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I have been shooting virtually since I could first stand up, with rifles, pistols and shotguns. I have also been a shooting coach for most of my adult life. My first job was with Holland & Holland, where I progressed from working on guns to working with them. When still very young I was very fortunate to become an instructor at the world famous Holland and Holland Shooting School in Northwood, Middlesex.
This didn't just happen. Before being turned loose on the shooting world I spent a whole year following the great Norman Clarke, caddying for him I suppose, and listening as he gave some of the most sparkling and informative shooting lessons I have ever encountered. It was the finest course of shooting instruction a young man could ever receive. From him I discovered more about the art of shotgun shooting in the first week than I had learned in the previous 21 years. Norman was frequently referred to as ‘the World’s Greatest Shotgun Coach.’ Unlike the occasional self-publicist who claims that title nowadays, in Norman’s case it was probably true.
For those who are interested in a little history Norman Clarke was a protégé of Robert Churchill, of gunmaking and shooting coach fame. Churchill's somewhat controversial shooting method included the advocating of the equally debatable Churchill 25" barrel guns. Believe or not, all these years later, arguments continue to rage over the good and bad sides of his guns and methods, yet there is no ignoring the fact that Churchill had great success both as a coach and as a business man.
Although he always had great respect for his 'old governor' as he called him, Norman Clarke did not rigidly teach Churchill's shooting method nor did he slavishly support 25" barrels. Norman introduced several important variations which to me made all kinds of sense. Sadly he passed on his knowledge to only two people. One was me, the other was Ken Davies, whose own fame at least equals that of our great mentor. Ken remains at Holland & Holland to this day, while I took off to do my own thing having done a 12 year instructing stint at the school.
Norman had been teaching for 35 years when I first met him, and he had formed many of his own ideas. Now I have been teaching for a similar number of years and have formed a few ideas of my own! I have devised training routines and techniques specifically to help the competition shooter. Along the way these gradually evolved into a coaching system that I have called Total Shooting. It’s not a new method of shooting, just a different approach to coaching it. Admittedly many of the training routines are for the serious shooter aspiring to international success, but anyone, game shooters included, can benefit.
Whilst a shooting instructor first and foremost I was also a serious clay shooting competitor, representing Great Britain for 12 years at Olympic Skeet in Nordic, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic Games. Shooting this fast discipline added a whole new angle to my views on how shotgun shooting and shooters should function, and how shooting might best be taught. Watching the world's greatest shots in various disciplines, also having long discussions with them, also added to that knowledge bank. Now several books, many articles and many more lessons later Total Shooting continues to evolve.
Paul Bentley, July '02
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