The Chapman Academy is open again…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n …in the picturesque Missouri heartland, on the same great facility that has hosted the Bianchi Cup since 1979…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Champan_Sign.jpg\" "\\"Champan_Sign\\"")
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I had grown up reading about Ray Chapman, the man the late, great Jeff Cooper called \u201cthe maestro\u201d of practical handgun shooting, and got to meet him in Los Angeles in 1978 during a practice session for the National Championships of IPSC, the International Practical Shooting Confederation.\u00a0 I was running a particularly difficult stage, and since he was watching I asked, \u201cMr. Chapman, could you give me any pointers?\u201d\u00a0 He replied that I should start the stage with my toes pointed in a slightly different direction, and should slap the barricade (the second firing point of the stage) with my support hand when I reached it.<\/p>\n
I remember thinking \u201cWow, big deal\u2026the World Champion\u2019s only advice is move my toes and slap some wood.\u201d\u00a0 But I tried it\u2026and cut a significant few seconds off my time on the next run. The slight change in foot angle had saved me a turn as I started the run, and the slap on the wall brought me to a stop and into firing position on the barricade much more quickly.\u00a0 Ray Chapman had just given me my first preview of his extraordinary coaching ability.<\/p>\n
I got to his Chapman Academy advanced pistol school in Columbia (actually adjacent Hallsville), Missouri a couple of years later, and wound up teaching with him for many years.\u00a0 Trained as an engineer, Chapman brought an engineer\u2019s analytical eye to teaching the gun, and I learned more from him than from any of my many other mentors over the decades of my shooting career.<\/p>\n
Ray\u2019s retirement and subsequent death were sad chapters in firearms training, as was the temporary shutdown of the Academy program.\u00a0 2012 is a banner year in that Chapman Academy is now open for teaching again, at the same famously well-equipped facility!\u00a0 Head of the program now is Rich Greiner, one of Ray\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9s. There is no doubt in my mind that Rich will continue Ray\u2019s successful approach of starting with accuracy and building to speed.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m delighted to see Chapman Academy open again. What you learn there can cut years off a trial-and-error learning curve in making you a fast, accurate shooter.\u00a0 Info is available at http:\/\/www.chapmanacademyofpracticalshooting.com\/<\/a>.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud to be a Chapman Academy alumnus, and believe me, you will be, too.<\/p>\n The Chapman Academy is open again…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n …in the picturesque Missouri heartland, on the same great facility that has hosted the Bianchi Cup since 1979…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Chapman_Road_Sign.jpg\" "\\"Chapman_Road_Sign\\"")
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