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The Israeli Academy of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA
Academy Staff
The Academy's team is made up of men and women who grew up at the Academy
They ate, drank and breathed the Academy's DNA and will accompany you on your personal journey toward empowerment and self-fulfillment.
The entire staff are graduates of the instructors course of the Wingate Academic College under the course coordinator and head of the Academy, Professor Itay Leibovich
Shai Bar Yehuda
Age 52
Began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the Academy in 2011 at age 40 and today holds a black belt.
Instructors course graduate, Wingate Academic College, 2019
Elite unit veteran
Data analyst
Itay Leibovich
Head of the Academy and Head Coach
45, married with 2 children
Head of the Israeli Academy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA
Black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu
Training in martial arts since 1990 — 36 years of experience and 16 years of teaching
Graduate of instructors' courses in 1998, 2010 and 2011 (karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA)
Holds senior belts in several fighting systems
Former MMA and jiu-jitsu competitor
Instructor to special forces units
Coordinator of the instructors' course at the Levinsky-Wingate Academic College
BA in Psychology and International Relations (University of Westminster, London)
MA with distinction in Government — Political Psychology (Reichman University, Herzliya)
Kirill Smirnov
Netanya Branch Coach
Age 36
Training at the Academy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA since 2011
Instructors course graduate 2022, Wingate Academic College.
Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Background in classic boxing and Kyokushin Karate
Competed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA fights
Or Tzemach
41, married +2
Training at the Academy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA since 2011
Black belt holder
Instructors course graduate 2024 at the Wingate Academic College
Works as a product manager in the hi-tech industry
BA in Business Administration
Guitar player and amateur pilot
Margarita Tsofens
Age 34
Training at the Academy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA since 2016
Brown belt holder
Instructors course graduate 2020 at the Wingate Academic College.
Works in special education
Student of cognitive science and psychology
Dor Matzpon
32, married +2
Began training at the Academy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA in 2012
Brown belt holder
Instructors course graduate, 2019
BA in Computer Science
Works in the hi-tech industry as a software engineer
Hila Golan
Age 38
Training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since 2015.
Instructors course graduate 2017, Wingate Academic College.
Purple belt holder in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
BA in Biology (Tel Aviv University).
Veterinary medicine student in the clinical stage (Hebrew University).
Alex Feigin
Age 35
Training at the Academy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA since 2017
Brown belt holder
Instructors course graduate 2020 at the Wingate Academic College.
Background in Greco-Roman wrestling
Veteran software engineer.
Sari Yehezkeli
Age 47
Training at the Academy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since 2021
Instructors course graduate 2024 at the Wingate Academic College
BSc in Computer Engineering (Technion)
Works as a computer engineer
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