I have been looking forward to a new POMW course starting for a long time. The opportunity to acquire really good shooting skills in a short time is unique, and of course I would like to just learn the essence from the start. My knowledge of shooting was limited beforehand, but I have tried it. Several years ago, my 8-year-old son wanted to shoot and I went with him to the local rifle club under Måløv school. He shot here for a year and occasionally I shot along. The older men in the club were always willing to help. 

Having participated in POMW I, where there is a HUGE emphasis on safety, I can see that there wasn't much of that in the rifle club. The instruction lasted 2 minutes and then we were shooting. The club was closed the following year due to excessive lead content in the air. After that, we have once or twice been with my brother-in-law to a local shooting association to shoot with a pistol. Here, too, the instruction was approx. 1-2 min. and then be sure to try. We got to try many different pistols in one evening, among other things. a caliber 45, a Glock and a Magnum 357. So real and powerful firearms. Fortunately, everything went well. 

On the POMW I course there is nothing lucky about things. Here, safety is top notch. We have only shot with plastic bullets, but even a plastic bullet can cause damage if you get it in the eyes. In addition, the course is a preparation for shooting with real cartridges and safety is therefore incorporated as a routine before.

The course took place over three times. The first time was pure theory. We heard the story behind the POMW project and about the spectacular results achieved. We talked about the legitimacy of firearms as a competence in relation to being a martial artist and about one's own clarification in relation to wanting to use it. I myself am so far settled that it is a competence I want to have. I don't see much difference between learning karate techniques that can kill with a punch/kick, or learning to shoot. The difference is the distance to the opponent and that this can have a mental impact on how easy it is to use. 

Am I clear about that? Maybe and maybe not. But I want to be good at shooting. Not just being able to hit something within human size, which my brother-in-law says he is satisfied with as a policeman. After the theory, we reviewed the basic techniques of pistol shooting – the POMW handbook. Safety - never pull the trigger unless you are pointing at the target - and are sure of what is behind it. Basic technique – hand position, aim, trigger. And then an invitation to practice this practically, with a water gun or similar, 10 minutes every day until the next day of the course, which was a week later.

The second time started with another review of the theory from the first time, where both the background and the handbook were reviewed again. And, then started trying to shoot. First with airguns – gas cartridge as propellant and 6 mm plastic balls as ammunition. Again, focus on safety and training to handle real guns. Weapons and magazines are stored on separate tables. You don't have both parts in your hand at the same time unless you are ready to shoot. The finger is only on the trigger when the weapon is pointing at the target. Everyone wears safety glasses at all times. 

In the shooting range, everyone wears hearing protection when shooting. You only move behind the shooters. When you have a weapon in your hand, the bottom points forward when you don't have a magazine in it, so that everyone else can see that the weapon is harmless. When you have a magazine in, point the weapon at the floor 3 meters in front of you before, between and after you shoot. And if you are hit by plastic bullets while shooting, you continue unchallenged and do not start turning the weapon in other directions. 

We shot at shooting targets suspended in the gymnasium at Tjørnely School in Greve, which had been converted into an intermediate shooting range. The distance was 3, 5, 7 and 11 meters. At 3 meters I hit the disc. At longer distances, there were lots of shots that I didn't hit the target with at all. And those who hit, did so as the wind blew. Disappointing. I thought "okay, I'll never be good at this". And I immediately had an excuse ready for myself. Also for the instructors. "The eyes - they cannot work together". Because I know they can't. It makes me unable to look under a microscope. And probably also that I couldn't hit the target. 

"Do you have the reticle in the middle? It looks like you shoot too high every time, so try to focus on the white spot being between the other two” said the instructor. And it actually helped. Several shots hit the target. Later we also tried the technique with laser guns, where it was quite clear where you hit and whether your trigger was in order. The homework for the third and last day of the course was "Practice 10-15 min. at home every day in hand position, aim, trigger”. In other words, dry training, where you don't shoot a single small ball.

The third time was two months after. I hadn't trained every day during the summer holidays. It was not easy to motivate myself. But I had trained. 10-15 minutes a day for at least 4 weeks. I had drawn a small shooting target and put it on a door at home, and then practiced with the gun pulling, aiming and shooting at it. My son thought it was crazy and immediately left the room when I started. After a short recap of the theory, it was then to be tested whether the dry training had improved our shooting. And – it had.

Suddenly I could hit the disc in the same spot every time. Fat. And amazingly, that 10-15 min. home training can give so much. It immediately became more difficult when we had to shoot walking forwards and backwards. Here it is about moving steadily and shooting at a specific time. 

After that, we practiced shooting at two targets, so that body turns had to be made. Both short and long distance. The most fun, however, was shooting at metal targets that fell over when they were hit. After completing the same drills with both air and laser guns, it was time for each participant to shoot an entire course in turn on time. Shot - going forward, to the side, backwards, magazine change, towards "bad guys" without hitting "hostages" and finally towards the metal targets. Super fun. Now I'm looking forward to getting on the right shooting range for POMW II.