SENI08 IS 10TH ANNIVERSARY SUCCESS STORY!A BIG THANK-YOU TO ALL INVOLVED
After all the planning, anticipation and sheer hard work, Seni08 arrived on the weekend of the 26th and 27th April at the Excel London, home of the 2012 London Olympic Games and proved to be the biggest and best Seni ever. The show was physically bigger, with more stalls, more tournaments, more demonstration stages, more dedicated events and more seating but with 3,000 square footage of extra floor-space the atmosphere was more relaxed and a real 10th anniversary party mood prevailed. The new initiatives went down a storm and the Bruce Lee Zone was an instant and consistent hit, with both Linda and Shannon Lee the epitome of humble celebrity as they signed thousands of autographs, posed for thousands of photographs and held two packed to the rafters Q&A sessions. Our thanks to the Bruce Lee Foundation for their untiring work in making the Bruce Lee Museum such a unique part of the Seni show. The arena was utilised both days with new initiatives, wrestling on the Saturday and ABA Boxing on the Sunday, giving adults and children alike maximum entertainment from both ends of the Combat spectrum and our thanks go out to Len Davies and the ABA for adding these new dimensions to the show. Similarly we had both a Classical and Disney stage operating throughout the weekend, giving visitors a wonderfully diverse range of arts and styles to marvel art, so a big thank-you to all our wonderful demonstration teams, who ensured that the weekend was so colourful, vital and dynamic. The Seni team worked alongside Tony Pillage to ensure that Seni08 provided the most attractive big-name seminar roster to date, catering for all tastes and the result was the most dynamic, well-received and populated seminar sessions in Seni history. A big, big thank-you to Tony, whose infectious enthusiasm permeated the show. Added to the seminar sessions were free workshops and these proved an immediate success, giving people a taster of a wide range of disciplines, enhancing Seni’s reputation for bringing all arts together under an educational and informative umbrella. Our sincere thanks to all who took seminars and workshops for us across the weekend. In competition terms, Seni was busier than ever, hence the extra tiered seating and alongside regulars such as the Gracie Invitational (enormous this year!), the Capoeira, the Wushu and the Karate Classic (which saw phenomenal growth), we saw the UK MMA League, the Chi Sao Open and the Escrima Open launch to superb response, while the Freestyle made an impactful and welcome return to the mats. Once again a big thank-you to all our co-promoters who were quite possibly the busiest bods across the busiest Seni weekend in history. There were more high-profile signings and picture opportunities than ever this year, including UFC superstars Antonio Nogueira, Michael Bisping, Dan Henderson, Royce Gracie, Jeff Monson and Octagon Girl Arianny alongside Linda and Shannon Lee and ‘Sucker Punch’ stars Danny John Jules and Ian Freeman. Gok Wan and Guy Ritchie were show visitors whilst David Haye crashed Wladimir Klitschko’s press conference angling for a title shot. It all went off at Seni! Click Here to see Haye square up to Klitschko at Seni Many of the celebrities stayed to witness Pain and Glory on the Saturday night and once again the fightsport spectacular delivered a potent mix of combat arts with submissions, stoppages and knock-outs further talking points for the knowledgable and receptive crowd. Our thanks Carl Sams and the whole team behind Pain and Glory, who have helped us retain its place as the premier genuine MMA showcase, with Kick, Thai, K-1 and MMA all taking part in one ring on one magical night. Thanks also to the fit2fite fitness instructors whose sessions got everybody on their toes across the whole weekend and when everything got too much there was always Maurice Horan and his team to offer their healing hands. His therapeutic tables were in constant use and both Maurice’s Shiatsu team and the fit2fite instructors proved to be genuine success stories at the show, a perfect example of the way exhibiting or displaying at Seni benefits everyone on all levels. Well done Maurice and Greg! In terms of the physical appearance of the show, Seni has never looked better with high-class and aesthetically pleasing branding complimenting the wonderful stand designs and lay-outs. A huge thank-you to all our sponsors and exhibitors, old and new, for their support this year; they added colour, class and a rich variety to the show. Seni08 was a huge undertaking but it delivered on all fronts and the feedback has been phenomenal, ensuring that the show’s 10th year was a genuine landmark for everyone concerned. Our challenge now is to make Seni09 even better, a challenge indeed but one that Fighters Inc is more than ready for! If you can’t wait until next year, you can obtain the 10 Year Anniversary Souvenir showguide and trade directory by e-mailing paul@fightersinc.net and he will send you a copy via post. You may also want to mail him about the next Fighters Inc event, which will be an incredible Junior tournament series in September, in the wonderful setting of Disneyland Paris! So if you’re into Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, Karate or Freestyle and want to combine top class competition with all the adventure that Disney provides contact Paul now! There are an extremely limited number of stand spaces available for this prestigious event so contact andrewsheehan@senishow.com now for details. Once again, thank you to everyone for making Seni08 the perfect 10th birthday party! Check out the website www.seni.tv over the coming days to link to our exhibitors and check out both tournament and award winners from the World’s Greatest Combat Sports Expo and Festival.