Since I first wrote this article, I've actually had a chance to verify one important aspect of this. At the 1997 Meiji Shrine Demonstration in November, I demonstrated Toda-ha Buko-ryu naginatajutsu. On the first technique, my foot slipped on the grass and I sat down. My only thought was, "Gotta get out of here quick, `cause this is a bad place to be." I scrambled up and out from under the descending cut and countered with a cut of my own. While the situation was not one of life or death, my reaction did demonstrate an ability to act appropriately and without delay, both important elements of dealing with a real attack.
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Erik Paulson - Technique Over Power, By Todd Hester
This article is courtesy of and © CFW Enterprises Incorporated. All Rights Reserved
"Thorough,"
"complete," and "detailed" are all words that could
be used to describe Erik Paulson's fight training methods. The Shooto World
Light Heavyweight Champion for the past five years, Paulson has fought against
and beaten some of the world's top fighters. A Minnesota native who began
training in judo and then moved into taekwondo, Paulson developed a wide
repertoire of high kicks that served him well in the numerous traditional
Midwest tournaments he competed in. Moving to Los Angeles in the mid '80s,
Paulson began training in the Inosanto Academy where he was exposed to a
variety of grappling arts under Larry Hartsell and Yuri Nakamura and immediately
fell in love with the art of ground fighting. This eventually led him to
Japan's Shooto fighting organization, where Paulson became the first Westerner
to ever win a world title - a belt he stills holds over five years later.
Continuing to expand his knowledge base during this time, Paulson also learned
Brazilian jiu-jitsu under both the Gracies and the Machados, eventually
becoming a Pan American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion. This well-rounded
background has given Paulson wealth of training experience and knowledge
from which to draw from.
Train Specifically
Paulson's philosophy for training for a fight involves a simple creed of hard work and dedication coupled with an extensive array of drills with and without partners in order to build up his overall expertise. Most of all, Paulson believes that if you don't go into a fight prepared, you shouldn't go into it at all. "I start my training for a fight far in advance," Paulson says. "I like to have at least two months to properly prepare. But on last minute notification of fights you've always got to be ready, so you should never let yourself get too far out of shape. Stay healthy and stay strong and don't let your level drop. But you can't keep a peak at all times. You can over-sharpen your blade if you're not careful.'
Being as versatile as Paulson is, with many different types of events and opponents, he feels it is important to tailor your training to your challenge. "Each fighter that you fight has a different background therefore you have to hone and tailor your training to their specialties. So you have to watch tapes of them and study the way they move and win, and also study the way they lose. For example, if I was going into a submission tournament I would practice my takedown skills and my general ground submission skills and then also my specialty moves. My specialty is the top game, so I try to stay off my back unless I absolutely have to or am forced there. I train the guard for three things: armlocks, sweeps, or chokes. If I have no luck then I'm back on my knees. I work a strong base, core conditioning, and my balance through different exercises and drills. Every fighter has moves that they have come to rely on and that work for them. For example, Carlos Newton uses a lot arm locks; Jean Jacques Machado will generally choke people out from the rear sprawl; Royce Gracie will fight from the guard - so you have to know your game and then develop your game. Don't try to change your game at the last minute because you've had a epiphany - go with what got you there. Fighting is a game of percentages. All your training and moves should be based on development of high percentage finishes. By this I mean a move that you have used a lot in the past, that has finished people 80 percent of the time."
Training Time
For Paulson, the quality of time he trains is just as important as the quantity of training time. Consistency over a period of time is what Paulson considers to be the most important aspect of preparation. But with that taken into consideration, Paulson does believe in hard work, and his hours spent in the gym would qualify him as a "dojo rat" by any normal standard. "I would say that you need to train at least four hours a day, taking one or two days off per week, depending on how you're feeling. You have to listen to your body. It will tell you if you need rest or if you're getting mentally stale. This includes an hour-and-a-half in the morning of striking, then an hour of either running or lifting in the afternoon, then grappling and clinch work at night."
