By Martin Hansen, Member until 2018
Project Old Modern Warrior – Shindenkan's most controversial project to date and Kimu Sensei's grand and uncompromising work, has already proven effective as all participants after the completion of POMW 1 had proven Minouchi Sensei's theory of whether the schooled martial arts student can transfer his training and attitude to weapon of the modern warrior, and master this skill as well. That in itself was not surprising, but it was surprising how significantly the theory was proven, which you can read more about here on the website in the many articles that describe the POMW process. It has always been the plan that the POMW course series should be run every 2-4. year, as it takes a lot of resources and is also a TG3 course. Kimu Sensei has currently been the only resource who, by virtue of his high martial arts competence, can translate Minouchi Sensei's theory and the learning of the modern marksman uncompromisingly into a course designed to optimally train Shindenkan students to a very high level of marksmanship within range shooting, which has proven to affect the Danish elite, but in only 6-7 months of training, and possibly only 2-3 months. The next time the course is to be held, it should preferably be with more resources, which is why Shindenkan's chief instructors go through quite special and unique training course by POMW, which will train them to become POMW shooting instructors who are able to train future Shindenkaners to a similar high level, but also be responsible for maintenance when POMW ends as a project in the autumn. POMW Praha was one of the highlights of this training and uniquely designed for the chief instructors based on their individual level, as at all other RRCamp's, however, there was a bit more holiday over this camp, as the participants spent some of their summer vacation getting trained after all , and so it was the first time for most of the chief instructors that they went abroad to be taught. It was a total of 5 days in the name of POMW, self-paid and under Kimu Sensei's knowledgeable instructor wings in the capital of the Czech Republic – Prague.
Quite a few days before RRCampPraha was supposed to start, the chief instructors received the last information and rough sketch about the training course and what should be brought on the trip, which involved shooting clothes (clothes that are exposed to repeated visits to a shooting cellar at 30 degrees and without effective ventilation can to smell a little like "man"), range bag, pistol rig (belt with magazine holders and sheath), fitness clothes, water bottle, safety equipment, CZ air guns, 9mm CZ pistols etc. It must be said that no one in Shindenkan keeps weapons at home and that they are all in shooting associations, where the instructors also train with the pistols. Then the reader might ask why the training meeting has to take place in Prague and whether it is not too expensive. Experience shows that when you have to complete a demanding course it is best to be away from home, from the ordinary "sources of noise" such as family, girlfriend, the neighbour's barking dogs, emails etc., which is also the case for RRCamp's. In Denmark, we also have a good restrictive weapons law, which is good for everyone, but in a country like the Czech Republic, it is a little easier to get to shoot with several types of weapons, and it is also cheaper, for example, to rent ranges for several days in a row. Of course, it could not be done without Kimu Sensei's extensive discount, which ensured the participants cheap – very cheap – hotel rooms in a really good hotel, for the purpose. And on top of that, when it's holiday time, Prague is an obvious place, as it's cheap to eat here too, and it's accessible by car, which only requires a drive of approx. 650 km through the old East Germany and a bit of the Czech Republic.
So to maximize the time, Kimu Sensei had booked a ferry ticket for 07.00 on Thursday morning, which meant that you could arrive in Prague around 15.00, check into the hotel and reach the first shooting lesson before dinner. It is almost a couple of hours drive to the ferry in Gedser, which meant that the 4 chief instructors Søren, Kjeld, Claus and Martin had agreed to meet at 04.30 (The sun has not yet risen, so the double espresso was well deserved), to be followed in one car to Gedser and to meet Kimu Sensei and Jens Hanshi-dai immediately before the ferry was due to sail. On the ferry, breakfast and coffee were enjoyed, while Kimu Sensei lifted the veil a little on what his plans were for RRCampPraha based on the training program sent, which later turned out not to hold up completely, but Kimu Sensei has the excellent quality of being able to adapt to the needs of the participants so that, depending on their mood, attitude and willingness to learn, they get maximum benefit from the teaching - in short, he meets people where people are and takes them on a journey if they otherwise want.
