2011 SuperShow Wrap Up.
Las Vegas – the city hosting the 10 year anniversary of the MAIA SuperShow. For those of you who don’t know the SuperShow is an annual event hosted by MAIA (Martial Arts Industry Association) where school owners from all over the world come to learn and network with other owners. For others this is a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues. This multi day event usually has seminar lectures covering various topics mainly how to improve your own school. There are physical training seminars as well that give you the opportunity to get a taste of a different style of martial arts. Lastly there are vendors who set up booths that usually have a products or services that can further improve your school.
Opening Night / Keynote:
We flew in Thursday morning, grabbed some lunch then headed over to the exhibitors hall. In the halls we ran into Cliff Lenderman one of Master Fariborz’s good friends who owns Lenderman Academy of the Arts in Tacoma Washington. We visit Dave Kovar who has a booth this year, promoting his Instructor Toolbox material. Lastly as we are exiting the exhibit halls we run into the Father of American Taekwondo Master Jhoon Rhee. Master Fariborz, Dave Kovar and others always talk about Master Jhoon Rhee. It was nice to finally meet the living legend.
This years theme for the SuperShow was “Legacy”. Fittingly the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award went to Bruce Lee. Bruce changed Martial Arts forever, many started training marital arts because of him. His daughter Shannon Lee proudly accepted the award and then gave a very touching tribute speech. She is keeping his spirit and philosophies alive through the Bruce Lee Foundation.
The main keynote speaker this year was Aron Ralston. His extraordinary story of survival and determination showed how an ordinary man pushed to the limits can seize the day. His story was so incredible the movie 127 Hours starring James Franco was filmed in 2010. Ralston an experienced climber and avid outdoorsman descended a remote Utah canyon alone when an 800-pound boulder broke loose, crushing his right hand and pinning him against the canyon wall. After nearly five days – without water and with no hope of escape – Ralston made a life or death decision. He chose life by severing his arm below the elbow, rappelling a 65-foot cliff out of the canyon, and trekking seven miles to find his would-be rescuers. The story he told in person was so real and inspiring.
Seminars Day 1 & 2:
Lots of very good seminar topics this year. We had the opportunity to finally meet Steve LaVallee in person and sit in on his seminar, it was great. The seminars offered many great tips on how to improve your school and how to possibly run a multi school operation. The speaker we were looking forward to the most was Brandon Beliso, we loved his seminar last year and this year was no different. His seminar discussed how to create community in your martial arts school. A lot of his ideas were just so simple and made so much sense to us. We are hoping to use some of their tips to improve our future school.
In conclusion the 2011 SuperShow was great. It was a chance for us to meet a lot of legendary martial artist. The show was well organized and the sessions were very beneficial. We look forward to attending next years SuperShow and many more in the years to come. We want to leave our own “Legacy” in the martial arts world one day.