Training Fitness
While Paulson does get a lot of his aerobic fitness from his fighting drills, he also does traditional conditioning exercises to ensure that he doesn't "run out of gas" in the final minutes of a fight. "I like to run. It keeps my head clear and lets me know where I'm at and visualize my fight. I always wear a headset for motivation. There are two types of running: one is sprinting and I'll usually do a 50 yard dash, then a 50 yard slow jog and alternate that for anywhere from six to ten laps around the track. The other way is just jogging or distance running. Usually I'll jog 45 minutes at a moderate pace. You can't sprint everyday because your body gets torn up. It conditions your heart but it tears up your lungs and tweaks your hips and thighs. Jogging is more to develop my mental motivation and also my overall endurance. Distance running also helps me in my footwork and helps me to be faster and lighter on my feet."
Ready to Rumble
Paulson feels that if you have to ask someone if you're ready to fight, then you're not. The mental discipline that it took to drive you to top condition will give you the mental attitude to win. "When you're ready to fight - you know it," Paulson insists. "You're pissy, ancy, you can't sleep at night, and you have too much energy. Your endurance is so high that you're going through everybody in submission training and making them tired - iron man training - one after another, after another. Mentally you feel strong, complete, balanced, confident, and a little nervous." Despite the hardest training, though, Paulson acknowleges that sometimes, despite your best efforts, you just don't have it in the ring. "We're all human," he says. "When that happens, you just have to rededicate yourself to training and get them the next time. You can always tell when you go into the ring and you're off your game. Your focus is just not there - you seeing the audience, you're seeing the corner men, and you're seeing people outside the ring talking. You're worried about everything other than the fight.
That happened to me when I stepped into the ring against Carlos Newton. I wasn't focused, I was distracted, and despite my best efforts to ignore some destructive outside influences I just couldn't get my mind into the fight. I was just unfocused. And it showed in the result. So you've got to be into a fight in your mind as well as in your body." Part of the mental training, Paulson says, is keeping away from destructive influences and petty distractions. While you don't need to completely isolate yourself, he explains, you do need to set yourself apart enough to insure that you can keep your mind on the business at hand. "For the month before the fight, all I do is train, relax and then spend most of my time at home. It is all about relaxation and mental focus. When you're training you're focusing on what you have to do; but when you're at home you're keeping your mind clear and not getting distracted."
Erik Paulson's Top Training Drills
The drills that Erik Paulson does are designed to give a complete workout in all areas of martial arts - this is essential in mixed martial arts competitions. "You can't neglect anything," Paulson says, "So all of my training routines work specific areas that integrate together to help totally prepare for a match."
Shadow Boxing
Warm-up with this for 15 minutes at the beginning of training. For the first five minutes go really light and just move. For the second five minutes three-quarter power - punching, kicking, kneeing, level dropping, and sprawling. Then for the last five minutes go full power, at full speed, with kicking and striking combinations.
Heavy Bag
Don't throw more than five punches from any one place, and throw them in one to three punch combinations. These combinations include stepping off the centerline, clinching, elbowing, head butting, circling the bag, and then going in and out of range with footwork.
Glove Drills With Partners
Use realistic sparring scenarios. Have a partner that knows what they're doing and can attack in broken rhythm. You want to be defending and countering all possible attacks in the glove drills, and then use all your possible initial attacking combinations.
Focus Mitts
Use these drill to "sharpen the tools." Do numerous vale tudo drills - punching, kicking, kneeing, head control, and hockey punching (one-handed), concentrating on speed, reaction, and retraction.
Thai Pads
Use this strictly for power and conditioning and focus on punching, elbowing, kicking, and kneeing. Go as hard and as powerful as you can.
Kick Shield
This training device is used specifically for punching-to-kicking maneuvers, as well as for chopping leg kicks. These are preferred over the Thai pads for leg kicks because they allow hard chopping and kicking.
Belly Belt with Thai Pads and Shin Guards
Use the belly belt for multiple counters and attacks, and combinations and setups. This drill allows you to practice counters to both punches and kicks, return strikes, and counter grappling tackles.
Focus Mitt with Kicking Shield
These joint drills are essential for developing hand/foot and foot/hand combinations and those should be the focus of the drills.
Sparring
Sparring sessions should be against a variety of opponents with various skills and should include boxing, kickboxing, shootboxing, clinching and hitting, takedowns, takedowns to submissions, submissions, submissions with striking, and then mixing it all up.
Jump Rope or Running
Do immediately after the end of training before your heart rate drops. Run for one-and-a-half miles or do five minutes of jump rope/running in increments of 30 seconds jumping, 30 seconds jogging, and 30 seconds sprinting.