I was very excited to get started with the POWM III, as I had been completely hooked on shooting 9mm and I knew we would be shooting almost exclusively 9mm and it would pass outside the hole on IPSC targets so I could hardly wait. I had also practiced a lot of dry training 20 minutes a day and with dumbbells, which we had been told we should, as it is very important if you want to have a good result and develop optimally.
The first time I shot in the hole, Kimu Sensei went through the procedure and safety when we shoot IPSC in the hole, as we are not in the same fixed framework as when we shoot range shooting, so safety was even more important than when it is range shooting. After that we dry trained and reviewed the commands as they are in English when it is IPSC. When we started shooting it actually went really well and I could feel the dry training had helped a lot. You could really feel a big difference in the recoil because I had no problems holding the gun for many hours and I hardly felt any recoil anymore. I started to enjoy shooting more and I could focus much better on POMW correct shooting technique, as the dry training had given a lot of strength in the arms and back and the body had gotten used to it. The first day we only shot approx. 4 hours, so it wasn't so bad when you had practiced a lot of dry training, but we had learned a whole lot of new commands and some new ways to load where you show you have gun control.
The second day we shot for approx. 8 hours and you could really feel it, but it went better than I expected and we learned a lot of things, for example about reset, where you have to release the trigger finger slowly right after you have shot until you can feel the trigger click, and then you press again, because that way you can learn to shoot really quickly.
After that we shot at 2 targets, one low and the other high and it was smartest to start with the lowest target first, as the recoil from the gun automatically pushes the gun up towards the next target. At the same time, we had to practice shooting with rhythm, e.g. if you have to shoot 4 shots at 4 targets, there should be the same amount of time between the shots, because it has been proven that it is much faster when you shoot at several targets It is not faster to shoot 2 really fast shots at the first 2 targets and then wait a bit and then shoot the other 2 targets really fast as you might think it is.
After that we then shot at 2 targets from left to right or vice versa and it was important that you used your hips when turning and that you kept the same rhythm between the shots and here it was really important that you stood with a piece of paper under your heels, which of course you always do must do when shooting. When we shot it went well, but many of the shots on the second disc ended up going a little too far to the right if we started with the left, for example because you focused more on the first disc than the second or you shot too fast.
Otherwise, the second day went well and you could really feel that you had shot for 8 hours and got a lot out of the day, but if you hadn't practiced dry training you wouldn't have been able to keep up. You wouldn't have gotten as much out of the day either, as we learned a lot of good things.
On the third day and the day of the exam, when Jens Hanshi-dai was the primary shooting director, as he was being trained, we shot for approx. 8-9 hours and we managed to shoot approx. 350 9 millimeter shot and it went really well and I could tell that I really enjoyed shooting even if it was many hours.
We started exactly on time with a little dry practice, and then we started shooting at a target of 7, 10, 15m and we also shot at 2 targets up and down and from left to right at all distances.
We achieved a lot and we were fast as we had a good fire leader, so we also learned to shoot around obstacles where we stood up from a barricade and then we had to shoot at a target that was behind.
Finally in the hole we shot from 45-50 meters and there you could really feel that POMW correct shooting technique is very important, because otherwise you won't hit a shot.. these 🙂
When we had finished in the hole and had eaten lunch, we had to go up and shoot range shooting, where Jens Hanshi-dai was in full command, as he was about to be trained as a shooting leader.
We only shot with 22 caliber and it was very strange because it was just like shooting with an air pistol now that you were used to 9 millimeters. We then had to first shoot our aiming point and analyze our target ourselves, so that we could find out where our aiming point was, as the aim of the association pistols is set differently. After that it went so well, although I was a little annoyed with the 22 gun as it took me a long time to find my point of aim and I almost had to aim all the way down to 2 and a little to the left before I hit the black so I can do much better like 9 millimeters, as you just have to aim at the black and then hit it.
Otherwise, it went well and we passed POMW III and Jens Hanshi-dai passed as gunner, and I personally think I got a lot out of the course and learned a lot of good things in IPSC and I became really good with 9 millimeters.
