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 champion shooter, especially at the Bianchi Cup, the premier competition held every May in Columbia, Mo., is not unlike being a warrior. Every single time I face the challenge of competition it is like I am preparing for battle. I see myself as a general, preparing strategy and anticipating the enemy, which in most cases, is me.

The Rise to Success

The Bianchi Cup is one of the most mental challenges that competitive shooters can inflict upon themselves. There are only a limited number of shots to be taken at each of the 4 stations of the competition, and if you are not focused for even a split second, it can throw off your entire rhythm and change the outcome of the battle.

I entered the sport of competitive shooting when I was 45-years old. It was the last thing I expected to be doing. I took a class about gun safety and found that I had aptitude. I also worked very hard, like I do with most things, because I wanted to be the best at it. I have a natural competitive drive; however, the competition is not really against other people, it is to challenge myself to be the best I can be.

Today, at the age of 67, I am comfortable thinking of myself as a warrior. I have had many years to look at myself, examine my motives and objectively look at how I approach the competition each year. I am not a warrior because of the quantity of victories and their accompanying decorations, although I have been fortunate to have amassed many in 20 years of shooting, including 8 NRA National Action Pistol (Bianchi Cup) titles and 2 World Woman Championship titles – 1 at the Bianchi Cup and 1 the World Man on Man Shoot Off.

True warrior status is earned through discipline, diligence, long hours and rising up when you have fallen. Struggle excites me. If I am pushed to my own limits, I know I can get to the top. If I think too much or study too, much without action, I will not succeed.

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