ERIK PAULSON INTERVIEW

D.B What spurred you to begin training in Martial Arts?

E.P I began in 1974, I guess. My mom started me in Judo when I was young. I was already playing a bunch of sports and I was really interested in martial arts. I didn't want to at first, but I fought in a competition about a year later and I beat everybody, and I thought "hey maybe I'll try this" and that's what kicked it off.

D.B Many people, during the early part of their training, often believe that what they are doing is best, or is sufficient to enable survival in a real situation. Did you feel like that at first and how did your opinion change regarding this?

E.P No, because at the time, number one I wasn't a high level Judo practitioner, I found I had all these ideas and thoughts, I tried this, I tried that, but until you really have to use it you think that some things work and a lot of times they don't unless you try them, and try them. What happened was I tried to grab the guy and throw him, and I ended up on the ground wrestling, and I got my hair pulled, then I tried to kick him and punch him and I didn't know what I was doing. I knew that I had to have some stand up skills.

D.B Was competing a natural progression for you or were you more guided towards it?

E.P I have competed since I was a child. All of the sports I did, in Judo we had to compete against each other, in Karate and Tae Kwon Do we competed all the time, it was always competition. Plus I had an older brother that I competed against all the time, he was a wrestler.

D.B What was your reason behind coming involved with the no-holds barred side of competing?

E.P I was actually doing it at the Inosanto academy. I was doing Thai boxing, I was doing Wrestling and take-downs and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1988 full time. We were kind of 'mixing it up' and before I had fought in Kick Boxing and Judo competitions in the United States and I thought maybe it would be kind of cool to mix it up, I saw the fights and I thought "I can do that" because I still had the fight side of me, I always had it, probably instilled from my brother, who had been kicking my butt since I was a little kid.

D.B How do you drive yourself mentally when you are training, especially when you don't feel your best or you are maybe carrying an injury?

E.P I train harder when I am injured because I know that I have to overcome and compensate for some of the pain. My mental drive, what I do is, its like when you are in college and you have a test, you start cramming, so you're going to step your training up to like 3 times as much. Your whole thought process gets consumed by your upcoming competition. You know that the more you think about it, the more stress you have, so I figure the harder you train the less you think about it because when your body is weak it consumes you, so you compensate by training harder. You find that your confidence level grows, the more you get in shape, the harder you train, the fewer questions you'll ask yourself.

D.B How do you feel when you are about to compete now, compared to how you did during your earlier bouts?

E.P Well, before we didn't know how to train, we just used to train really hard, we trained really really hard, I think that we were almost over training. Now the training is a lot more scientific, you know what you need to do, you'll maybe get a tape on the guy that you are fighting, so you find out where his strengths and weaknesses are so you can concentrate on your overall condition. Your cardiovascular is your top line, if you don't have cardio you shouldn't get in the ring. Cardio is your main ingredient. Also, during the first three weeks you concentrate on your general conditioning, your strength training and your wind. Then after that your technical form, isolation comes in, a lot of sparring, tons of timing drills. Just mostly drilling, drilling, drilling, not so much beating each other up, just drilling, just working at your technique.

D.B Being as experienced as you are, and taking into consideration your no-holds barred fights, do you see a difference between martial arts training, or competing and a person trying to deal with a real live situation?

E.P Definitely, because martial arts is a thought out fight, and you know you are going to battle so you don't get surprised, although the nerves can be built up. The element of surprise and the adrenalin rush from a surprise attack, especially when you are just out having fun and you're talking about just a normal day, then somebody decides that they want to take your head off, or insult you, or insulted your wife, suddenly things change, its extremely real. There is malicious intent, whereas the other is more of a sporting competition.

D.B Have you ever been on the receiving side so to speak of a street situation, and how did you deal with it, mentally how did it affect you, and how did you deal with that?

E.P I worked as a bar tender for about 10 years but there are two choices: fight or flight. My theory is, if someone is in your face and you don't have the option to move or get out of the situation, then you have to 'go' immediately. For me, I get, not nervous so much but shakey, I know if I don't act upon that immediately, it turns to a weakness and then it goes to your stomach, suddenly you start to question yourself. I'll step away from it or I'll go immediately.

D.B I personally believe that you should always try to draw something positive out of anything you do, even when at first look it appears that the whole venture has been a failure. How do you feel about this type of philosophy, do you have your own way of staying positive?