The drive through Germany and later the Czech Republic went according to plan, although with a small detour for car 1 with Jens Hanshi-dai and Kimu Sensei, so despite the BMW having been allowed to drive well on the German highways at free speed, they arrived well 25 minutes later to the hotel in Prague. It turned out that the latest update to Garmin contained roads that the Czech Republic had not yet built, but had reported as completed, so it made it a little more difficult to find a way for carriage 1 🙂 Kimu Sensei took care of checking in at the hotel and, as usual, he negotiated upgrades home as well as an extra room so that the instructors did not have to sleep three in a room. These upgrades meant that everyone was accommodated on the Business Floor with access to the Executive lounge (not the execute lounge even though it was a shooting camp 🙂 ). It was quite an impressive and new experience for the participants, as they now had unlimited access to drinks, good coffee (a lot was drunk), snacks and small dishes throughout the day, as long as it was enjoyed in the lounge. So, all in all, a perfect platform for the next few days, which partly contained shooting, but also dry training and working in front of the PC, as all participants hopefully also had to pass the DSF A pistol license, which they had prepared for from home and thus the possibility of to progress into shooting Formula 1 – IPSC. After settling in, it was time for the first lesson, which took place at a local shooting club, located only 4-5 minutes away. walk from the hotel.
The first lesson was pure caliber 0.22 range shooting after points and transitions (the change between targets). Kimu Sensei looked after the 5 participants as they took turns shooting on the 2 lanes (15 meters) and adjusted according to the POMW technical shooting manual that the participants had trained according to. The result of today's practice was quite remarkable as the 5 participants all scored between 268 and 286 points or an average of 277 (out of a possible 300 on 30 shots). If you look more closely at this result, the latest calculation shows that only 100 shooters in DK have shot 277 in 2012, which at the same time brings the POMW shooters up into the Danish 1st division, where the requirement in 2012 is 273. That must be said to be pretty good after 6-7 months of training, where many shooters may have trained for 5, 10 or 15 years, in order to achieve the same results. The transition shooting turned out not to be quite so successful (according to Shindenkan standards 🙂 ), but then it's nice to know what can be improved and for that you have dry training, which was also planned at this camp. After 2 hours on the shooting range in 30 degrees and a thick fog of smoke and lead fumes, it was time for a bath before sightseeing and dinner.
Now it was a holiday, so a full 30 minutes were set aside for sightseeing, which took place walking from the hotel to the restaurant, where some of the most popular attractions in the streets of Prague were passed at a rapid pace – the opera house, the astronomical clock, the Charles Bridge, etc. it was over after all” were Kimu Sensei's words.
The evening's dinner was eaten at an affordable but good restaurant with a view of Charles Bridge. The first day was over in Prague and quite tired after training and a 10 hour drive it was bedtime, but not without an introduction to the dry training, which took on a new dimension as it was now organized for the IPSC.
The next 3 days were tightly planned and all started with breakfast at 07.00, where the day's program was reviewed by Kimu Sensei, who was always ready to adjust and adapt the teaching so that it worked optimally for all the participants. Fixed on the program was shooting from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Next, a quick lunch in the form of a sandwich from a nearby KFC or snacks in the lounge. The afternoons on Saturday and Sunday were set aside for the participants to try to pass their theoretical IPSC DSF A license. After dinner, dry training was planned which consisted of 6 exercises, draw from holster, magazine change, transition, strong hand (aiming and one-handed shooting with your favorite hand) and weak hand (aiming and one-handed shooting with your other "weak" hand), switching between hands and a free exercise. These exercises are part of POMW shooting technique and are to prepare participants for IPSC shooting. All the exercises are trained with SIRT pistols or Air-guns, as they are excellent for the purpose. All the exercises were trained for a quarter of an hour through three steps 20, 50 and 80-100%. In addition to the dry training in the evening, pistols had to be cleaned, as all 9mm pistols plus Kimu Sensei's 0.22 Browning were brought from Denmark on EU weapons passports and Czech permits. It may not have been necessary to clean guns every day, but the guns were rotated and in this way all the participants became familiar with how to take apart, clean and assemble different types of guns.
Friday offered both 0.22 but also 9mm shooting and this time on a larger shooting range, which was also chosen for the rest of the days, there was somewhat better ventilation, but also the opportunity to shoot out to 18 m.
