Vera Koo: From Fearing guns to competitive shooting and winning

[VMI77]

http://www.womensoutdoornews.com/2016/0 ... d-my-life/

My crisis did not cause me to begin my extensive involvement in the competitive shooting sports. Rather, I started taking firearm classes at a local community college a few years before the crisis because I was afraid of guns. I did not want to remain ignorant of firearms. I wanted to learn how to safely handle them so that I could eliminate my fear.

I started taking shooting classes when I was 41. I began to get more serious about the sport when I was 47, and I dedicated myself to becoming the best I could be from that point forward. I got my first big win just before I turned 50. I claimed Top Woman honors at the American Handgunner World Man-on-Man Shoot-Off. It was a total surprise for me! Needless to say, time flies. That was nearly 20 years ago.

If not for my crisis, I never would have competed in shooting for as long as I did. After competing at my first Steel Challenge championship, I felt ready to walk away from the sport. I thanked speed-shooting specialist Jim O’Young, who had coached me, and took his parents to the Chinese opera as a show of gratitude.

Then my crisis struck, and not long after that, the firearm instructor who had taught my classes at the community college asked if I would come do a demonstration for his law enforcement students. He thought it would be good for his class of rookies to see how an ordinary middle-aged Asian woman could shoot so well, so as to teach them to never judge a person by his/her appearance.

[baldeagle]

It's really difficult to understand what she's talking about because she doesn't reveal what her crisis was.

[RoyGBiv]

Enjoyed reading that... Thanks for posting!

[RoyGBiv]

It's really difficult to understand what she's talking about because she doesn't reveal what her crisis was.

Pick something in your life that has the potential to cause you an existential crisis and fill in the blanks with that... The blank was a distraction for me too, so I just filled it in with something and the rest of the story was about triumph over adversity, self reliance and shooting.

[VMI77]

It's really difficult to understand what she's talking about because she doesn't reveal what her crisis was.

Pick something in your life that has the potential to cause you an existential crisis and fill in the blanks with that... The blank was a distraction for me too, so I just filled it in with something and the rest of the story was about triumph over adversity, self reliance and shooting.

I posted it not only as an example of overcoming adversity, but as an example of how educating someone who is receptive to learning about guns can change fear into something positive.