At the end of January 2026, my partner Johanna and I welcomed a very special new addition to our family and the Krav Maga Berlin team: our puppy, Mazikeen (or "Maze" for short). So far, everyone - from our clients to pedestrians passing by the dojo - has completely fallen in love with her. We are incredibly proud of her progress and look forward to sharing an update when she officially passes her mandatory character test at 15 months of age.

On December 6, 2025, the day arrived. Our training space, which normally stands for absolute focus and hard work, transformed into the perfect venue to celebrate our community. It was an incredibly relaxed, warm, and fun gathering that went deep into the night (we pragmatically postponed the cleanup to the following day). Moments like this are a profound reminder: When you train at Krav Maga Berlin, you do not just work on your resilience in isolation. You become part of a highly loyal, supportive network that extends beyond the training mats.

In November 2025, Krav Maga Berlin reached a new operational milestone by co-hosting the international Krav Maga Israel (KMI) Instructor Program right here in the capital. Bringing a global cohort to Berlin required months of intense logistical preparation. After vetting nearly 20 different facilities, we forged a powerful, long-term partnership with Sportschule TAO - a premium venue that perfectly accommodated our standards and has since become a highly valued collaborator for future KMB seminars.

Throughout 2025, I dedicated more of my free time to training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). While Krav Maga is built on raw stopping power and neutralizing severe threats instantly, BJJ offers a profound study in technical, methodical control. But beyond the physical benefits, I pursued BJJ for a psychological reason: I wanted to force myself back into the role of a beginner. True growth requires the humility to regularly step off the pedestal of the "expert" and embrace the "beginner's mind."

In March 2025, I partnered with the global tech company HubSpot to mark International Women’s Day. They invited me to their Berlin headquarters to conduct two back-to-back corporate workshops specifically focused on self-protection, boundary setting, and mental sovereignty.

At Krav Maga Berlin, the relationships I build with my clients often go far beyond the walls of the dojo. We constantly talk about resilience, mental toughness, and stepping outside of our comfort zones. In October 2024, one of my students decided to call my bluff and challenged me to put my own philosophy to the test: running a half marathon together.

In September 2024, I sent a highly targeted invitation to a hand-picked selection of my most dedicated students. The goal was to establish an exclusive, weekly "Future Instructor Training" (F.I.T.) group at the KMB Dojo. The motivation behind this initiative was twofold. First, to continually sharpen my own saw, I needed highly proficient, driven training partners. Second, and more importantly, I wanted to create a leadership pipeline. True impact isn't just about how many people you can teach directly; it is about cultivating a ripple effect - elevating individuals to a standard where they can confidently protect others and pass on the exact same high-quality methodology.

Following my transformative time in Tel Aviv in 2023, I found a true professional "tribe" within Krav Maga Israel (KMI) - a global network of independent, elite instructors united under the leadership of Ron Engelman. In July 2024, I traveled to Munich to support Ron during his first-ever Instructor Camp in Germany.

In June 2024, I was invited by Paragon, a highly respected martial arts academy in Berlin, to conduct an intensive seminar for their own coaching staff. Their objective was clear: to pressure-test their current Krav Maga curriculum and elevate their instructional standards to the highest possible level. Training other instructors is a unique privilege, but it also requires a highly analytical approach.

In January 2024, Krav Maga Berlin took a monumental step forward. After years of continuous growth, international training, and refining our highly specialized consulting approach, we officially moved into our new, expanded Dojo in Berlin-Friedrichshain. On a personal level, this was the realization of a long-held vision. On a business level, it marked a definitive milestone in the professionalization and specialization of our work.

In September 2023, an email landed in my inbox that I honestly almost deleted, mistaking it for spam. It was from Brian Beech, the Head Coach of Cirque du Soleil’s acclaimed show Ovo. They were coming to Berlin and looking for an expert to run specialized self-defense and resilience workshops for their artists and staff at the Mercedes-Benz Arena (now Uber Arena).

In 2023, I completed a rigorous three-day Combined Firearms Course at the highly renowned European Security Academy (ESA) in Poland. The ESA is globally recognized as one of the premier training facilities for elite security professionals and tactical operators. Similar to my previous weapon instructor certifications, the hard technical skills of operating firearms are not what I teach in my daily consulting practice. I do not train corporate executives, educators, or private clients in tactical shooting. So, why do I continuously subject myself to these intense, highly specialized environments?

In March 2023, I embarked on a journey that was both a major professional milestone and a deeply personal pilgrimage: traveling to Israel, the birthplace of Krav Maga. The year prior, I was honored to be accepted into the 7-day "Advanced Instructor Training" in Tel Aviv. The program was led by Ron Engelman, one of the foremost global authorities in Krav Maga, who has spent the last two decades training soldiers and civilians worldwide. Working under his guidance and completing my Level 2 Instructor Certification alongside an elite group of international peers was an extraordinary privilege.

Up until 2020, I had been building Krav Maga Berlin alongside a demanding full-time career. It was my passion and my mission, but it was still a side endeavor. In early 2020, I decided it was time to go all-in. I fully transitioned into entrepreneurship and proudly opened the doors to the very first official KMB Dojo. This wasn't just a gym; it was designed as a comprehensive consulting space, featuring a professional training floor, a dedicated seminar room for corporate workshops, and premium amenities.

Five years after graduating from Master Roy Elghanayan’s very first European instructor course, our paths crossed again. In 2018, Roy returned to Europe to host a new instructor certification in Paris. Being the only remaining active instructor from that original 2013 cohort, I was deeply honored to receive a personal invitation from him to attend the new course as his guest.

In 2018, I decided to push my own professional boundaries by completing a highly specialized Weapon Instructor Course under Michael Rüppel. This elite certification is primarily designed for law enforcement and security professionals who carry a service weapon - individuals who operate in high-risk environments where split-second decisions dictate the outcome of a crisis.

Following our successful pilot projects with the youth programs of Zukunftsbau GmbH, our partnership naturally evolved. Every year, Zukunftsbau organizes a comprehensive two-day professional development seminar for all their employees. Built on the deep trust established during our work with their students, we conceptualized a highly practical, two-day resilience and de-escalation seminar for a team of over 20 educators in November 2017.

In 2016, seeking to elevate my own capabilities, I reached out to Michael to ask if I could attend his rigorous instructor course. I won’t sugarcoat it: the program was a grueling physical and mental crucible. Having trained for years under a different Krav Maga organization, my muscle memory was deeply wired to different tactical approaches.

Zukunftsbau GmbH is a remarkable organization providing educational programs and support for school-distanced teenagers and young adults. In September 2016, we launched our first pilot project within their MOVEplus program. For two months, I stepped in to replace their standard physical education class with targeted resilience and self-defense training specifically designed for the young women in the program.