I had the opportunity to head to Herkimer, NY last weekend for two full days of martial arts training dubbed the Super Summer Seminars. This was the 33rd year of the event, which was held at Herkimer College. It was an exciting and busy weekend, but one that was certainly worthwhile.
Many of us have trained at martial arts summer camps - you go somewhere, pitch a tent and sleep on the ground. By the end of the weekend, you're not sure if you're sore from the training or sleeping in the dirt. Not so with SSS, as the event nicknames itself. Here we slept in dorms and had easy access to showers. Definitely a plus!
The college provided food, which was fair. That seemed to be the consensus among everyone - the food was okay. Now, I've trained in enough of these events that "okay" isn't the norm. Most of the time the food is "passable" and barely gets eaten. I ate enough to train hard, so it wasn't that bad!
The weekend offered nearly a dozen training sessions with multiple options for each. In fact, this was the first time I'd attended an event like this - one where you had the painful choice between several seminars that sounded amazing. I didn't regret any of my choices, nor did I hear anyone else saying otherwise. Special guest instructors included Dave Kovar and John Therien. I attended seminars with both and was impressed at their knowledge as well as their teaching skill.
The caliber of instructors was top-notch and the participants varied in rank but were skewed towards higher ranks. I made some good friends during the weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone next year.
The event hosts were also kind enough to let me bring some whistlekick promotional materials The photo to the left is me exhibiting next to my new friend, Guro Chris Thompson, who makes some amazing training knives and other products.
For more information on Super Summer Seminars, visit their website. You can view a gallery of photos from this year's event here.
It sounds like a few of these folks may appear on Martial Arts Radio, so stay tuned!
~jeremy