I participated in POMW I, II and III (POMW = Project Old Modern Warrior)
If this is the first POMW course article you are reading, it might be an advantage to read some of the other POMW articles first.
I will not go into the individual techniques used, the need for correct setting, correct overall position, correct double hand position, correct trigger, correct use of sights, etc. I will not even mention the importance of safety, safety, safety. It is probably covered in other articles.
This does not mean that these elements are not important. I am sure they are essential to gain a good understanding of good safety, shooting, and ultimately to achieve a good result. In this article I will try to share my thoughts and experiences from POMW, in the hope that it will benefit you if or when you choose to expand your knowledge base with this unique course program.
I had no problem taking up pistol shooting as I saw early on the logic of incorporating pistol shooting as part of karate training.
I like practical knowledge, and knowledge of combat and self-defense, so why not use guns in karate?
In what follows, I will briefly describe my experience from the course, my feelings, expectations, attitude, thoughts, considerations and physical experiences, and I will tell you what I think I could have done to improve my results.
I found POMW to be tough both physically and mentally.
Even with a good attitude, it's tough. Why? To stay focused, you need a strong body – stronger than mine at least. Most people have back muscles as strong and well-trained as jelly. The back is one of the most overlooked muscle groups, which I and several of my fellow participants learned the hard way. Back pain challenges your focus, and there is no mercy when you have to fire 500 rounds in a day.
After completing POMW II, both my wife and I looked forward to POMW III.
We had been busy with our chores and had not completed our dry training as we had been asked to do. This sort of thing happens!
After POMW II, how were our expectations for POMW III?
We were excited and expectant. Shooting with 9mm instead of cal 0.22 (a much smaller projectile, with much less recoil).
Between the individual POMW III course days, I had started to strengthen my back muscles, in the hope of finally being able to keep the gun more stable, and extend the time before each shot, without being as dependent on "the force" as before. It was my experience that the best thing I could do, and what gave the best results, was to strengthen my back muscles, 500 shots a day will tire most of us. On the last day of the course, the improvement was so great, and remained so, that the feeling of being "busted" in the back could be kept in check for a longer period.
It was interesting to follow my own development. The correct posture was difficult to maintain at times.
It was hard for me after 6 hours of shooting, with a sore back, to keep a firm grip on the gun, with hot cartridge cases hitting me as they are fired from the gun at the person next to me, hitting my glasses, hitting my cheek , smokes from the neck under my shirt. It was hard to stay focused and not follow the constant thought: "never mind, just shoot, get it over with". Each time, the last hours of the day's shooting just weren't fun anymore. To follow up on that whining, the last hours of the day were never the least interesting if you looked at your own thoughts, reactions, and results. I would recommend wearing a cap and hoodie, with the hood up, if you are standing close to another shooter. It helps maintain focus.
Something else that was good for distracting me from the right attitude was as the skin in certain places on my hands wore down, as well as muscle reaction in the hand
The lot of shooting on the first day taught me to remember to keep my nails cut short and to use plasters or fat cream between my thumb and forefinger. The advantage of short nails is apparent after firing a few hundred rounds, where the nails on the hand holding the gun peel the skin off the palm of your other hand that also has a firm grip on the gun. The recoil or perhaps the grip on the gun can also wear away the skin between the thumb and forefinger. Another 2 factors that fight the concentration.
The instruction is to only shoot "good shots" as in "not sloppy shots", but the more your concentration wanes, the closer you come to performing poorly, or even becoming a safety hazard.
About pistols and calibers:
9 mm versus cal 0.22. It's just no comparison, both for my wife and I. We both liked shooting the 9mm the best. We had managed to try this during POMW II and it was cool. It's a cool feeling - shooting a 9mm pistol - at least for me who is new to shooting.
It's a "kick" in more ways than one. Having tried the CZ Shadow, knowing what to expect, it is in some ways easier to handle than the cal 0.22 Smith and Wesson.
My biggest concern was that I couldn't really feel the trigger point on the Smith and Wesson. Thus, the shot came as a bit of a surprise. I found it annoying as I quickly realized I had to find the target and fire faster than I wanted, but I didn't find any benefit in waiting as my aim wasn't stable for more than a fraction of a second at a time. I found my inner Jedi, used the “force” and “squeeeeze” the trigger at the moment I felt my arm movement and my target match.
With the CZ I could feel the trigger point and felt I had more control over where I hit. Maybe that's why I felt more comfortable with IPSC shooting than precision shooting. Some would argue that it was due to lack of attitude, but I disagree. The last part of the IPSC shooting was at 45 m distance with Magtech F (extra hard charged) ammunition. It was very satisfying to often hear the "ding" from the metal targets.
In a way, the Smith and Wesson was more comfortable to use than the CZ Shadow. When loading magazines. After loading hundreds of bullets into the magazines, my hands cramped, my fingers lost all strength, and loading seemed impossible and painful. It was easy with the small caliber gun. If I expected to do it again, I'd probably spend some time at home to strengthen my grip. And for God's sake, trying to learn the technique of loading those magazines!
My points score ended up being OK, but I can't help but wonder what my score could have been if I had done as recommended and practiced beforehand. If I had stronger back muscles. Maybe it's up to you to figure it out?
