By Kjeld Renshi-dai, summer 2012
We drove towards Prag Thursday morning – early Thursday morning. I actually left around 3 am, to pick up the next morning fresh Chief Instructor. We then drove to midt Sjaelland, where we all gathered in one car, and headed south. The drive to the ferry was spend chatting about the summer vacation and watching the morning mist, spread across the Danish landscape. On the ferry we met up with Kimu Sensei and Jens Hanshi-dai. We had brought breakfast, coffee, juice, etc. For the first time, Kimu Sensei lined up, what was to happen on this long weekend.
POMW
Because, this was a TLUS POMW 3.4 shooting Instructor course. As previously mentioned, POMW is a prestige project in Shindenkan. It has been thought up, designed, started and completed by Kimu Sensei, who with himself as turning point, has set the bar very high, betting it all, starting from scratch with shooting, and now has been taught by some of the best in the world. POMW has the purpose of proving the theory of Minouchi Sensei, about the transfer to Martial Art ( see articles written earlier on the subject)
The Dome
So, here we were, at the POMW Praha Camp – in the world of shooters. Our own little Dome, where we would live, breathe and think shooting. We were on the way to the wild west. The total shooting experience in Tjekkiet. A place where you can use just about any firearm, except bazooka. And it was fun, while not being just for fun!
Shooting
We checked in to a nice hotel, where Kimu Sensei had managed to get super good prices. We upgraded to Buisness Class with admission to the Excecutive Lounge, which we all truly enjoyed. From there we went to the range and started shooting with cal 0.22. Refreshing the known, with focus on POMW shooting technical manual. Stand, general body position, trigger technic with pull squeeeeze, and post shot recoil control. Kimu Sensei corrected us for minor details, and during the day the results of the work up in the form of ”dry training” , the cal 0.22 shooting we all had trained back in the shooting clubs at home, and the ”dry training” with air guns. There after we continued on to terrain shooting – range shooting with transitions. We also had practiced this earlier with the air gun and laser gun (SIRT). We made big and small transitions and transitions with up to 4 targets, where the movement starts at the hips, with a focus on an even and constant shooting rhythm. Double tap does not exist. We continued work with dry training using the air guns and the SIRT we brought with us. This time training pull, reload, transition, strong hand, weak hand, changing shooting hand . dry training towards IPSC shooting. Since you must know you equipment, we practiced cleaning the different firearms, so that we knew all, and could handle them. Back at the range, we touched up with cal 0.22, and went on to our 9mm CZ. We all had big problems with precision. It showed up through problems with control of recoil and fear of recoil. All the while Kimu Sensei thundered ahead with his 9mm, shooting more shots per second, all the black, so that we in the shortest time possible would get comfortable with the heavier ammo and reaction. Again the well planned training paid of. We all had errors corrected, which had a large impact. At the same time, Kimu Sensei taught us, how you as a Shooting Instructor analyze a shooting spread and a shooter, how to locate and correct errors giving goal oriented feedback. Dry training and weapon cleaning continued at home, and on the range we finished out cal 0.22 shooting with large improvements of our results. We put all our focus on the 9mm now, practicing shooting at different distances, point shooting, and strong hand -weak hand shooting, now with two shoot, at different distances.
Stability
There has been a long period of time, where I have relied on instruction and interruption, to find errors. I have corrected and adjusted accordingly. This time too, I had help from Kimu Sensei, and his crystal clear analysis of my shooting, and my errors. But, what I did myself this time, was to be stabil. And that was even better – I listened to myself, and trusted my own judgement. This meant that I could actively pull myself up by the hair, when I felt myself sliding. What made it happen for me, was what Jens Hanshi-dai said about performance fear (”darn, now I have to do it again, and I might not be able to”), that the other way to look at it was :” well, I did it yesterday, so I can do it again today.” It was so simple, but still, the two different attitudes, was like night and day, and made a big impression on me. I got so focused that I ended up, the overall match winner for RRCampPraha. I had no expectations like that, so ofcourse I am proud of it.
