CSW Training Center

“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” — Thucydides

In the 233 years that have come and gone since its birth, America has served as a beacon for ingenuity, hope, courage, democracy and blue-collar toughness. The men and women who represent the nation in the sport of mixed martial arts embody those traits as well as anyone. To that end, Sherdog.com compiled a list of the most memorable All-American moments in MMA.

Read Full Story on Sherdog.com

(originally published in Tapout Magazine, December 2006)

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by Erik Paulson

(originally published in Gladiator Magazine – 2007)

As a martial athlete I think it is very important for us to be able to write down and actually see what we are doing to and putting in our body. It is always a good idea to get a journal or book of some sort to record our daily thoughts and what we are doing on a daily basis, especially when we are preparing for a fight  or trying to achieve any goal of making ourselves better. I have always found this very useful and I recommend it for everyone. Below are some of the things that I write down in my personal journal.

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by Erik Paulson

(originally printed in TapouT – Issue 11 2006)

If you’re fighting and not running… YOU ARE NOT FIGHTING!

I have experimented both ways for fighting and found that my overall fitness, footwork and well-being were much better after putting in miles. Bruce Lee said running was the king of exercises and I believe that to be true. Running is moving meditation, think time, and self-visualization for a fight. Running gives you the polishing touch, the icing on the cake. When you’ve done all your pad work, heavy bags, sparring and jump rope, running gives you freedom and clears your head.

It’s controversial whether or not you should do more long distance running or sprints, but I say both. Loong distance running gives you that sustained energy you won’t get from sprints. Sprinting gives you explosive ability that allows you to blast out of a situation.

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Drill Bits

By Erik Paulson

(From Gladiator magazine, November 1, 2006)

I would be the first to say that there is not necessarily a connection between having a black belt and being a good MMA fighter; there can be, but there isn’t always. There are many fighting styles and some of them are more geared towards self-defense, weapons, multiple attackers, pure sport, or simply fitness and exercise. So to have your black belt, black sash, or instructor’s certificate in a style such as karate, kung-fu, silat, escrima, tae kwon do, judo, or a similar martial art that isn’t geared toward one-on-one combat in a cage can certainly be admirable and is a worthy achievement, but that by itself isn’t going to make you successful in the cage. The type of black belt you have is more a measure of potential MMA success than just having “any” black belt.

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written by Freddy George.

Originally published in TapouT Magazine – Fall 2007

Hey Guys. I have put together a creative conditioning circuit for you to play with this month. I have centered most of my attention on the trunk and legs for this workout. Normally you have heard me preach that a tree is only as strong as its roots and trunk and that is a fact! Hence, we normally train from our legs to our head. However, I also preach that if you do the same workout over and over you will get stale. So let’s shock the system and duplicate an MMA Fight. The first round starts with striking so let’s work from our top down. do this training after your MMA practice when you are dog tired and push yourself to failure. Then, three or four days later go for a light jog to warm up and come in the gym as if it were a fight and kill this circuit before you practice. See if you can still concentrate on what your coach is teaching when you are exhausted. Remember, you still need to be able to think and react in the later rounds of a fight. I will change the exercises for you in the next issue.

The Circuit (1 minute straight)

1. Fedor’s Hammer

Square stance, open your torso up, reach back as far as possible, and flex your core as you slam the hammer down. Variation for punching power – stand in your boxing stance, retract the hammer back with a trunk twist to load your spring, now unload the spring by simulating a punch, turn your hips, and slam that hammer down as hard as possible.

2. 45LB Plate Thrusts

10 reps 45 degrees down angle with knees bent, chest out.
10 reps 45 degrees up angle.
5 steering wheels right.
5 steering wheels left.
5 around the worlds right.
5 around the worlds left.

3. Power Wheel Core Rollouts On Knees

30 reps left, straight, right.

4. Power Band

30 reps left, straight, right.

5. Power Band

45 degree frog leaps with hip snap.

6. Explosive Split Lunges

7. Core Slams With The Motion Master Dummy

Alternate left and right shoulders.

8. Turkish Get Ups

5 left, 5 right.

9. Sit outs

5 left, 5 right.

