Quick Kills DVD by Erik Paulson

Paulson takes his training tapes to the limits with this high intensity, high level all range Quick Kills attack tape.

Approx. 45 minutes.

Review from maximumg.com:

Erik Paulson is an American MMA pioneer and one of the best trainers on the planet. He is a student of Yori Nakamura (1989), Dan Inosanto (1988), Benny Urquidez(1988), and Rorion Gracie(1988). He was the first American to go to Japan and come home with a world title from a Japanese MMA organization (Shooto).

The Quick Kills instructional begins with a short highlight of action from the tape. Erik then introduces himself and his assistant Jeremy Bennet before going on to define Quick Kills as “the most efficient way to finish a fight from striking to grappling to finishing.”

Erik is an incredible instructor and is one of the more innovative trainers out there. The Quick Kills instructional seems to teach a principle that Erik reportedly works with his live coaching clients and which also happens to be one of the core principles of Jet Kune Do, which one of his instructors just happens to be the foremost living expert. That “principle” establishes the importance for a fighter to become proficient at fighting from all ranges and be able to progress through the ranges, with ease, in order to finish the fight and end the conflict.

Quick Kills teaches that core combative principle by example. Erik delivers nine different series of strategy and techniques that progress from standing striking range to takedowns and finishes (submissions on the ground). I have included my notes below for the first quick kill on the tape to make it easier to understand the process that Erik is employing. Quick Kill #1

* Feint (with shoulder) right * Shuffle up left hook or high (slap) to setup the takedown * Drop to deep double leg, lift opponent up while keeping your head in tight to their side * Drop into side control (their knees on your leg) * Control their legs with your right arm * Throw a couple of backhands with your left to setup the leg attack * You can throw a couple of straight rights if you feel they are necessary * Lace his legs * Sit back, figure 4 his legs, * Knee bar. * Knee bar / foot lock combo as an optional finish

It is easy to see how Erik stacks techniques to help the fighter move from being out of range to actually finishing the fight while preventing the necessity to endure as much damage as their opponent would love to dish out.

The tape is ultimately designed as a template of sorts where Erik gives you nine examples, stuffed with techniques, of how a fighter can move from being out of range to where they are in a position that will actually make it easier for them to finish a fight. Then he expects the tape’s viewers to take these templates and experiment with them, dump whatever it is that doesn’t work for them and implement their own tools and methods that will allow them to create their own “Quick Kills” and ultimately become a more educated, well rounded, and increasingly dangerous fighter.

The real treasure here is not the 9 series that appear on the tape, it’s the method of learning that Erik gives to the viewers and the process he lays out for them, over nine examples, to aid them in improving and ultimately creating their own “game.”

The quality of the tape isn’t the best I have ever seen but it is as good as 95% of the tapes out there. The lighting is fine and the sound is also acceptable.

And while I think this is an absolutely AWESOME tape, I had to mark it down a little (make that VERY LITTLE) on the level of applicability criteria due to the fact that while Erik does explain that the Quick Kills are “the most efficient way to finish a fight from striking to grappling to finishing” he doesn’t mention, until the end, that he would like to see the viewer take these series of techniques and create their own Quick Kills. I think the inclusion of what he felt as the potential for this template to help fighters develop their own game would have aided the viewer in watching the tape with even more interest. It’s a small thing but potentially vital.