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I have a chance to attend an Erik Paulson seminar in the near future and I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on how he conducts his seminars. Are they fast paced, moving from one technique to another, or does he spend a lot of time on each technique/principle that he's showing? I understand that each of his seminars are probably very different depending on why he's at a given school, but I'm just curious about what to expect. If anyone could give any insight or advice on how to prepare or what to expect that would be great. Thanks!
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First of all, I'm not stalking you.
I've been training with Erik for about 8 years now. I've travelled around the UK attending his seminars, I've had him a couple of times at my own place, and I've travelled to his school in LA.
The first thing to understand is that Erik's seminars are tough, and there is no getting away from it. He was an awesome fighter, a world champion, and now his job is to train fighters and champions. Therefore, there can be no question that his sessions are going to be demanding.
Typically, you'll have a hard warm up that focusses on cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Then depending on the content he'll work a series of techniques and, to answer your question, he teaches fast. The last portion of his seminars is typically always a spar or a roll, depending on what he is teaching. He expects everyone to get on the mat and wrestle or put the gloves on and spar, and you typically go quite hard.
At a seminar in Bolton in 2003 people threw up during the warm up. At a seminar in London in 2004 we did 3 hours of focus mitts without a break. At a seminar last year in Edinburgh I wrestled 11 matches in the last portion of the seminar.
For me, this is the beauty of Erik Paulson. He is one of the very few people in the world who doesn't water down his approach to the arts just because its a seminar. He expects everyone who turns up to train the same way a fighter does, and in that respect it is an invaluable experience. I cannot recommend it highly enough. -
So I'm looking into internet restraining orders...
Seriously though, I appreciate you responding to my questions. It sounds like this seminar is going to be a great time, I love training, especially when it's hard training. I don't have a ton of experience sparring though so I'm a little worried I might get my ass kicked but either way it will be a good experience and I'm sure I'll learn from it.
What exactly do you mean by "he teaches fast"? Do you mean in the sense that it's fast paced, intense physical training, or that he tries to fit as much as he can into the time he's given at the seminar?
Finally, since you seem to have extensive experience training with Mr. Paulson, is there anything you'd recommend I focus on while training with him? By this I mean if I can't truly learn everything he teaches (because he teaches too fast for me/my skill level) is there any one thing I should try to take away from the seminar? (this could be something from the larger picture such as a guiding martial principle, or something as basic as a single technique) Or can you not be sure because you don't know specifically what he will teach? Thanks again Mr. Wright and anyone else who wants to contribute.Comment
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