CSW/Picking a New Gym

[bigred389]

I'd like some advice from people who've been there done that wrt grappling. I'm looking at a couple of schools and I've narrowed it down to:

http://www.gustavomachado.com/html/home.htm
http://www.linxxacademy.com/
http://www.easternacademy.com/index.htm
http://www.hybridacademy.com/index.htm
http://www.globalacademyva.com/home/

The decision's hard b/c I'm weighing style vs prestige.
I know Gustavo Machado and Frank Cucci are both huge in their respective fields, but Gustavo's BJJ focused, while I want a MMA program. And Frank Cucci's school doesn't seem to have a competitive approach, and I'm not really too into combatives at this point.

So the last two seem best, except I'm not sure what to make of CSW, since the only thing I know about it is that it's what Josh Barnett trains in.
And the description sounds almost too good to be real. Blending as many grappling systems as it claims almost sounds like it'd be impossible in practice. Anybody with CSW experience have comments on it? What's different about it compared to say the usual mix of wrestling + BJJ?

Thanks for any input.

[Michael Wright]

I'm a student of Erik Paulson, so accept the fact that I am going to be biased, but CSW is an awesome study of martial arts.

It is far more than just grappling, what people often overlook is the awesome stand up. This is Erik's blend of Thai, Boxing, Savate and Jun Fan. The ground is a blend of too many grappling arts to list, but it's emphasis is more from the Japanese side as opposed to BJJ, as Erik's focus is no Gi.

Now here is the deal. What makes CSW so good, is Erik Paulson - who is fighter, a genius, and one of the best teachers in the world. All of the drills and methods he uses to teach are based on all of his years of competition in MMA, its not hypothetical, it is the empitomy of sports specific. Erik puts things together in a way I have never seen before. After 16 years in martial arts you think you have seen pretty much every focus mitt drill, then you go to one of Erik's seminars and you see 100 new ones. The guy is just a one off.

He has a very good team of teachers around the world, his standards are very high so you can be sure that a CSW rep is good at what he does. What I will say to you is CSW already assumes that you are in good shape, its not for armchair martial artists (which I'm sure you aren't). I will also say that the quantity of material is very dense, and some people do struggle to keep up and absorb the training, just to give you a balanced view.

Anyway, from a personal point of view, if your goal is great MMA/Combat Sports training, it is a superb all round system.

[bigred389]

Thanks for the input.

Your point on the density of the material is definitely appreciated.

My worry is what seems like the near impossibility of blending so many arts, when any one of them requires long hours of training. I mean, I've already done Dumog, FMA, Muay Thai, and Boxing, and I know I really only begun to scratch the surface in them.
So I'm wondering how the hell it's possible to train all of that together effectively.

This is the first time a grappling school has been available to me so I'm trying to make the best of it.

Also, as far as the point that CSW assumes you're in good shape...
Are you saying it's a no babying royal ass kicking or that it doesn't focus on instilling conditioning(do it on your own time)?

[Tim McFatridge]

I have train with Erik in the past and I can assure you that he is the real deal. I to believe that Erik Paulson is one of the best if not the best teachers out there (in my opinion). I trained with Larry Hartsell for nearly 14 years and Larry would always talk about Erik and would always encourage people to go train with Erik if they ever had the chance.

Erik's style of grappling is very similar to Larry's (they trained together for 10 years I believe) meaning they both combined several different grappling arts and striking arts all while maintaining economy of motion.

CSW combines Judo, Shooto, BJJ, Sambo, Catch Wrestling, Muay Thai, Savate and Boxing for one hell of a fighting system. It is not as hard as you think it is to pick it up. Erik will break down each move so that you can easily understand it, learn it and train it. If you have the chance to stop by and train with him then I would definately make that happen.

Just my thoughts

Tim

[Michael Wright]

What Tim said, bang on.

[footjab]

"And Frank Cucci's school doesn't seem to have a competitive approach"

......WHAT?? Better check your facts bro.

[mma news]

If you want to see how competitive Linxx is go to Total Cage Combat on January 5th and you will see Linxx mma guys in action in the cage. linxx has some great training for MMA, brazilian jiu jitsu, and muay thai competition or not. I have personally trained at Linxx and can tell you they are great. Check the schools out and see which one works for you. good luck.