Cool!
……moving on……
The Process
Because, more important than the result, is the process. Can you see what is happening, or are you just watching? Did you understand what happened, can you repeat it or was it just a lucky punch? And can you see the big picture? Can you see the results, and analyze them? If you can, then you can see that I was focused and top motivated, when I realized that my preparations had not been as good as my colleges. And then you can see, that Søren Renshi, who consequent did not shoot his best, did not shoot badly. Even on a bad day, he shoot consistently and uniformly at, what was his bottom level. And that level was actually very much higher than, my bottom level. Had we met on a day, where I was shooting at my bottom level, I am sure, he would have beaten me badly. A chain is not stronger than its weakest link. This means, that I must look, not just watch. I must look under the surface.
Ego
In shooting there is a danger of just looking at the result, instead of the process and the learning. In shooting you get instant measure of result. Just fire of 30 rounds, bring in the target, and voila, you can see how well you did. I can be compared to the new social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc), where you put out information about your self, and vupti in no time, you get an answer, whether you are loved – or popular. And you can shape your post, according to what brings best results. It is instant gratification – instant satisfaction, and very popular, very addictive. The problems is, that it encourages short term results, and does not reward long term visionary work. And if you, like me, has insecurity about whether or not you are loved, then you can get your fix in instant results. Shortsighted! Here Kimu Sensei uses shooting as a clear example of the dangers of reaching for short term results, and outside recognition. The long term visionary solution, is to learn the process, understand and acknowledge. The long term process is to recognize myself, instead of being addicted to other people’s recognition. I clearly remember the day at the 25 m range, where it was not working for me. Luckily Kimu Sensei was there, and gave me some of his time. After the corrections, he demonstrated what he meant, with two full clips, he shot at high speed, first on clip, then after a smooth and quick clip change, the other. He then smiled at me, and without looking at the result, walked away! All in all, his 30 shots and clip change took about 30-45 seconds, I believe, and the result – I counted 286 out of 300 points, and he did not even care…
Results, and a tool, as any other
Before leaving Denmark, I had shot about 250 rounds with my 9mm CZ, and about 2700 with cal 0.22. The goal oriented focus, the solid foundation and the specific corrections, has given result. 80% of the participants made new records with cal 0.22 – personally I had a new record with cal 0.22 – I shot a 277. I made a new personal record with 9 mm, where I went from ”did I hit the target?” to having a score of 255 in 15 min. That is a serious improvement, and we were all a little shaken, by how much the structured course by Kimu Sensei helped us. Kimu Sensei always use the possibilities offered, and in Prag it was possible to go beyond the normal shooting experience. So ofcourse we all had to try shooting something exotic. We tried pistols – cal .40 (Glock), cal .45 (Glock), as well as revolvers – Magnum cal .45 and Magnum cal .44, and finally shotgun with normal pellets, and with Magnum slugs. What we learned, was how the much larger caliber guns, revolvers and shotguns behave. Our reaction to it, our control of the recoil, and how manageable our 9 mm truly is. And a little redneck behavior surfaced. It is pretty hard to shot your first round of Magnum cal .44 without a heartfelt exclamation of ”Motherf… And it was fun :-), but it was not just for fun!
Facts:
POMW has lead to impressive results among the Chief Instructors.
POMW has lead to impressive results among the trainees.
POMW has attracted a great deal of attention both in and out of Denmark, among both civilian and military shooters.
POMW is, as Shindenkan, larger than us, and has a larger goal, also an unselfish goal, to further learning, and we must keep our eye on the goal – we must see our selves in the greater picture!
Thank you for yet another good and giving RRCamp.
This time in Praha, where we also made time for a walk on Karlsbroen, a look at the astronomical clocks, and a nice dinner with Chechoslovakian beer – we were inside our own world dome of shooting 🙂