E.P Staying positive has to do with just your belief and your love for life. I think if you enjoy what you are doing and you are happy with who you are and you know who you are, if you surround yourself with the right people and the right things. I also think that to draw a positive out something going wrong is to learn from it. Life is all based on experiences. You are put on Earth to love and to help other people, that is why we are here. Everyone has a mission and I think that if there is something wrong, the main thing is that you learn from it. The only reason that you make mistakes is so you can grow. Its basically about learning and growing, taking something negative and turning it into a positive, recognising your mistake and thinking, OK I won't do it again.

D.B I know this is probably a typical question, but what are your immediate plans and where would you like to see yourself in ten years time?

E.P Right now, by the end of this year I would like to open a gym, I'd like to have a high level of competitors and I would like to have a successful school and a happy family. I would like to have kids in the next few years and I would also like to see what we are doing evolve and become more of the sporting event, and have no-holds barred fighting become sanctioned as a sport. There is a level of people all over the world that are understanding that cross-training is the way to go, everyone is cross-training. Tae Kwon Do classes are teaching grappling, we've had this the whole time. We've always done it in Tae Kwon Do - grappling we just never show it. I think that the main thing is that people are cross training, and understanding a little more rather than just taking a bunch of techniques from each art, but training the athlete. Training the level of your conditioning and your physical level, and also your mental level, more than just the technical side.

D.B In approximately ten years time then, what would you like to see yourself doing, more on the business side, maybe promoting etc?

E.P Yeah, well maybe, and coaching. Definitely coaching. You can fight for as long as you think you can, but you'll always have it I think. If you are a competitor you'll always be a competitor. When you stop competing you think "what are you going to do now?" Are you going to turn it off or are you going to turn that energy into your people? I would much rather be in the ring fighting than on the side of the ring fighting. There is nothing you can do to control it, at least in the ring you can control it. Its funny because Billy Cusack said that too. He said being a competitor is the easy part. The hardest part is being a coach because they are in there competing and there is nothing you can do to control what is going on, and you are very nervous for them. You are wishing that they will do their best. I think as a coach you get 10-fold back to what you could as a competitor. You have to compete to understand. Competitors are very self centered. You have to be selfish, egotistical somewhat, you have to be, in order to grow and be the best, but you also have to take that and throw it away so that you can become humble and more like a father figure. That's another big step too. It takes a lot to humble yourself.

D.B Is there any question that you have always wanted to be asked, or something you would like to put across or comment on?

E.P A lot of people out there that get publicity and give themselves publicity and I think that's good. I still think there are a lot of people out there that are really great, you don't seem to hear of these so much. Even like competitors, there are a lot of extremely good people out there, in various martial arts that don't compete, they could or should but don't. So its like, everybody deserves credit, but my main goal is that I give respect to the people that are out there training hard and finding the discipline to go to the gym every day to train or not having too much of a reason other than passion. To a lot of people its like "I don't have a competition so I don't have to train". Your main reason you got into it is because you loved it so much. I think sometimes competition on the other hand makes you a lazier person and maybe not quite as determined. You have to change your training or your interests, I mean how many times can you do front kick, round kick, spinning kick to the head? You know, there's got to be more. I think cross training and learning other methods and styles is important. You get good at what you are doing passing it on too, but its just finding the ability to keep going to the gym for the sake of passion rather that the sake of need, which would be like 'I need to train, I have to be in shape' then after the fight the last thing you want to see is a pair of gloves and a bag. I think that is where we grow because competition adds a year of training onto your life, for one real fight you have it adds a year onto your training time. It's pretty true because you look at things a lot differently. I got on the mat before my last fight and after my last fight I was moving all over the place, my difference was in my movement. When you watch the fight after you're like 'could've would've, should've done this and all of a sudden you see things in a different light. You see things differently. The other thing is watching video tapes of yourself doing stuff in the privacy of your own home. Even if you tape yourself sparring - you don't need other people around to watch it. You are your best and worst critic. Dan Inosanto said you are the worst competitor you will ever have. He said you will come across all these people that will say this and that, but you are the only person that can do that. Its true because I see him and he's like "you know when I was 40 I used to be able to do all these kicks like that. I can't do that any more, I'm getting old, he's so much faster". I believe that your worst enemy is yourself. I think it's just the ability to stay consistent with your training. I think that's where the discipline comes in. Especially now we're getting out of the traditional martial arts where the discipline isn't there anymore. Suddenly the discipline isn't inside you, but is has to be within. Its has to do with getting your butt off to the gym and training. That's where the discipline lies. You have to be true to yourself.

D.B. Erik, thank you for doing me the honor of allowing this interview.

E.P. No problem, it was a pleasure.