Thursday 26 July at exactly 03.00 the alarm clock rang to wake me up for a fantastic self-paid trip that was supposed to start 1 hour later. When you are going on a long trip and to a country or a city where you have not been before, there is always a bit of excitement. You look forward and think a lot about how it will all work. This trip was no exception.

At 03.45 Kjeld Renshi-dai rolled up in front of my front door, the luggage fell into the trunk and the course was set directly towards Ringsted where Martin Renshi and Claus Shishu were to be picked up. When we reached Ringsted, the sun was rising and the first cup of coffee of the day was enjoyed in silence on the cooler of the cars. We were supposed to meet Kimu Sensei and Jens Hanshi-dai in Gedser at the ferry landing at 06.30, so after the coffee it was straight to Gedser, where we collectively ate our breakfast and had a chat about what was going to happen during this RR camp. There was also a trip to the ferry's duty-free shop, where we filled up with various energy drinks and salty licorice. When it's hot, it's important to consume plenty of fluids and salt. Especially when you are our age 🙂

When the ferry arrived in Rostock in Germany, it was straight down the autobahn and headed for Prague in the Czech Republic. It was a wonderful trip with lots of sunshine and a really good atmosphere. We arrived in the late afternoon and after checking in and changing into shooting gear, the trip went straight to the shooting range that we had reserved in advance.

Now you can't just take all the weapons you want with you. So we had it as the law prescribed, which meant that we had to rent 2 units. 0.22 caliber pistols and purchase a quantity of ammunition that had to be used. Even if we had booked the pitches in advance, something always happens that means you don't always get what you want. For some reason, we did not have access to the course we had reserved, but were instead directed to a smaller course. It turned out that the Israeli embassy and Mossad had "come in" and had first priority. So after 20 minutes of "discussion" with the responsible parties on the shooting range, we got down to business on the smaller range. Divided into two teams, they shot with 0.22 mm pistols and counted points for the big gold medal. Yes, you might think so, but in fact things did not go as they had done at home in Denmark. The points were not as high as at home.

At first it was thought that the pistols were crooked - they were not. Then came the turn to bad light, bad air and all the things you now look at first. The only thing you don't look at is yourself. Is there anything I do that affects my shooting? - No, of course not, because I have trained according to POMW's hand shooting book. Yes, that's good enough, but if you don't do it correctly and focus on ALL the details, you program your body and mind in the wrong direction. And that was exactly what had happened.

All details are important, if one forgets one detail, the overall performance falls apart and you don't hit where you aim. The question for me was just what it was that made me unable to hit. The answer was fairly simple, yet very difficult. Even if you aim correctly and have all the technical things in place, there is still something that has enormous importance for the effect of your training. The setting – it can be different. No, well.

If one's setting is not in place, the effect goes straight to nothing. My attitude was in place – I thought. Yet there was something within the deep darkness that affected me enormously on this trip. Something that I am well aware of affects me, but this time I saw concretely and directly how I react and what the result will be. Oh no, what a shame most people would think. But not me, because I am very happy to see this directly, because I can learn from it and do something about it, so that I can improve as a person.

There were many other things that could influence this trip, but the biggest influence came from within myself. The demands I had set for myself and which I did not fulfill made me angry and defiant at myself. But then it is good that I am in a company where there is a person who can see these things and guide you in the right direction. Kimu Sensei - if anyone is in doubt, he is the person who can tell where the shoe is pressing - even if you don't want to admit that it is pressing in that place - because real men don't say no when it hurts inside 🙂

After Thursday's lessons it was back to the hotel for a quick but thorough shower. Changing clothes and then sightseeing in Prague city, focusing on the attractions we each wanted to see. It took about 30 minutes then we had seen most of it and were ready to have dinner. And what a dinner it was. With Karlsbroen as a neighbour, we ate a very exquisite dinner where the biggest score was probably the asparagus ice cream with warm celery foam. It might sound a little special, but it tasted heavenly and absolutely fantastic. Especially on a very long and impressive day. After dinner, the walk home to the hotel was worth its weight in gold and we were then ready for the cleaning of the guns that had been used and a chat about the day's shooting.

At 06.30 the clock rang again. This time I was wide awake and ready for another day of shooting. Perhaps it is mostly due to the fact that during the night I had not been allowed to fall into a very deep sleep by my roommate, but was constantly on the borderline between resting and being awake. I know that this kind of noise can be cured by surgery and maybe you should send a request to the Danish government to make a legal intervention that makes this kind of surgery mandatory by law at a certain size of the db that comes out of the affected person's throat. Not because of me, but you can't keep locking the man in a single room to protect the outside world, so something has to be done.

