“I do train at a shooting centre in Romford. But I also train in our garden in Harlow, where we’ve got garages down the back side where my Dad keeps some cars. There’s a small alleyway, only a couple of metres wide but most importantly 10m long.
“And I actually use an electronic simulator, I’m not actually firing any bullets. Its just purely a computer-orientated programme so, it’s as quiet as it can be really. None of the neighbours probably know it exists.
“It’s so handy because usually, in shooting, you fire the shot and get the result – and that’s it. You hear a bang, look at the target, and see where it’s gone.
“But that’d be like knowing a football match finished 2-0 to one side, and nothing else. We all know it could be a really lucky goal went in, or one team absolutely dominated.
“Yet with this computer programme you can see the process, not just the result.
“The complex ballistics around how a bullet reaches the target is far too quick to comprehend, otherwise. It’s basically a laser at the end of your rifle that you’re shooting at a sensor on the target – and it shows you where all of the movements were leading up to that shot. That’s massively important to determine where the shot is placed.
“The most important thing for me is that it really defines your technique. It’s amazing to see the variety of ways in which you can get a 10. You can really start to unpick the bits of your technique that always work, and the bits that are a bit lucky.
“In Britain, and possibly in most of Europe, it wasn’t that popular until three or four years ago. The technology was developed by the Russian national team, and almost simultaneously by the Chinese national team, and they were very secretive in the 1990s about it.
“So it’s amazing that they’ve been able to mass produce it for other shooters. A lot of the new generation find it very helpful, but some old school traditionalists still prefer to use trial and error – nothing technical, just repetitions.
“Abroad, more and more now, coaches are finding it’s a very good way to analyse people’s technique – and ultimately gain success in the future. In Britain, it’s not that common. I’m pretty much the only person who uses it.”
