What is IDPA?

I had intended to talk about my search for my 9mm pistol and the good and bad about it, but someone asked me about IDPA, so I thought I'd do this post first.

From the IDPA website:

The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) is the governing body of a shooting sport that simulates self-defense scenarios and real life encounters. It was founded in 1996 as a response to the desires of shooters worldwide. The organization now boasts membership of more than 17,008, including members in 50 foreign countries.

What an inside shoot can look like at a local club:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBkz7uZEzYs

What an outside shoot can look like at a local club:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHmlKPS1g0

What it looks like from the shooters vantage point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kYYv1mP0aU

There are other practical shooting associations including the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) and the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). Each shooting association has it's own rules and came about for different reasons.

The club I plan to start shooting at is the Central Carolina Shooting Club. They'e not too far from where I live. They offer multiple types of shoots on the weekend including IDPA, USPSA, Steel Challenge, and 3 Gun.

Each of the shooting associations have multiple divisions of shooting and qualifier levels. For IDPA pistol shooting, the divisions include SSP (Stock Service Pistol), ESP (Enhanced Service Pistol), CDP (Custom Defensive Pistol), ESR (Enhanced Service Revolver), and SSR (Stock Service Revolver).

The classification/qualifier levels for IDPA are MM (Marksman), SS (Sharpshooter), EX (Expert), and MA (Master).  IDPA does this so shooters can compete against peers with the same skill levels. Periodically, clubs will run a classification shoot to determine a shooters level of competence.

For a quick comparison of IDPA vs. USPSA the following website can give you the information.