Staying Alive!!

Thursday, 1 July 2010

This article was written by Erik Paulson and is the end part of an article about tricky unusual moves. He explains where they come from and how he got round to them but more importantly he talks about his training and I think he makes some really good points about stuff that happens in the gym. Like the guys who don't compete and therefore think the fights in the gym.

Take a read.

"A lot of people just start playing. I played with it a lot on that bag (motion master), so a lot of this stuff just comes from playing on the ground. Just be creative. That’s the biggest thing. If you’re on the mat it’s all experimental. Who cares if you get caught in practice? That’s what practice is for. It’s like boxing & wrestling. They don’t say, "Hey did you get punched in the face today?", of course you did! You’re boxing! That’s part of the game. "Hey, did you get taken down today?", of course you did! It’s wrestling! That’s part of practice. A lot of guys have that mentality because they are gym fighters and they don’t fight or compete outside of the gym, so their whole objective is to catch other people in class and say "I’m the best guy in the gym". Big deal! That’s your gym.



What level are you? Let’s say you fight in tournaments (State, National, Worldwide, Olympics), there are so many different levels of competition that the main thing is just to be humble and train. Learn and have fun. When you start losing the fun, you don’t want to train anymore.

The worst thing is when you’re on the mat and looking at the same spot. I rembember wrestling and having guys trying to get me and I’m looking at this little cut in the mat. It’s like I’m sleeping all night long and dreaming about this little cut in the mat and the next day, it seems like five hours later, I’m looking at the cut in the mat. You put your wrestling shoes on and they haven’t dried from the night before. Five straight days, etc. That gets old. It becomes a job and it’s not fun. You have to rekindle your passion. Step away from it for a while and just say "This is too much". You actually learn a lot more when you step away from what you are doing. Except for Guro Dan. LOL. He never decreases. He looks younger now than he did ten years ago!

A loss can be a win and a win can be a loss. A loss is a loss if you quit and don’t learn. A loss is a win if you become Leonard Nimoy and go "In Search Of" and find out where the holes are in your game. A win is a loss if you say "I’m the best!" and quit.




"You were a champion yesterday, today is a different day" – George Kerr

The main thing is to have fun. Get on the mat, roll, and have fun.

If you are on the mat, there are no secrets. The secret is training."

By Erik Paulson