10. 100 Crunches

11. Wall Sit

Quads parallel to the ground (2 minutes)

If you have more energy, get some water, rest 1 minute (repeat)

Send me feedback on this workout. I’d like to know if it is tough enough for you monsters.

Freddy George: detroitdiesel34@aol.com

written by Fred George “The Detroit Diesel”

Originally published in Tapout Magazine – Fall 2007

Remember me telling you guys not to open a fight school without a passion for the sport? Yeah, well nothing has changed. In the beginning it is a thankless task that will cost you a ton of time and money. Give yourself six solid months to get your facility up to speed. After you come up with your business plan and basic design it is time to go shopping. Let me give you some great advice. Buy the best products made in each category before you open your doors or you will regret it. you will find yourself repurchasing or retrofitting your gym if you do not buy high quality products in the beginning. Cheap gloves flall apart, the velcro stops working, the stitching tears, and the internal foam fails. My cheap Muay Thai pads leaked out stuffing and the stitching material in the seams blew out.

Fortunately I work for TapouT Magazine and MMA Worldwide. So I contacted every vendor in the business and performed an unbiased review of each product, and chose the best in each category. If you are a gym owner, this is priceless information. The CSW Training Center is a showcase club that TapouT Magazine and Hollywood Productions are currently using as a shoot location. In fact, if you watch “The Human Weapon” on the History Channel, you will see the CSW Gym on September 28th. It features Erik Paulson teaching Combat Submission Wrestling. Here is the Vendor list that I came up with. Mention to the vendor that you got their contact info from Freddy George, for the TapouT Magazine discount.

We are building a custom cage for the spring floor that will be out of this world. If any of you fighters or gym owners would like to come by and train on the new flooring, feel free to call anytime. Again, if it weren’t for our fantastic sponsors this gym would have never happened. Erik and I want to thank TapouT Magazine and our vendors for all of their support.

Wrestling Mat – Dollamur

2 inch Rollout Smooth Mat with Matching Vinyl Seamless Tape (New Product)

Contact: Mike Swain (408) 591-6704 | Gary McDowell (817) 360-9391

Spring Floor (24 x 28 feet)

Wood Frame 2 x 8 Studs

21 Sheets of 4 x 8 foot pieces of 1/2″ plywood

Mats on Spring Floor

1/2 in. rollout padding (white)

Black & Blue Zebra matt

Smooth Cage Matt (New Product)

Contact: Chuck Blanski (763) 370-6897

Jimmy Pedro

Bags

Fairtex Fight Gear

Wall Bags

Knee Bags (red, white, blue)

Banana Bags

300 lb Heavy Bag (Every gym should have one of these)

(Pole Mounted)

Contact: Michael Bruno (415) 777-0702

Bag Rack

Fabricated and welded by

Mike Tetzloff and Freddy George (702) 604-0829

Artistic Grinding / Clear Coating: Tavo (562) 445-7177

Tavo is also a World Class Car and Motorcycle Painter.

Cage Options

Combat Sports

Contact: Joe Taylor (877) 426-9864

Throwdown Cages

Contact: Aaron Maddox (619) 204-4019

Gloves and Shin Pads

Combat Sports

Contact: Joe Taylor (877) 426-9864 | Revgear (818) 847-1111

Shorts

Sprawl

Warrior Wear

Sinister

Gym Sponsors

HD Net

TapouT Magazine

MMA Worldwide, Inc.

Zildijan Cymbals (I play the drums)

Affliction Clothing

Team Doctors

Eric Dotson (562) 458-8080

Doctor Steve Eledge A.R.T. – Specialist (714) 636-2060

Nutrition Sponsors

Americell (ACL Labs) “Buy these products! They Work!”

CNP – Propeptide Protein

Protein Slam (Beta Alanine)

Core Training Sponsors

TRX System “Fitness Anywhere”

Power Wheel

Power Bands

Lous Private Training (714) 322-8432 “Brutal – Not for the Faint of Heart”

Contacts

Fred George: (714) 675-4666

Erik Paulson: (818) 919-4785

CSW Training Center

4080 Palm St. Ste. 801

Fullerton, CA 92835