* As first Blogged on Yahoo 360 *

Message From Michael * Blogs from Beyond

“Rites Of Passage -
  Jr Olympic Shooting, Archery and Kung Fu”
~ Part II ~

 

Continued from Part I ~

On the Range, the Ladies Practice Timed and Rapid Fire with Pistols

“Ready On the Left” ~ “Ready On the Right” ~ “Commence Fire”



Below Top Row ~ Firing the AR-7 .22 caliber Airforce Survival Rifle ~ It’s light weight and all the Rifle parts unscrew and come apart and they all fit into the Stock! * It’s the very same Rifle that James Bond, Agent 007 uses in the movie “From Russia With Love”



Above, Middle and Bottom Rows ~ Dave’s first Trip to the Range! Giving Dave personal Instruction, Guidance and Safety Rules ~ As he fires a Pistol for the very first time!

Nobody ever wanted the day to end, but as the evening rolled around it was time to pack up and begin the Caravan Home.

Dropping all of the people off at their homes, who had needed rides, and then back to my Home, where it was time to Clean all of the Firearms that we had been shooting all day at the Range. It is very important to Clean all of the Guns after shooting, and that encompassed taking each gun apart, Cleaning the Gunpowder Residue and then lightly lubrication and reassembling them all. What A Job!

Most often I would take some of the Junior Club Members home with me, and we would spend the evening Cleaning Guns together. That also meant that the day wasn’t really over until I had safely delivered each one back home again … That Made for A Very Long Day!



I had set up my Home Basement as A Training Classroom. Painted a bright gold with overhead recessed lighting, and a spacious room, made for an atmosphere conducive for Marksmanship Training Courses, Club Meetings and Events. Each Marksmanship Course consisted of individual courses for Pistols ~ Rifles ~ Shotguns – Home Responsibility ~ Range and Hunter Safety. Individual Course consisted of Class Instruction, Live Firing at the Range, Basic Marksmanship Exam and Shooting Qualifications for a Rank.

Club Members who wanted to become NRA Marksmanship Instructors, gained Experience as Apprentice and Assistant Instructors working with the Certified Instructors while conducting Training Classes. They would then take an Instructors Exam to measure their knowledge and skills.



For those with an interest, we also taught Reloading, which involved Making One’s Own Ammunition from all the Components. Taking the Empty Shell Cases, Measuring the exact amount of Gunpowder for each, adding the new Primers, and Seating the Bullet, was a time consuming but rewarding effort. Not many had the patience required to do much Reloading, so as usual, that job fell to a trusty few and some of my energetic Junior Members who had a seemingly endless supply of energy and enthusiasm!



I can say with Pride, that Our NRA Adult and Junior Shoot Clubs, taught well over 1,000 Students in their time, with A Perfect Safety Record! We also had the Distinguished Honor of Being The Only NRA Gun Clubs in all of Washington, DC!! Believe it or not, we had groups of regular students who drove down from New York City, 4 hours away, to spend their weekends in Washington, DC and attend our Training and Range outings. We taught Marksmanship and Safety classes to groups as far away as St. Louis, Missouri and Los Angeles, California!



I personally had the honor of Training and Certifying a number of NRA Marksmanship Instructors, and of that number, many were Women!

A million stories come to mind while I’m digging out all of these photos, but one I should mention is Mel. Mel was my coworker from the Copy Department at US News & World Report. One of many of my coworkers that I introduced to Shooting. Mel had moved to Washington, DC from New York, but he was originally from the sunny Island of Puerto Rico. Mel had an interest in learning to shoot and so he attended our Club Shooting Classes and Range Trips. He later left the Magazine to join the US Marine Corps. Many months later, he surprised me by showing up in the Office, on leave from the Military. He was in Uniform, and was looking “Esprit de Corp” in his full “Jarhead” (US Marine Corp) persona! LOL! “Spit and Polish”, carrying himself with a soft but undeniable Personal Air of Capability!

Mel was excited to tell me all about his Basic Military Training at Bootcamp at Paris Island … “Do they really Train You to Bite the Heads off of live Snakes??” LOL! Mel was as Cool as ever! His Silent Reply was just a Smile and A Twinkle in His Eye! He went on to proudly show me his Medal for Marksmanship Sharpshooting! A little Rifle with a Bar hung from his uniform proclaiming his Shooting Proficiency. Mel said that the Credit for his Shooting Success was due to his Training with Our Gun Club!! I was appreciative of Mel’s Words, but as always, I gave the Credit to him for choosing to Develop His Personal Potentials! Although I felt privileged to have played a integral part in his Shooting development. The highlight of his News was that his Shooting Skill had not gone unnoticed by his superiors, and Mel had been Chosen for the Elite group whose Code name is ~ “Blue Light!” This is the Elite Special Force Team that is sent anywhere around the world for “Special Assignments and Operations”.

