Vera’s Blog
A 5-year (and counting!) collection of posts from “Vera Koo” – the column penned by Vera, and published by Women’s Outdoor News. A collection of these blogs appears in Vera’s second book Wisdom and Things.
Vera Koo: Why I Pushed Through the Pain to Return to Competition
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published May 17, 2015 Vera Koo describes why she has been pushing through pain of a knee injury to return to one of the shooting sports’ most prestigious competitions. They told me it could not be done. The first doctor who saw me...
One Foot in Front of the Other in Return to Shooting the Bianchi Cup
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published March 24, 2014 Each March marks an inaugural athletic event. No, I’m not referring to baseball’s spring training, or basketball’s March Madness. On my calendar, March 1 marks the first day of my personal spring preparation;...
Vera Koo: Shing Ping and Facing Your Fears
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published December 2, 2013 One of America’s great leaders, Franklin D. Roosevelt, once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This mantra is etched into American hearts and American history. But, what is our obsession...
Vera Koo: How to Become a Champion Shooter
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published October 22, 2013 There is no real formula for becoming a champion. What works for me is focus and a single mindedness that sometimes causes people to think I am aloof. I am hard on myself and do not want to fail. Becoming a...
Vera Koo: Bianchi Cup Competition Gear
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published March 28, 2016 The Bianchi Cup, a shooting competition which occurs near Columbia, Mo., each May, is not only a contest of skill, but also is an equipment race. Every competitor tries to have the latest technology –...
Vera Koo: A Champion’s Mindset to the Shooting Sports
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published November 6, 2013 What does the world think a shooter looks like? Perhaps a middle-aged male, wearing camouflage or blaze orange, speaking with an accent, and driving a truck. Is that a stereotype? Is that our stereotype?...
Vera Koo: Why You Must Exercise if You Want to Shoot
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published April 29, 2016 I think of our bodies as our vehicles that allow us to travel through life. If you want your vehicle to perform, you must keep it fueled and give it the necessary maintenance. The same is true with our...
Why You Should Compete at State and Regional Shooting Tournaments
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published September 30, 2015 Competing at the Bianchi Cup is not for the meek and faint hearted. The national event can be very intimidating because of the high number of participants, plus the spectators. The energy is high-powered....
Retro WON: Get Out There and Compete in Regional and State Matches
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published August 24, 2017 Kevin Angstadt offered me some sound advice several years ago during a time when my Bianchi Cup performance had taken a step back. He told me I should consider competing in more regional and state matches to...
Vera Koo: Is the End of a Shooting Career in Her Sights?
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published December 16, 2015 Vera Koo describes why she is looking at the end of her shooting career, and reflects on her decision. Some of my shooting friends like to remind me that I have been two years away from retirement for the...
Vera Koo: Why I am Retiring from Shooting Sports
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published July 3, 2018 I was precise in everything I did throughout my sport shooting career. I was precise in the way I practiced. I was precise in the way I ate in the weeks leading up to a match. I was precise in the way I...
Vera Koo’s First Column in a Six-Part Series Inspired by the Writings in her Memoir
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published February 7, 2017 Some people only find enjoyment in hobbies they can share with others, but I have never found this to be the case with shooting. Since I began sport shooting in my 40s, I have found it to be a rewarding...
Staving Off Physical and Mental Deterioration with a New Sport
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published January 28, 2020 After I turned 70 and later retired from competitive shooting, I knew I needed to find ways to keep my body in shape and my mind sharp. I cannot ignore the facts. I am getting old. I have turned 73 last...
In Search of the Perfect Athlete, a Dressage Horse
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published October 21, 2019 He wanted to find a perfect athlete who demonstrated focus. One who maintained their body and avoided injury. One who had the mental makeup to not only handle thousands of hours of practice, but also the...
Love at First Shot: Vera Koo, the Shooting Sports and Mentoring
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published July 31, 2019 When NRA Women asked me to appear on an episode of the online television show “Love at First Shot,” I agreed to do it because I thought it was a chance to give back to the shooting sports. In particular, it...
Women and the Gun Movement
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published March 13, 2019 Vera Koo describes the modern-day women’s gun movement and highlights viable women’s shooting organizations throughout the world. ~BB Victoria Knowles-Lacks describes her gun club in simple terms. “We shoot,...
Vera Koo: Why Women Learn from a Female Instructor
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published June 28, 2016 I have been blessed throughout my shooting career to learn from some great teachers and mentors, men such as Jim O’Young. I never had a female instructor. For me, this was OK. I wanted to advance my knowledge...
Vera Koo: On What’s Next after the Shooting Sports
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published July 26, 2018 I hear many people talk about what they want to do “some day.” Too often, though, “some day” never arrives until the window of opportunity has closed and they can no longer do what they always said they wanted...
How to Become a Public Speaker and Influencer
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, Published June 17, 2019 More than 20 years ago, my husband, Carlos, and I attended a self-improvement seminar. Probably 100 people were there, and we were all asked to stand up and say what we were afraid of. In an interesting twist,...
Retro WON: Yuanfen and 2 Pieces of Jade
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, February 21, 2019 In the Chinese culture, we believe in a concept called Yuanfen, which is when fate brings two people together. If you have Yuanfen with another person, you will feel comfortable with that person. You can talk with...
Vera Koo: Why College Matters
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, February 11, 2019 When I enrolled at San Francisco State after graduating high school, I do not think I realized just how valuable the next 4 years of my life would be. I attended college because my friends were going to college. It...
Vera Koo: Three Helpful Things to Make Your Dreams a Reality
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, January 8, 2019 What do you want your life to be about? What are your goals? What would make you happy? Have you ever thought about those questions? You should. Because you can make your dreams become reality. We can all be so much...
Vera Koo is Back in School
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, November 7, 2018 I am a college student again. Yes, at 71 years old, I returned to school. I enrolled this semester for a class called “Introduction to Digital Imaging” at Cañada College in Redwood City, California. It meets twice a...
Vera Koo: On Giving Back Through Writing
By Vera Koo, Women's Outdoor News, February 7, 2018 I remember attending a political fundraiser about 13 years ago and noticing how few Asian-American women were seated in the room. Asian-Americans make up a strong percentage of the population in the California Bay...