Now I had reached the last part of the POMW course, POMW III, which was held twice for 8 hours at the Hanebjerg shooting range in Hillerød. In this part of the course I had to shoot 9mm weapons - and I was scared!

It would have been reasonable to use caliber 22 weapons, which give less recoil, and where I had obtained excellent results when shooting at a distance of 25 meters. I had managed to get familiar with this weapon during POMW II, I think I had got used to having a good locking grip on the weapon, with the right hand holding with 70% force and with the index finger extended on the barrel, and the left hand with 30% force and with extended thumb. I felt, after a few rounds of shooting, that I could control the movement and recoil of the weapon when firing reasonably well.

While we were shooting with the 22 caliber, Kimu Sensei had been training with the 9mm pistol next to us. There were some decent bangs that almost caused you to collapse, and you had to concentrate on not being startled or unfocused in your own shooting. At the same time, you could see the jerks that went through Sensei's body during the firing of shots, which were quite powerful - but it was also clear that Kimu Sensei was familiar with the recoil, and almost set his body in oscillations, as a kind of cooperation with that force , which was triggered by the shot, so that the force was absorbed without interfering with the accuracy of the shot.

I wasn't there at all when I started shooting with the 9mm pistol - I was scared! I felt the proper bang of the shot, and had no control over my hands. I was afraid I would drop the gun, and I don't seem to have enough strength in both hands to hold my gun well enough during the shots. I focused almost convulsively on having to hold my weapon steady, and this led to me pulling my gun crookedly, so that the shots were centered in a corner of the target.

The good thing was that after each shooting round we got feedback on the 36-72 shots we had fired. There is a cash settlement when you evaluate your shooting target - here it can be seen if you do not master good, basic POMW shooting technique, draw the weapon crookedly, breathe while shooting, or are unfocused.

The first POMW III day took place inside Hanebjerg's large shooting range, the first times out from the shooting house, and then out on the grass of the range. We practiced shooting with the 9mm from a short distance of 7m, and then pulled further away to 12 and 15m, after which we went forward again, and practiced shooting twice in quick succession with reset, without removing the finger far from the trigger. The point discs were replaced with IPSC discs, which are supposed to simulate a human torso, with 3 zones that hit a person more or less fatally.

The second POMW III day was something different and new for us – we were let out of the bounded firing range with high concrete walls around it, and came out into the “hole”, an area with earthen ground and high, grassy earthen embankments around. The shooting distance could here be increased up to 45+ m, where at the end of the area with the longest lanes there were metal discs to be hit, which could be heard by a metallic "pling". This last day was very varied with shooting from different distances, shooting on IPSC targets, transition shooting on 2 or 4 targets, and it was really fun to shoot past or through barricades - there was a bit of the wild west about it, and you felt a bit like a cowboy shooting into a saloon.

My big challenge during the entire course was to receive feedback and translate this constructively – or rather, positively. I got mad at myself, especially if after a good round it went worse in the next round, when I tried to take the advice to heart. I was annoyed that I failed to improve for the next round. The best shooting rounds on both course days were some of the first ones where I had just "warmed up" and remembered how to hold the weapon. As soon as the first 3-4 hours had passed, my shooting became less than optimal.

What was it due to? Could it be that I was unfocused and didn't focus enough on the technique? That I was tired and didn't give my best every time? That I looked more at the points I gained than seeing that I got collections of bullet holes, which was the goal? That I couldn't act on the good advice I had received from Kimu Sensei? That my setting was inappropriate? That my ego wanted more than I could perform?

Is this also how I act in all other situations in life?

What should I do about it?

I think I saw some sides of myself that I wasn't happy with. That I have to work with. It reveals some things deeper in me, and I can only be happy to have that realization, because then I can do something about it. And get better – and be able to fulfill my potential better.

So POMW isn't just about shooting – it's very much about your guts. And you get that served on a silver platter at this course - whether you've made this clear to yourself or not. It will come to you, and it is important to seize this chance, because it will enable some changes in your reaction and action pattern, which will benefit you in the long term.

Thanks for a fantastic course to all the committed chief instructors, but not least our Sensei Kimu.