“Little Rascals Who Put Their Best Foot Forward!”

People that Signed up for Our Marksmanship Training Courses came from all walks of Life and ranged in Age from 60 year old Senior Citizens, to 11 and 12 year old Junior Members. All did not become Club Members, as many just wanted to learn how to Shoot Safely and Handle Guns Properly.

Many people are Afraid and Nervous just being around Guns. It’s only Natural to Fear the Unfamiliar and Unknown. But people do their best when they can begin to Relax and feel Comfortable. One way I helped New Students to do just that, was with the Assistance of Our Most Junior Members. Many Club Members brought their Children with them to Gun Class, so I began Teaching and Training some of the Children. They were too young to join the Junior Club, but they were old enough to begin learning about Safety and the Basics. I would often allow them to Demonstrate Proper Stance and the Correct Shooting Positions, Aiming and Proper Grip.

“Junior Club Kids put their Best Foot Forward … Until Nap Time Sets in at the Range!”

This not only gave the Children a Sense of Participation in an Adult gathering, but also gave them a foundation for Firearm Safety! The added Bonus was the when Adults saw the Children demonstrate, it not only Tickled them, which helped them to Relax, but it gave them a Self-Confidence that They could Do It Too! At that point, The New Student could begin to Enjoy Learning ~ and Have Fun!

The NRA, ( National Rifle Association ) had its Headquarters in Washington, DC and I usually made frequent visits weekly to pick up Training and Education Materials, as well as Certificates and Club Awards.

Our NRA Clubs received Recognition for Our Track Record of Training and Education, and I was personally Nominated to become an NRA National Training Counselor! In the following years, the NRA offered me a Job as their Safety and Home Responsibility Representative! I was too busy in my other pursuits to accept, but I was really excited and honored at their offers!



Course Graduation was an exciting event that all of the Students and Trainees looked forward to. As a Reward for their achievement, they were allowed to Shoot any and all of the Firearms! Pistols included .22. .38, 9mm, .357, .45 and .44 Magnums. Rifles included .22, .223, .308 and the .454 Winchester Magnum which was An Elephant Gun!

Our organized Club Events included Shooting Tournaments for Trophies, Prizes and Awards ~ Camping and Skeet Shooting. For any who may not know, Skeet Shooting involves shooting Shotguns at Clay Targets or Pigeons.

These Round Clay Pigeons are bright yellow, for ease of sight, and they are Thrown into the Air, Across the Sky from left to right, and the Shooter will have to Fire and Shoot them in Mid-Air!



It can be Exciting and so few Youngsters from the City get the chance to go Skeet Shooting, that it was a real Treat for Our Junior Club Members to have the chance!



For Archery Outings, An Indoor Archery Shooting Range in Greenbelt, Maryland, became the choice. My older cousin had taken me there when I was young, and I was excited to find that it was still open and running strong. The Archery Range was a converted Bowling Alley, and the bowling lanes made for excellent Lanes for Shooting Archery. There were Automatic Target holders that traveled up and down the lanes at the Push of a Button, which made retrieving fired Arrows from Your Target, a real easy task.



In the early years, it was called A Family Sports Center, with Slot Cars covering one third of the building. Slot Cars are miniature model Race Cars, that Speed around a big Race Track, and are Controlled by the Racer or Driver standing and holding a Remote Control in hand. Another part of the building had Arcade Machines for Video Arcade Game enthusiasts.

It was so inspiring to me, to see Archers filling all of the Lanes in the building! There were all Ages of Archers shooting all kind of Bows! The oldest must have been a 60 + year old lady, shooting a Compound Bow with Stabilizers for Balance, that looked like some type of futuristic Space Bow!

Across the lanes, Archers were Shooting Compound Bows, Recurve Bows, Long Bows ~ in All Shapes, Sizes and Colors! It was a beautiful sight!! The far end of the alley was reserved for Crossbow Shooters. Their Arrows are called Blots, and travel with a great Speed, Velocity and Power! Some of the Crossbows had Rifle Scopes and Flashlights on them! I later bought 2 matching Crossbows, and they became a favorite of all the Shooters in the Club!

We began Shooting Archery about once a week, and it wasn’t long before we were a Regular feature there at the Range. Most of the people there were older middle age Target Shooters and Bow Hunters. They were enthusiastic to see a group of Young Archers, and they became great supporters.

A stroke of luck or timing ~ One of the Professional Archers that took an interest in our little group was a World Class Olympic Archer named Ruth Rowe! She had been to the Olympics and had established herself as a Top Level Archer! She sold us 2 Olympic Recurve Bows and became our source for Custom made Target Arrows. One of the Bows was bright Yellow and White, and the other was Gold. We selected Gold as the custom color for our Arrow shafts with White and Yellow Feathers.

“We Became The Golden Archers!”

