Seni Soon

Well it’s only a few short weeks until seni now, and I cannot wait. This year promises to be the best by far. It’s hard to put into words what makes it so special, it’s a mixture of so many things. Getting ready the morning of the first day is great, going down for breakfast and spotting all the other people obviously there for the show. The Premier Inns do a great breakfast, it’s important to load up for the long day ahead. Walking to the hall and seeing the crowds of people is special too, so many martial artists from all over, from North to South, all converging in one place.

Once the doors open and you’re inside it’s amazing. There’s far too much to see and do, so the first hour or so is spent reading the timetable of events and getting familiar with where everything is, should you need to go back somewhere for something. Once the shows get going it’s a noisy, busy place, and one easy to get lost in. It’s a nice lost though, no matter where you are there’s something interesting to see. It’s nice to get out of the hall into the main concourse from time to time, it’s cooler and less busy and full of interesting things to eat. The loos in ExCel are odd though, I seem to remember going down enough stairs and through nooks and crannies to the centre of the Earth. It’s a wonder people make it back out.

It’s really nice to meet and talk to some big and familiar names too, you never know who you’re going to bump into there (although it’s usually Danny John-Jules). This year there’s a lot of Bruce Lee focused stuff happening, including his widow, his co-star from Enter The Dragon (Bob Wall) and some of his direct students. Anyone with an urge to get into something Chinese martial art related will be satisfied too.

Back at the hotel at night is as much fun as the day often. Plenty of drinks (hey, we’re on a weekend break here!), some midnight fun roaming the corridors, and then a well-earned sleep – provided you can at the thoughts of excitement the next day promises to deliver again. I’m making myself excited just thinking about it now! 🙂

GO TO SENI!