Sensei Erik Paulson Shooto Seminar – December 2013

Robin French with Erik Paulson - December 2013

Saturday 14th December saw me travel from Chelmsford to Dave Birkett’s academy in Dartford, to attend a Shooto seminar given by Sensei Erik Paulson.

The seminar started with some hand fighting and some mobility work, before moving on to some basic ‘snaps’ from a kneeling and also a standing position.

Once everyone was warmed up, Sensei Erik took the seminar attendees through the Shooto lock flow series; taking the time to drill each thoroughly and break out into separate drills where appropriate. The way that each lock flowed to the next, made for a lot of easy repetition and contingency when trying to apply them.

Focus then switched to leg locks, the majority of which were instigated from the
top cross body position. I was familiar with some of those shown, but others were brand new to me.

The final move of the session was ‘Mother’s Milk’, a particularly stifling submission from the mount.

A massive thank you to Sensei Erik and his wife for travelling across the Atlantic to deliver this outstanding seminar, and to Dave Birkett for hosting him.