Preview – CZ P-09 and P-0Z

Photography by Shinnosuke Tanaka

Modern Combat Pistols
A Former Delta Operator Breaks Down the CZ Polymer Omega Series and How to Wield It Using the Latest in Handgun Marksmanship

Intellectual clarity is efficient thought — and efficiency is the hallmark of everything we do in combat pistol marksmanship. The modern craft has been refined and clarified to such a degree that, as I often tell students, “It’s like a math problem.” If we clearly define the task, we can maximize the learning curve of proper technique and save time, as well as speed up execution of the task.

In a combative environment, lost time is bad and can be deadly. For that reason, speed is crucial — but efficient speed, not frantic failure-prone speed. Efficient movements often look deceivingly slow, yet the timer will reveal how efficient they really were. Economy of motion is efficiency, and efficiency is the guiding principle of all athletic endeavors…combative shooting is no different.

Modern Combat Pistol Marksmanship
First and foremost, the modern craft of combat pistol marksmanship — and the teaching thereof — has taken a page out of professional athletic coaching and sports psychology books and methodologies. The old “shut up and do it this way, because this is the way we do it” mindset has been purged from the modern craft. I, as well as all of the highly regarded instructors and professional trainers, have become technicians of the art. That is not to say that we all agree on everything, but those things on which we have a differing approach are always open to discussion.

Most of the modern art is very specific, and the integrating of how the weapon’s platform was designed to be operated with the best ranges of motion for strength, dexterity, and visual acuity collectively create the most efficient shooter possible. One of the hallmarks of modern methodologies is the component approach to training. If every task can be disassembled and each subsequent component part identified, then when we reassemble the technique and evaluate it in practice, it’s much easier to identify a component failure rather than relegating everything to a systemic failure.

Think of a vehicle that is having problems. A good mechanic will check one thing at a time — the status of spark, fuel, fluids, etc. You don’t just dive right in and start turning wrenches on everything; you need to analytically figure out where the problem lies.

The same is true for combat pistol marksmanship. We have traditionally broken it down into major components: grip, stance, sight alignment, sight picture, breath control, trigger control, follow-through, and recovery. The most modern approach is to define each step and further identify its interrelation to the others. Along with this approach, we have added in the mental game as a part of this. That means we need to feed the mind the right pictures as we run the gun. We think in pictures and put them into words, so others can turn them back into pictures of understanding. As instructors of the modern art, we must be able to clearly and concisely put our thoughts and ideas into words that do not lend themselves to mistakes in interpretation. By doing this we are giving the shooter a specific, clear, and concise picture of what we want them to do.

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