[Aikido] Martial arts festival

[ersnyder at vassar.edu]

dear everyone,
Skidmore College is hosting a great martial arts festival the weekend after we 
get back from break. I will be going and probubly taking a car if anyone wants 
a ride. The registration is very soon so please get back to me and send in your 
registration if you want to go. this is not a competition but a great 
opportunity to investigate many differant MA styles in a positive environment.
The festival does cost money but compared to similar events it is very 
reasonable. At the end of this message is a great description.
further information including a schedule and registration is at this website: 
http://www.skidmore.edu/studentorgs/martialarts/festival.html

Have a great break,
Eric

following is quote from the SMAF website that describes the festival:
   
The Saratoga Martial Arts Festival is perhaps the premiere, non-competitive 
martial arts event in the Saratoga region. This year’s event will feature 
nearly two dozen of the finest instructors from Saratoga county and beyond, 
with some coming from as far as Virginia! The SMAF is welcomes instructors of 
all styles: “hard,” “soft,” “internal,” “external,” Japanese, Chinese, Korean, 
Malaysian, “hybrid,” “modern,” “traditional,” etc. We equally welcome 
participants of all ranks and styles; you do not have to be an advanced student 
in order to attend and enjoy this festival! In fact, it is a non-
sparring, “light touch” event where everyone works constructively with one 
another in the spirit of learning.

The SMAF works as follows: There will be several 90 minutes blocks throughout 
the day—six on Saturday, four on Sunday—each of which will feature three or 
four instructors, each offering a workshop on an aspect of their style of 
martial arts. The only difficulty you’ll encounter over the course of the day 
is having to choose just one instructor in each 90 minute time block. 
Fortunately, you cannot make a bad choice! 

While martial arts tournaments are relatively common, instructional events such 
as this one are a rare commodity in the martial arts, especially in Saratoga. 
(One similar event is Sensei Campos’ Super Summer Seminars. Ask him about it at 
SMAF!) All together, our instructors bring over 750 years of martial arts 
knowledge and experience to our event! Furthermore, our event costs less than 
half of what you will pay for similar events around the country! Please note 
that the festival is only for those ages 14 and up.