Ruth worked with many of the Club Members, helping them with their Shooting Skills and form. Can you imagine having an Olympic Archer giving You personal attention? It was fantastic!!

One of the other Shooters turned out to be Jim Brown, who was the Current World Bow Hunting Champion Archer. Had We ever come Shooting at the right time and place! It was An Archer’s Dream!! Many of the other Shooters were Professional Archers who traveled all around the USA participating in Archery Tournaments! They were all Supportive of our group and often offered their Shooting Tips and Insights.

Unfortunately the photos I had of our Shooting excursions to the Archery Range were all damaged during the 2004 Hurricanes that visited Florida….

When the Kung Fu Craze first started to sweep the USA, I was too busy Teaching People how to Shoot Pistols, Rifles and Shotguns safely, then to catch the latest Martial Arts Movies. My standard response for People who wanted Personal Protection or Family Home Security, was ~ “Kung Fu doesn’t Stop Bullets!”
“You are much better off, Learning How to Shoot!”

I had been reading everything I could find on Martial Arts, and Chinese Kung Fu in particular. Back then, there wasn’t much out on the market, but that was all to change in a flash! Both Martial Arts and Marksmanship are Learned Disciplines that require some degree of Instruction, Training, Responsibility and Patience. Most Americans tend to want “Instant Results”, and for that reason I felt they were better off Learning How to Shoot, as opposed to the years of dedication it would take them to learn Martial Arts for Self-Defense.

I finally decided it was time to take a little time off from Teaching Marksmanship and Club outings. In my free time I still continued my Police Combat Training and gave Advanced and Custom Training for Individuals.

One such lady who came to me for personal Instruction was Carolyn. She was involved in National Politics, and wanted to learn to Shoot for her own Personal Safety and Protection, since she spent a great deal of time on the road visiting many Cities where her safety may be an issue.



Carolyn noticed my Martial Arts Collection of Books, and in appreciation for my giving her personal training, she invited me to attend the Kung Fu School that she had just joined. I thought it was a kind gesture on her part, and thanked her. It wasn’t until She told me “the name of the Kung Fu” she was studying … that I could have fallen out of my chair! You see … from Across Time and Space … An Age Old Centuries Voice was Calling Me …

“Wing Chun was Calling Me …”

I hope that You enjoyed my presentation of Our Shooting Clubs. If You want to follow My Journey into the World of Martial Arts please see my Blogs on Wing Chun Kung Fu and Ng Mui. Also, next coming Blogs will be dedicated to The Golden Age of Asian Cinema and Martial Arts Movies, Actors & Actresses!

My Apologies for such Epic Long Blogs (as I have been Scolded by some Dear Friends) but, to try and “Tell The Story”, be fair and try and include the People, Places and some of the Events, the length tends to grow.

Also for those Seeking Information or Inspiration, or looking for A Model that may allow You to Sponsor A Shooting Club or Junior Olympic Shooting Program … I find it difficult to leave out too much information. Believe me … this is “the Short & Condensed version!” ((Smile))

I wouldn’t want any Visitor or Reader to feel obligated to Read all of this … so Please feel free to Simply View the Photos and Skip the Text! Either Way ~ Hope that You in some small way Enjoy!

With Love,

~ M

LOL if all ppl did was look at the photos, they would be going hummm what the hell going on here...LMAO i remember the 1st time target shooting. my brother & his friends was target shooting and wa la ... here smarty pants baby sis tag along ... LOL  thought i'de show them boys how shoot a gun! yep right, me pull the triger, damn thing kicked back and on my booty i went...  LMAO my brother still gives me shyt about it. but great blog sweetness and hey make your blogs long as you like can't read them in one day, all way the next day. nice you take the time to tell the whole story. they not into it, they know how click off...grin

JAZZ wanna post Yah a wink for now, Cuz tehehehe;)) cuter to placed it here than at the QC box, Yeah...im actin' bratty Maldita today, so what???? hahahaha!

I have loads of stuffs to blog about but seems like i cant compose it to words, my heart's overwhelmed...family, Church, friends~ all are in great harmonious status!
Whoooppss...of course not to forget... the onery blue eyed guy who causes the biggest grin on mah fez lately, eh?

i loved your photos above... the one handling the gun and showing the right positioning.
Had read the blog itself but....NO COMMENT!
(see? am a bratttt!)...lolz ;))!

Oh, Dear Cousin...I do so enjoy your blogs! Do NOT ever delete or omit any details! The photos make them that much more interesting! I love them! I appreciate the time that you take to share all of this with us! It is truly heart-warming! I liked the pics. here, more so, I think because of the bows and arrows, and the swords!

GADZOOKS! We could be off on a quest at any given moment! I apologize for not getting back to you earlier about your "horse of a different color!" Perhaps that only makes him have "magical powers?" I've been a little ill the last couple of days, but feeling better now.