[bigboywasim]

Man I love this stuff. Look at this impressive bag work.

[mma news]

i like the two mats they are nice tell these guys to call me and i will put them on the card for January 5th for Total Cage Combat

[bodhisattva]

Too bad you're not around here, we have a great time doing progressive MMA workouts on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. We work clinch, boxing and grappling skills, as adjust for Mixed Martial Arts competitions. We'd be glad to have you. Where do you live?

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

so, bigred389, which did you decide on? just curious.

thanks

[Jujujason]

Bigred, it's almost as if you're doubting Erik's authenticity. I can tell you this, Erik is a GENIUS at grappling. Plain and simple. He's been grappling for a very long time, starting with judo and wrestling in the 70's. He started training bjj in LA long before it was cool and has a black belt in that under Rigan Machado. Considering his 'grappling IQ', the grappling arts that he started in, the length of time that he's been training, where he trains (LA's plethora of knowledgable instructors) and the fact that he is a professional martial artist (all he does is martial arts), it's not that big of a stretch to believe that he's combined several martial arts (each of which he's mastered) into one system.

[lorenzodamarith]

Originally Posted by Jujujason

Bigred, it's almost as if you're doubting Erik's authenticity

hello,

jujujason, doubting is easy, but necessary. think it through. watch.

bigred, tell us if this is close to describing you..... no grappling experience, possibly very low level exposure to grappling.... close?

if this is the case, you are wondering how it is possible to combine so many arts, neh? "surely they are all so different" is what you wonder, neh? getting closer?

bigred, you have never had the "differences" of these various systems explained to you. closer?

what jujujason did not tell you is that all of these systems are very very similar. the major differences we perceive are in the rules of competition. mechanically, at some point, all of these systems become pretty much identical. the tournaments themselves are very different. erikpaulson has a proven record of excelling in all of these different competitive environments. he also draws on experience in muaythai, kali/silat and others to present a coherent grappling system that is appropriate for competition as well as combat.

TAH DAH!!!

bigred, this is what people were not telling you? hahahahahaha!!! it happens. look, when you are shopping around for a school, ALWAYS be sceptical, especially if your questions aren't being answered. your time, money and safety are on the line. that said, don't get too hung up on names/styles.

you want to end up in mma, neh? well, gustavomachado is hard to go wrong with too. you should learn one system REALLY well before attempting mma. agreed, you CAN jump straight into mma, but it will really hinder your progress when you don't understand basic concepts of the sport.

think of mma as a form of engineering. fine. engineering is good. but without understanding the underlying mathematics, you will never be a successful engineer. think of a base system like your mathematics, your conceptual base.

erikpaulson and his guys really are amazing, but you will still need to learn basic concepts before doing mma, even with them. thier standards are VERY high.

let us know what you decide. check out all the schools. most offer a free intro. try them out. talk with the instructors. THEN decide. whatever you decide will be right for you.

thanks

[bigred389]

Seriously, thanks for the input. I actually had to go out of the country for work, then took an ankle injury while running after I got back so I haven't made a decision yet.

I like what I've seen with CSW while looking into it more, and I also really like the fact they train in shoes. My most probable SD situation would have me wearing steel toed/combat boots on a metal deck. Also like the aggressive feel to it.
At this point it's mostly coming down to scheduling. I'm looking into whichever one has the schedule and contract that'll fit my schedule best.

As for my doubts...lorenzo hit it dead on. I have little grappling experience, so I was wondering how well a newcomer would pick up a "blended" style. Seriously, I can't tell you how pissed I am about this injury...I was psyched up to start when I got back, and this week is gonna go by SLOW.

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

glad to help you bigred. about the injury, take it slow. come back at 100%. then work it hard. agreed, scheduling is important. a guy can be the worlds greatest, but if you can't get there, he's not doing you any good, neh? hahahahahahahaha!!! regardless, enjoy your training and don't get bent if you miss a session here and there. just stick with it. take privates if you can, it really helps. and of course, let us know how things go!!!!

later bigred!

thanks