Pendleton - Nov 3, 2006 - Day One

I spent nine hours in class on Mov 3, 2006 and enjoyed every minute of it. The day was spent at the U.S. Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, CA for the classroom postion of the Civilian Marksmanship Programs's M-1 Garand Master Instructor Course. It was taught by Director Gary Anderson and I have to say I am filled with respect from watching him deliver the material. Many years a go the first book I read on Position Rifle Shooting and the the mental discipline of doing it well featured pictures of a much younger Gary Anderson, a man who won two Olympic Gold mdeals and seven World Championships, the most ever by any American in International competition. That book shaped the way I thought of target competition. And yesterday, I saw that book come to life.



There are some people who's experience and perspective about how to balance the teaching of a subject must be witnessed to be appreciated. People who have a reason for every choice they have made in selecting what to say when teaching a class are impressive enough. To witness someone who can also artciulate the tradeoffs and logic of why a choice is right for a situation and how to evaluate the broader range of possibilities that might be the right answer under other circumstances is to truly learn from a zen master.

I basked in good things and saw once again the importance of not being limited by the prejudgements and false comforts that once so easily creates for oneself not just in shooting technique. This was definitely a worthwhile day.