Danny Hakim – Karate
Born in Australia, Danny lived in Japan for several years where he studied Shotokan Karate under Master Hirokazu Kanazawa. Danny has been teaching karate for over 30 years and received his 6th degree black belt in 2003. He has competed in numerous international Karate championships, representing Australia, Japan and Israel and winning silver medals twice in two World Championships.
In 2000, Danny decided to fulfill his dream and move to Israel. In 2003, Danny became the national Israeli karate coach for Shotokan Karate International (SKI) Israel and led the Israeli team at the 8th SKI Championships in Durban, South Africa. Today, Danny is the Chief Instructor of the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation in Israel, certified by Master Hirokazu Kanazawa. He manages Budokan Israel and Budo for Peace, and also teaches and manages karate clubs in Raanana and Tel Aviv.
Danny holds a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from NSW University, Sydney and an MEI (Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation) from Swinburne University, Melbourne.
Yonah Melnik – Judo
Sensei Yonah Melnik was born in Israel in 1949 and has been practicing Judo since the age of 15. He studied in Philadelphia from 1971 until 1973; he spent 1976 practicing in Tokyo under the guidance of Takahiko Ishikawa and Isao Okano. He received his first Dan in 1969 and his seventh Dan in 2002.
Yonah won 14 National Championships; he won at the Maccabiah Games in 1973 and 1977. He participated in 10 European Championships and 2 World Championships. He was a member of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and 1980 Moscow Olympics, in which Israel did not compete as part of the boycott.
Yonah has been teaching and coaching as National Master Coach for many years. He coached the Israeli Olympic Judo team for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and has coached many Israeli national champions with international successes. Yonah acts as a master rank examiner for the Israeli Judo Association and has been an IJF Referee- B for its Refereeing Commission since 1994. Yonah has been the head judo coach at the Wingate Institute’s Center for the Development of Sport Giftedness, since its inception in 1994. Gifted judokas are selected from around the country to participate in a special training program and compete both nationally and internationally. Yonah also manages, teaches and coaches at Budokan Israel, his judo club in Hod HaSharon.
Chalacho Balai – Krav Maga
Born in Ethiopia, Chalacho immigrated to Israel at the age of six. He has been training in Krav Maga for over 12 years with Grand Master Haim Zut and Meni Mehabad (Dan 3). Chalacho has a Dan 1 grading, and was certified as a Krav Maga instructor by Israel's highly-acclaimed Wingate Institute. He served for three years in an elite unit of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Chalacho teaches Krav Maga at various venues, including Israeli public schools, Jewish Agency programs and at the New York branch of the Krav Maga Federation.
Chalacho is currently studying toward a BA in Physical Education at the Wingate Institute.
Mischa Van Stee – Judo
Mischa Van Stee was born in 1974 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. He began practicing Judo at the age of six. He trained at the Kenamju under famous coaches like Cor van der Geest and Willem Ruska. Mischa studied at the CIOS Sport Academy and the Hogeschool van Amsterdam.
Mischa made Aliyah in November of 2007. He has trained under Yonah Melnik since his arrival in Israel. In 2009, he competed in the Maccabiah Games. He works as a physiotherapist at the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.