Back to the pics.....we could take our pick of artillery for whatever quest we were called for! LOL But seriously, I loved reading your blog, Dearest Cousin!

As always, when you share parts of your life, it helps to know "who you are!" (Not that I didn't know already! LOL) So, now, I'm off! Maybe to adventures untold, maybe to faraway lands! With you by my side! Hugs! xoxo'ss

Nice blog brother, Guilty as charged, I was and still happen to be a firearm and weapon nut. I haven't had much dealings with long arms, but I find myself drawn more toward hand guns, both automatic and revolver. While the small calibers are pretty accurate and cool, I prefer the more powerful magnums, from the 41. to the 454 casull, 50. A&E. etc.. though I am sure they intimidate some due to recoil. I haven't fooled around much with archery but I do share an interest, lets say passion for combat cutlery, something I might like to delve deeper into someday. Well just dropping by, good to hear from you, have a happy birthday, later....

woh. Everything are very nice.

Hi Michael, I thought for a minute or two you are writing a book. Some of your writings awakens my past experiences in life and I thought you can write a very good book about anything, atleast to help growing childs and help shape other minds. But not guns...(lol) For grown up's maybe, enough to really know the consequences of their actions and had self control already but still, with my family experienced with guns, I would say enough with guns already!!!

I tell you I eat, sleep and sheltered with guns letterally, all of my siblings went to college because of guns, because my father is the only qualified gun repairman in Mindanao Island. he repairs and made guns from .22 cal to high powered guns anything you can imagine. I remember carrying .38 cal loaded in school to protect me and my sister with NPA. (the pick of high insurgency in our area. 1985-86.) I got license No license I'm only 15 and in Catholic school. but I never show them to my friends or classmate. I carried it under my uniform. Because too many neighbors already been killed by the NPA , accused as a spy of the military. Finally most of the local rebels was killed my the military or been surrender by the 1986. But my father never stop repairing guns both for Military, police and high ranking government office in town.

My 3rd brother saw all this things upon growing up in elementary, at the age of 10 he already know how to make .38 cal bullets from M16 bullets, and repair guns like my father. Amazingly enough that he too carried the gun he repaired and fixed anywhere. My father doesnt know. My father would tell my younger brothers not to bring guns anywhere even to our mountain. For guns are not for kids toys. My father is very disciplinarian but safety is cheap, because as poor people like my family safety casing is not known to us, we sleep with carbine, M14, armalite beside or above our heads, for we have small hut. Later after 13 years of this kind of life we had, my brother's carried 22. cal pistol accidentally exploded behind me and my friends chatting in the waiting shade, and one yelled I got hit! luckily it was only in the buttocks and soon she got out from the hospital in 3 days. My brother was grounded for a long time, but after 2 years, my father was being tease by a mean guy, and when he jumped my father, they had fought rolling down to the basketball court; with him an improvized carbine from M1 to M2 he just finished working, my brother got to the site they are wrestling and had 38 cal he just finished fixing, owned by an army Sargeant, warning the guy on top of my father to shoot him if he would not let go of my skinny father. the mean guy just laugh and he almost got the loaded carbine from my father. My 12 years old brother fired the 38 cal aiming the mean guy, close shoot! but the bullet did not came out and the mean guy over powered my father at this time and laughing like crazy devil, my brother fire again 2 bullets now running through the barrel at once because the first 1 stocked in the barrel, the guy was hit in the head and die instantly... My brother thought the mean guy would kill my father if he would eventually get the carbine from him, which my father defended strongly all his might. but never sqeeze the trigger.

It is true that the gun doesnt kill it is the people who kills, but my point of view, guns is evil, you dont know when the devils tickles your small brain to use the gun, even lets say to prevent my father from being killed when he was attacked. People around us knows even our 2 years old brother can shoot... and they respect us about that because my fathers talent service the repair of the armed forces/military in our area. And feeds us, educate us and shelter us, but Should I say gun shouldn't exist at all I bit you, it should not. But its too late now, the world we live in will never live without guns. And this will never vanish from our culture forever as long as we we live. I cross my fingers that God will do something to change our mentality with regards to our human impulses to kill, the way we depend our survival to live. I wish the devil did not exist at all, the world probably doesnt have fear, or killings. period!

i was impressed by your archery club.. been five years now that i havent touched archery coz the pains i am suffering with both arms due perhaps when i was younger.. a tennis ,volleyball players during my high school and college days. i love archery but both arms can only do some light lifting and it gives me pains during cold season or even during downcast weathers whenever winds are cold. and my legs is giving me troubles also. i can walk miles but cannot stand for hours on end. i do gardening but i love collecting cactus plants and roses. foreigners and japanese people loves bonsai and wikis.. thanks again for visiting my site and interesting infos u blogged about..

Friday December 21, 2007 - 01:50am (PST)