Saturday also started with 0.22 point shooting and transitions, after which the switch was made to 9 mm. The important thing here was to use the same POMW shooting technique in 9mm. i.e. precision first. Kimu Sensei commented and analyzed the targets for each shooter, after each pass and in this way the participants could learn how to analyze a shooting image and find faults in one's shooting or other people's for that matter, i.e. a direct education in becoming a POMW shooting instructor.
Sunday's shooting was only 9 mm, but on the other hand a lot of good shots were fired. Sunday was also an extra uplifting day for all the participants as they had to test strong and weak hand (one-handed shooting) with 9mm. It's pretty hard to hold a 1.5 kg gun in one hand and fire 2 shots in a row that should hit the black in a target. It dawned on all the participants that they were actually really good at shooting with both left and right hands, despite the strong recoil from the 9mm pistol. But Kimu Sensei's training in the first days and the dry training had once again borne fruit and all participants performed more or less well.
All the head instructors managed to pass their theory test with an average of around 98% correct out of 100 questions, so they were naturally proud and so was Kimu Sensei. The amount of shots was probably not quite as Kimu Sensei had planned it in the first place, but the quality was high and the results were palpable.
Through this intensive course, the participants have achieved shooting competence in 6-7 months, which it takes "ordinary" shooters many years to achieve. This is due to Kimu Sensei's learning methodologies, which are a direct mirror of his uncompromising martial arts training. We must not forget that Kimu Sensei came without any shooting competence and today is able to shoot up with the world elite and some of the best IPSC shooters without necessarily wanting to admit it himself. But we have our foreign sources 🙂
On Sunday, a celebratory dinner was planned, because it was supposed to be something to celebrate, so after the last participant had passed his theory test and a little meditation, everyone went at a furious pace to the Bellevue restaurant in the Old Town of Prague, where treated with 3 courses and red and white wine. It was a really good experience and it was approx. half the price of what it costs in Denmark, so Prague is well recommended if you want to go on a city break and eat gourmet food. After dinner it was back to the hotel at a normal pace and the company had agreed to check out the hotel's bar and nightclub on the top 9th floor, as there should be a fantastic view and good drinks. But on Sunday it had of course closed, so instead guns were cleaned late into the night.
On Monday, it was time for real boyish fun, as fun-shooting was planned. Of course, it wasn't all for fun, as the participants were of course encouraged to feel the difference in recoil, precision, etc. of the different types of weapons that they had to go through on Monday morning. In one hour, the participants without Kimu Sensei managed to shoot with 0.40 (pistol), 0.44 (pistol), 357 (revolver) and Magnum 44 (revolver), pump gun (shotgun) with general. scattershot and Magnum slugs. The first two were not much different from the 9mm, after which the 357 hit a little harder, but the Magnum 44 is absolutely hysterical, as Jens Hanshi-dai said. However, with the POMW shooting technique, it was possible to make some well-placed hits despite the stronger recoil. With a shotgun, it was a different story, as you don't aim, but point to hit and a Magnum shotgun cartridge kicks like a horse, which could be seen on the participants' pectoral muscles afterwards, which were all red or had blood drawn.
RRCampPraha was not yet over, as there was also a drive home to little Denmark. During this drive there was also a task to solve that had started in Prague on Sunday afternoon. Shindenkan plans to open his own shooting association SPOMW - SDKSkyt, for which there is a lot to plan and talk through, which the drive home was spent on. This shooting association must first of all serve as a maintenance base for future POMW trained Shindenkan students, and thus ensure that the competence can be maintained according to the POMW shooting technique manual, also with sharps. It will of course be open to everyone, but will be divided so that everyone can train targeted to their needs and motivation. The POMW courses and RRCampPraha have created such spectacular results that they must be said to be unique. The statistics and the training according to the POMW shooting handbook show that Shindenkan is actually able to train a top shooter who can shoot with the Danish elite in range shooting in 2-3 months, of course if the POMW shooting handbook and process are followed 100% and with the correct setting . How long does it take to get a purple belt? It was some really tired Chief Instructors who, after a 5-day self-paid "holiday", arrived in Denmark around 01.30 and resented a hard day's work waited the same day. But they also agreed that it was some fantastic days in Prague they could rightly be proud of both for themselves but also for the whole of Shindenkan and POMW.
