IDPA – USPSA

Facebook is a flitter with unflattering comments about IDPA and it is with much bemusement that I read the recent comments and hear from shooters about nasty asides carped at the USPSA matches regarding the deficiencies of IDPA. I am one of those old fat guys who wouldn’t do well at a USPSA match but I can still admire the skills required to run-and-gun.

But really? Complaining about IDPA is a lot like a tennis player complaining about golf. Golf is slower, has arcane rules which most don’t understand and there is no way it’s what you would do if you were in a ‘real’ golf fight; you’d pick up the ball and lob it, hoping it would explode amongst the group of rowdy spectators. The fact that you don’t agree with the rules doesn’t mean that you don’t occasionally pick up a club and join friends out on the course.

To use IDPA rules as a reason not to participate is a lot like a basketball player whinnying about the rules of soccer; ‘Wat chu mean, I can’t use my hands?” It’s a bit like refusing to play basketball because you can’t tuck the ball and run.

The rules of each sport define that sport and an athlete participates by adhering to the rules and, by virtue of their skill, excels within the confines of the rules. True athletes participate in any sport, following the rules of each, and they learn to capitalize on their personal abilities no matter the venue.

But, to be honest, if I were ever in a real gunfight, I would want a USPSA shooter by my side. Someone to rush out and blaze away with tons of lead flying, drawing fire while I silently crouched in some corner taking out the aggressors, one by one, from the safety of my covered position, reloading- without moving my feet.

via  Port Malabar Idpa.

The puns and pokes between the two sports will never cease, specially because they are done with lots of humor and we have no ill feelings for each other….OK, most of us.

Any bad day throwing lead downrange beats a great day at the office. 😀