I shoot a Shadow in IDPA ESP. Cocked and locked is the starting condition. The first trigger pull is easy.
I shot an SP-01 in SSP. I would prefer a decocker for SSP. The decocker doesn't drop the hammer all the way down.
In IDPA, I believe if you manually lower the hammer, you have to fully lower it. Thus a safety model would have a slightly harder first pull.
Go Shadow and drop the hammer down for SSP or cocked for ESP.
Either way your trigger will be smoother than a stock gun.