Since the morning buffet had been ravaged by the 6 Danish Vikings, it was time for another shooting. We were again greeted by changes in the rented premises and got started 15 minutes later than planned. First it stood on a shooting with 0.22 mm. The points tally wasn't much better than the day before - at least for me - but still, there was some progress to track. After shooting on a straight course, it was transition shooting, which is against several targets. We had 4 lanes next to each other and since we were divided into teams, we could use the opportunity to shoot from the outermost lanes, so that the change between the targets to be hit was as large as possible. This provides the most optimal training in transition shooting, as you have to move your hips from target to target and not just your arms. The result of this firing was a great scattering of the places where we had hit the discs. That is you could actually tell from which side the shots had been fired, because the spread was very uniform which gave an indication of where they came from. When the transition shooting was over, the big challenge of the day came, shooting with a 9 mm pistol. Everyone who has shot with a 9 mm knows that the recoil and the noise level are far greater than with a 0.22 mm. Those of us who were on this trip also knew this, but it was actually only Kimu Sensei who had gotten a handle on this. Which is probably due to the amount of training and the number of shots he had fired.

I frankly admit that shooting with 9mm scares me and I was nervous about this shooting. I had shot the weapon at the local shooting club and had a point count that was well below 200 out of 300 points. So something had to be done about this great respect for this weapon. Respect is healthy and something can also be done so that respect becomes manageable and at the same time at a level where you can also use the weapon effectively.

With that in mind, we set about this shoot. First at a distance of 5 meters, where I put the balls very close together and in the center of the disc. Slightly surprised by this, it showed that I had built the physical foundation to shoot with this caliber. So now it was all about the mental aspect of this shooting. Which, after all, was where the biggest challenge lay for me and everyone else involved.

At the same time as we were shooting, Kimu Sensei was also standing and firing bullets so that we turn to the noise. At one point we actually didn't notice the noise at all and were 100 % focused on our own performance and challenges. In fact, the shooting went really well, even when we got out at 7-10 and 15 meters. Good thing it became difficult to hit, but the joints continued on different sides of the discs, which said something about the places where you could train more dry training.

After the shooting it was time for lunch at KFC and then again a quick and efficient shower. It is very important to rinse thoroughly for various chemicals that appear through the consumption of gunpowder smoke. Especially the lead and sulfur content was noticeable. We also all shot in the same clothes all day, which gradually developed to the smell level of a normal Danish pig barn. But it may be necessary, as it will otherwise result in contamination of all one's clothes. The shooting equipment was also packed into bags on the return journey, precisely so as not to contaminate it. It is said that one goes crazy with the consumption of large amounts of sulfur and lead - which perhaps explains the shooting range owner's slightly aggressive way of communicating.

After dinner and some coziness, it was time to clean Kimu Sensei's 9 mm and 0.22 mm pistols. It is important that as a shooter and future instructor, you have knowledge of weapons other than your own. Kimu Sensei went through the cleaning of the 9th mm and then it was only my turn under the supervision of the others who could then do it the next day. The separation and cleaning went very well. But the collection pulled teeth. Not because I didn't know how, but there was a detail that teased me for approx. 1 hour time. When it was in place, it was time for dry training according to an IPSC schedule Kimu Sensei had made. Dry training in 20-50-80 and 100 % execution.

5 men in a hotel room who dry train for 2.5 hours again get the smell to remind them of a Danish pigsty. It doesn't matter either, because training was really good. The links to Yakami Shinsei-ryu karate kept popping up and everyone agreed that it had been a great experience that we had all gotten something out of, despite the fact that it was almost 2 in the morning.

During the day I had a new roommate (Martin Renshi) and now had the opportunity to fall deeper into sleep - I thought. The roommate did not snore, but breathed very heavily, which made him sound like a bellows that had seen better days 🙂 It must be said that Martin Renshi has been struggling with pain in his back for a long time, which means that he cannot sleep on stomach but only on the back. And when you sleep in a position you're not used to, you don't relax in the same way as usual. But kudos to Martin Renshi for not being grumpy and for making it through the whole trip without major mood swings – especially on the drive home which lasted around 13 hours 🙂

The clock rang again at 06.30 Saturday morning. Breakfast went down and it was time for a good round of meditation before we had to go to the shooting range again. This time we got started almost on time and only had to shoot the 9mm all day. The first few laps showed that I hit the disc crookedly but in groups, which tells us that there is something that needs to be corrected - but not where. Subsequently, we had to shoot transition shooting with 9 mm. Which actually went ok. The spreads had become smaller and it was clear that the dry training had done something for all of us. Saturday's shooting was over and we could all feel a difference in the shooting with 9 mm, both physically but to a large extent also mentally. Saturday afternoon offered learning of IPSC theory, so that we can progress in our marksmanship training. Saturday's dinner was taken at the hotel and Saturday at 23.00 we could start cleaning guns and the dry training. It was Claus Shidoin's turn to clean Kimu Sensei's 9mm. And we were all wondering if it would take as long as when I did it. But it wasn't to be like that and yet.

