I don't know if I feel as strongly as mattjoe, but that's definitely a good point at the end. I haven't shot IDPA, but have done a lot of IPSC and some 3-Gun "tactical" scenario stuff based around IPSC/IDPA type rules. In the latter, people would often get bent out of shape about a stage not being "tactically sound". We basically took the same standpoint that "cardboard doesn't shoot back**". Until someone's shooting back, it's just a game. (If someone IS shooting back, try to survive and get the heck out of there!) Any of these games are good for your marksmanship, gun handling, and just plain fun if you don't get too wound up about it. If you're not going to enjoy it, why not just go to work and at least make some money?
One of the funniest things I ever saw related to "tactical shooting" competition and how it is NOT TACTICAL SHOOTING:
Competitor is attempting a stage with an array of several steel "poppers" directly in front of him at minimal range. Shooter blasts through the stage, then pivots several times in a "ready" position to sweep over the scene, as they'd been taught at some tactical shooting school. The competitor then lowers and clears the firearm. RO says, "
IF you are finished, unload, show clear." Most competitors recognize that emphasis means you've missed something big-time. He in fact had a full size pepper popper standing squarely in front of him about 10 yards away -- he had hit all the steel, but "rang" that one! An expletive was followed quickly by a reload and shot to finish. He was going through the motions, but definitely had missed out on the mindset.
Another interesting thing about this group (not officially IPSC or IDPA, just guys who liked to shoot). They were very much into how to transfer skills to "real life". The penalty for a "no-shoot" hit was to zero the stage. Idea being that if you get sloppy and hit bystanders, you're going to get a lot more than a 10 point (or "x" seconds, not sure about IDPA) penalty when the legal system gets done with you. They'd also do clinics on techniques and strategies after the match. We had a few guys who really knew their stuff and taught formal classes, but a lot of guys just enjoyed thinking through different possibilities -- not that they'd have the "right" answer, but that thinking of options ahead of time might give them an edge in a real situation. If nothing else, we'd figure out what DIDN'T work. Many stage scenarios were taken from published reports of real-life situations, others from members' personal experiences with use of force. It was just kind of neat (and humbling) to try something out and have it fail miserably due to competition thinking versus real-world problems. (e.g. thrusting your pistol out - a la normal competition stances - toward a threat target placed literally at contact distance -- you'd possibly lose the weapon, and at least have a big chance of having it pushed out of battery if it's an auto.) We also had knife utilization stages a couple of times a year, noting that most carried them but never practiced any fighting skills. We all pretty much discovered that we sucked with knives, and had better bring a pistol if we were ever invited to a knife fight!
Anyway, play whatever games you can, and have fun. Stay safe -- always come home with the same number of openings in your skin that you started the day with!
** This line was sort of like one out of an old Bruce Lee movie. A rival tosses a board into the air and shatters it with a fist or foot attempting to intimidate Bruce. He replies, "Boards don't hit back."