Actually, I felt resistance in me when we had to start the practical part of the POMW course. 'Shooting, isn't it for men with slightly too big stomachs who need to be able to tell others that they have a sporting interest…..it's not something I sweat on the forehead about….why should I learn to shoot when I now go to karate'

However, I chose to enroll in the course as my rational sense told me that it was important for several reasons:

• handguns are one of the weapons that I might actually be confronted with on the street (and probably more likely than encountering a person with a bokuto!), so I need to know the weapon and how to use it, or deal with if I am threatened, to protect myself
• being able to handle a handgun that requires great precision can certainly give me experience that I will be able to use practically and physically in my karate training in the future, with a focus on center and timing
• training with a handgun requires proper attitude; when - or if - it will be necessary for me to defend myself or my loved ones with my life, I will have to go fully into the defense situation

We were a lot of expectant people who turned up on Saturday morning at 8.30 in the hall in Greve, where the chief instructors Søren Renshi, Martin Renshi and Kjeld Renshi-dai welcomed us with breakfast and coffee, balls and "guns". I had Jonas with me, who had just turned 11, and his joy and excitement were hard to control. Unfortunately, he had sprained his trigger finger, which teased along the way.

In the first few hours, we focused on the theory recap from the first day of the course, in order to have a few crucial facts clearly in mind:

• Without man there was no weapon!
• It is man who is behind the weapon, and it is man who is responsible for what happens - man has the control/power!
• The person must have the right attitude and clarification when using weapons, and know the consequences - it is the person's human self-knowledge and attitude that matters.
• The higher the level of quality and competence a person has in the use of different weapons, the more opportunities he will have to be able to defend himself.
• The quality and skill level of the weapon in front of the person has an impact on the outcome of a confrontation.

And the essence of it all – man must strive to fulfill his full potential! And get to know yourself better, and act sensibly to avoid getting into inappropriate and dangerous situations, if possible. We are on an exciting journey...to develop ourselves.

Finally, we had to start training, and were divided into partner pairs. We re-enforced the most important rules from the POMW shooting technical handbook:

SECURITY (Jeff Cooper)

1. Always treat a weapon as if it were loaded.
2. Always point the weapon in a safe direction.
3. Never have your finger on the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your goal and what is behind it.

 BASIC BUT OPTIMAL SHOOTING TECHNIQUE

1. Correct double hand position every time
2. Correct use of aiming devices
3. Correct extraction – press and squeeze
4. Correct recoil control – correct overall posture, breathing and setting
5. Troubleshooting - put the gun down after each shot

This is how we immediately focused on the fact that safe handling of weapons is an absolute must, and that it made good sense to have a partner to optimize safety and utilization of time during this shooting training. I was really excited, and also had a quivering nervousness in my body.

Our familiar hall from the kyu curriculum training had been transformed into a shooting range. On one side of the room was a table with magazines, on the other side a table with airguns. Behind this front part of the hall, our instructors had built a shooting range with targets for everyone, and with marked distance zones, which could only be entered by wearing the correct safety equipment, namely glasses and hearing protection. Any violation of shooting zones or safety rules will throw us on the bench for two minutes in “DQ” (disqualification) and after 3 DQ's we will have to stop the day's practice…..

It was hard to get started. I was one of the few who had no shooting experience before the course, so it happened several times that I turned the gun on the wrong side, or did not know how to load.

We had shooting rounds from 5, 7, 11 and 13 meter distances, where our partner diligently ensured that we got ammunition and could concentrate on the shooting itself. At first, it was challenging to find the correct body position with the 'JEB', to get used to using the sights correctly and not get completely cross-eyed, to remember the kokyo-ho during the shooting process, and to understand the commands and handle the gun properly. But it didn't take many laps before I got used to the whole process, and I began to test more and more how to get closer to the area we were going to hit.

The hours flew by, it was a late lunch at 2 pm as we devoured our packed lunches as if we had run a half marathon. People were more relaxed, now we knew a little more about what this was all about. Then we started the last part of the day's practical exercises, where one team shot with airguns from larger and smaller distances and with shot repetitions, while another team trained with SIRT laser guns.

And I ended up finding it kind of fun, it went a lot better than I expected!

Our happy and attentive instructors wished us a good summer at the end of the course, and gave us the lesson to practice every day between 10 - 20 minutes, so that we could be sharp for the next session after the summer holidays, maybe like Wyatt Earp...?