Issue 037
May 2008
Now in its 10th successful year, Seni is Europe’s biggest Expo and festival dedicated to martial arts and combat sports, visited by thousands of dedicated martial artists, exponents, instructors and mixed martial arts fans.
The most complete interactive martial arts experience, Seni is home to the mixed martial arts (MMA) fight-show Pain and Glory and boasts over 150 trade stands, hundreds of demonstrations, seminars and live events across six themed entertainment zones at London’s Excel Centre. Fighters Only are regular exhibitors at the event and this is our rough guide to Seni08 from an MMA perspective: What to do, what to buy and who to see - once you’ve visited our stand of course!
What to Do
Seni08 has a constant schedule of tournaments and seminars to participate in across the full weekend. MMA enthusiasts may be interested in the following.
The UK MMA League
The idea behind the league is to develop a strong amateur backbone that gives fighters a solid grounding before they move to the professional ranks. With this in mind, headshots have been taken out to make the league safer for amateurs and more appealing to competitors of all standards. Each competitor will have two bouts on the day, with each bout lasting five minutes. For further information on this and all our tournaments, go to www.seni.tv.
The Gracie Invitational is well-established at Seni and the competition gets bigger and tougher each year, to the point that it is now regarded as the most eagerly anticipated Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournament in Europe and takes place over two days. For registration go to www.seni.tv
Train with Dan Henderson and Royce Gracie
Two generations of MMA Superstars are giving seminars at Seni08 and both are Pride and UFC veterans.
Gracie jiu-jitsu legend Royce Gracie began competing at the age of eight, received his purple belt at 16 and his black belt two years later. This is a must for those seriously considering the MMA arena. Saturday 26th April from 15:30-17:30 (Seminar Room 2)
Dan Henderson made history when he became the last man to have held two titles in different weight classes in the Pride organisation and he is the only man to hold both at the same time. Dan nearly made more history when he stepped up to light heavyweight to fight a unification bout with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, losing a five-round decision to the current UFC champ. Sunday 27th April @ 10:30-12:30 (Seminar Room 1) To book Seminars simply call Way of the Spiritual Warrior on 02476 331239 (seminar tickets include free entry into Seni08 for the full day)
There can be only one Master of the Ring!
Ringmasters, the UK’s leading amateur Muay Thai tournament, is back at Seni08, but this year the good news is that there are even more categories. For entry details contact Lee on [email protected]
The Bruce Lee Museum
Many regard Bruce Lee as an MMA pioneer and Seni08 will see the introduction of the brand-new Bruce Lee Zone, dedicated to the memory of the world’s greatest martial arts film star and honouring the 35th anniversary of his death. Its centrepiece will be a Bruce Lee Museum, unique to the UK, which features rare artefacts and film memorabilia, photos, drawings and letters, many never seen before, as well as Q&A sessions and signings with Bob Wall, (O’Hara in ‘Enter the Dragon’. ) and Shannon Lee.
What to Watch
Sucker Punch hits Seni08
We have had a huge amount of people ask us when they can see ‘Sucker Punch’, starring Fighters Only’s very own Ian ‘The Machine’ Freeman. Well, Seni will be giving ‘Sucker Punch’ its first public UK screening at the Fighting Spirit film festival. (Purchase of a day ticket gains free access to all the films shown on the day).
Pain and Glory
Seni’s evening fight show Pain & Glory is unique because it brings together top international fighters across four fight genres – K1, Kickboxing, Muay Thai and MMA – and Seni08 looks set to have the best Pain and Glory fight-card since its inception. The MMA line-up features great match-ups with Jeff Lawson versus Greg Loughan, Chris Rice versus James E Nichol and UFC veteran Jeff Monson will top the MMA bill (opponent to be announced).
We also have world-class kickboxing on the card and it promises to be a spectacular night! All tickets include free entry to Seni 08. Available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or www.painNglory.com, call - 0844 847 1699.
What to Buy
Seni-stay later, shop longer, see more! The Seni show is an MMA enthusiast’s dream, with an abundance of stands, products and special offers. In fact, Seni packs so much into one weekend that this year we are giving you extra time to see more, do more and experience more as Seni extends its opening hours in 2008. This year doors will open at 9am on the Saturday and not close until 7pm, and on Sunday the doors close at 6pm, giving you every chance to fully participate in the Seni experience.
And what an experience! Seni offers a very different experience than simply purchasing from a catalogue or on the Internet. Many of the shows exhibitors are using Seni to launch new products and many of the companies provide Seni visitors with exclusive show sale offers. Seni will showcase some of the world’s leading brands from across Europe, the USA, Australia and South-East Asia.
Don’t just read about it in a magazine product guide, come along to Seni and try it first hand!
The Royce Gracie Impact Range launched at Seni.Seni08 will see Immortal launch their fantastic new bag gloves – ‘The Royce Gracie Impact Range’ which feature energy absorbing vasco foam, developed for NASA. These gloves will be a contender for product of the year and not only can you check them but you can watch Royce demonstrate them in a public training-session.
What else to look out for
Fight Superstore, the exclusive UK distributors for Dan Henderson’s Clinch Gear brand will have Dan making appearances on the stand throughout the weekend. Evolution Fightwear, a Seni regular who pride themselves on fightwear built with passion that offers improved performance without sacrificing style. Shop MMA, created to bring you the largest selection of clothing and products in a single online sports superstore, and not forgetting the hugely popular Caged Steel, Primal Fightgear, Bushido MMA, Grapplewear, FightDVD, Cryogel, Blade Runner, Cage Rage, Made4fighters and EFN Sports, all under one roof across one great MMA packed weekend!
Be there!
The worlds greatest martial arts Expo, and Pain & Glory, the UK’s premiere fight-sport spectacularApril.
Tickets from Ticketmaster-0844 847 1699 or www.seni.tv
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