The cleaning itself took LLLLAAAAAANNNNGGG time, but he managed the assembly in less than 30 seconds, much to the surprise of us all. Sometimes you have to trust your own logic and it all goes much easier 🙂

We started the dry training at 11.30pm and 2.5 hours later we were all done and ready for a good night's sleep. Even though the dry training was a tough round, it was fantastic to feel that if one's focus was on the process and the link to the Karate, then the whole thing went much easier.

Sunday morning the clock rang again at 06.30 and the eating of breakfast went smoothly. Then more review of theory and then off to the shooting range. The body was gradually being affected by both wet and dry training. But it was actually really good, because it showed that you could also get fit through this training.

The check-in at the shooting range went well and we started shooting with 9 mm according to the exercises we had practiced as dry training. First with both hands where we couldn't hit very well and then first only with the right hand and then only the left hand. I never imagined having to shoot with one hand. I found shooting with both hands challenging enough. But when the first shot went off with one hand and I hadn't dropped the gun, I looked at the target and could see that I had hit right in the bull's eye, so I have to admit that it turned up. Now I knew I could shoot with one hand and the fear of the 9 mm gradually began to evaporate. The left-handed shooting went just as well. So self-esteem began to grow.

In the IPSC, this type of shooting is called "stronghand" and "weekhand". That is you shoot with the strong hand (my partner's right) and the not so strong hand (my partner's left) afterwards. Subsequently, we had to shoot in the same way but with two shots left. Then things started to happen. Because now you started to be able to see where your learning points lay in the shooting. That is the places where you can make improvements, so that you become better with both hands. A huge experience and when we finally shot with two hands again, I was able to learn from this step by step, which meant that I started putting the shots towards the center again 🙂 At the same time, it became very clear how much karate and shooting are linked together. Both physically and mentally.

After the shooting, there was a quick lunch and again the obligatory bath with cleansing of various joints.

Some have more than others 🙂

Before dinner we started talking about how we should approach the Shindenkan shooting club. That is which rules must be maintained, in addition to the mandatory ones, and how the whole thing must proceed. This is not something you just do, in the same way as when setting up another association. There are many things that must be taken into account and many rules that must be observed.

Sunday evening we again had an exquisite dinner around the Charles Bridge, with a subsequent walk over to the other side. The ride home that evening was very quiet and I think everyone was thinking about the day's shooting and developments. Welcomed back to the hotel, all guns were cleaned and then headed to bed.

Monday at 06.30 the clock rang again. Breakfast went down and we now started with dry training, just to get the body going again. At At 10 we were completely ready for a different kind of shooting than earlier on the trip.

We had arranged to have to shoot with other calibers, to feel the recoil and to learn from it. So two shots were fired with cal .40 and .45. Glock pistols and then with a 357 revolver and a 44 magnum. Finally, we shot with Shot guns, with ammunition that had different powers. The two items Glock pistols, were to deal with. They weighed approx. half of the CZs we had shot with before and the recoil was less. So it was workable.

357 revolver was quite different. There is a drum revolver, which means that you cannot hold it quite like with a 9 mm, at the same time it has a lot more recoil and you have to watch your fingers. Magnum 44 is a completely different world. Again a drum revolver, but with a recoil and a sound level that could make an elephant deaf. When the first shot with this one, I stood 1 meter behind the person to load one Glock, and when he fired it I got a pressure wave in my head that was noticeable. It must have been a gun that wanted something, this magnum 44. Despite this, it seemed to go well with this shooting. I was lucky enough to have Kjeld Renshi-dai standing behind me and every time I shot I could hear him say – a 10, a 9, a 10 – so it wasn't too bad.

After the pistols and revolvers it was time for Shot guns. First, we shot with the same type of ammunition as in skeet shooting, then the type used to open doors with the special forces, within the police and military. And I want to say right away, don't stand behind the door when it is shot in, because the type of ammunition used for this is bang on. The discs we were shooting at were blown away. After the shooting it was back to the hotel to evaluate the shooting, bathe, pack and then set off for the ferry port in Rostock.

Unfortunately, you can never predict the traffic situations, so unfortunately it happened that we could not reach the ferry but instead had to drive across Jutland and Funen. Which takes quite a bit longer when you are simultaneously being directed through Berlin by the GPS. Well, the positive thing was that we could use the time to discuss how Shindenkan's future shooting club should be structured in terms of rules, meeting times, etc. We also just managed to repair Claus Shidoin's car with the help of a pipe cleaner, so that it could last all the way home. At 02.15 I put my head on my pillow and at At 06.30 I could lift it again.

Otherwise hoped that the alarm clock had stayed in Prague - damn it too 🙂

Postscript:
This trip has been an experience in many areas. The shooting training, the learning through the link with the karate and Kimu Sensei's way of showing us all the way has been fantastic. But also the atmosphere between us as people. When you are together 24-7 for 5 days, a lot of tension can arise between people, but in this gathering there is acceptance and respect for each other's quirks and needs. It was very clear on the trip home, where 4 of us sat together in a car for 13 stiff hours. Although the front seat passengers (the two brothers) sounded like an old married couple at times, it was fine all the way home and we got a lot done.