day turned out to be absolutely incredible. We started with cal .22 like the other days, so we were "warmed up" and trained the safety. But on this day, we really had to become one with the 9mm. We had to train at different distances, as well as train to listen for commands, carry out dry and wet shots respectively.
We started at a distance of 7 metres, after which we moved backwards to 10, 12 and 15 metres. It was interesting to both feel how easy it was to move further back and still shoot honorably while getting my recoil control working. We ended up training on IPSC targets, where we shot both single and double shots. Here I got completely into flow and surprised myself how in flow I gathered virtually all my shots within 10 cm of the disc. The process was successful - I was in control and it worked for me - a great feeling.
Three incredible days were at the end of the road and everyone on the team had had a fantastic development. It has been great to be with such fantastic teammates and instructors, who have all invested time and energy in ensuring that we have had some great days, the weather was so much with us and the atmosphere was great.
My personal reflection and development has been an increasing degree of focus and understanding of the process. I have seen my potential when the swing is controlled, and experienced getting into flow while I became one with the 9mm during double shots, where process, recoil control and breathing became a higher unity. It was an absolutely magical experience and incredibly satisfying.
Thank you for a fantastic course and experience. I'm looking forward to the next time we go on the field again.
