VISS is complete! It has been a long time coming since VISS 2015, but VISS 2017 has officially come and gone. We offer our heartfelt thanks to our attendees, instructors, volunteers, sponsors, and organizers. Without them, this year’s symposium would not have become a sold-out event and arguably the most successful VISS yet.
This year’s VISS managed to condense an absolutely huge amount of content into a weekend. We doubled the previous number of intensives from four to eight across the same three-day period. There were fourteen single workshops and six lectures led by thirteen instructors and three additional lecturers, not to mention the open sparring sessions, private lessons, and exhibition fights at the Saturday evening gala. VISS 2017 represented an absolutely staggering amount of skill, knowledge, and training opportunities, all while facilitating a new kind of instructor collaboration in the structure of this year’s “This vs. That” theme.
VISS is lucky to involve such authentically dedicated instructors. Even though our instructors have never been busier, it is remarkable that the instruction didn’t end with the scheduled class times. Every instructor was highly accessible to students, and every one of them spent a considerable amount of time outside of class helping students further understand the material on a one-on-one basis. It wasn’t uncommon to see students and teachers building personal relationships that would never have happened without an event like this one. The same goes for the relationships between teachers, many of whom rely on events like VISS to see and train with each other. That’s the community at its best, and we’re proud to say that VISS is a part of creating that community.
Many of us are leaving the event with new friendships, new ideas, and a new sense of rededication to our martial arts. Some of us leave with higher standards and new goals. Some are leaving with a new sense of encouragement or motivation. Some are just experiencing historical martial arts for the first time through VISS 2017. Whatever you got out of VISS 2017, we hope that you stay in touch and maintain your positive influence on the community.
We’ve already started planning for VISS 2019. When it’s time, we’d love to share it with you.