At the end of the POMW I course, all course participants were asked to write about our experience of the course.
My starting point before the course was that I had once in a while tried to shoot at Bakken and the like, but that was it, otherwise I had never tried to have a firearm in my hands before.
When it was introduced it sounded like a very exciting course, - it had to be tried.
My expectations for the course were to gain a greater understanding of firearms and a sense of accuracy at different distances. As well as learning how to handle a firearm and be able to hit with it to a reasonable extent. In other words – it couldn't be that difficult!
The course took place over three times. The first module was pure theory which I will not go into here, it can be read better elsewhere. The second part was mixed theory and practice, here we all tried to get our hands on pistols (airguns). We learned about handling and what you were absolutely not allowed to do (It resulted in a DQ – thought break outside the field).
We tried to hit targets at different distances with mixed results. The success criterion for the undersigned and quite a few others was to hit the target at all. After the shooting round, Kimu Sensei walked along the target boards and announced misses or hits and how many hits, if any. had out of 15 shots, personally I was happy when I only hit the target once.
I had to revise my perception – it was not easy to hit at all!
We finished the course by getting homework for. We had to acquire some kind of firearm, airguns or, for lack of better, a water pistol, and for the next time we had to practice holding the weapon correctly and using the gun's sights without focusing on a target. We were encouraged to practice for ½ hour every day.
On course three we were all surprised by the very marked improvement that had taken place in our shooting skills without having shot at all in the intervening period. Now it was the black part of the target disc that was the success criterion, and it was "practice" if you "only" hit the rest of the target disc.
To be fair, it was also at that time that a bit of "boyishness" came over us, - also for us girls. It was now time for us to move while shooting, ie. even be in motion forwards, backwards and sideways.
We ended the day with a kind of shooting range where we had to shoot while moving and hit different types of targets. It took place during timing and counting of how many passers we had.
What was the outcome of the course then?
After finishing the course, I have gained knowledge about hit accuracy/uncertainty at different distances and that it is much more difficult to hit when you are moving.
In addition, I have focused on hand position - what is the probability that an opponent can hit with a given hand position and aiming technique.
I have learned how to hold a weapon without inadvertently shooting myself or others and, under controlled conditions, to be able to hit at close range.
