Fariborz Azhakh is a muti martial art practitioner and industry leader. In his own words - Every black belt remembers the time when martial arts became a passion. It happened to me at age eight. My brother took me to see a Bruce Lee movie, and to this day I can close my eyes and feel the emotion that overwhelmed me as I watched the screen. At that moment I totally fell in love with the power of martial arts, but it would be many years before I found the physical and spiritual paths to black belt. Once I began that journey, however, the martial arts and the art of teaching became central element of my life. Bruce Lee gave me inspiration, but the following years were filled with frustration because there were no martial art schools near my home. I finally realized my dreams when I moved to California and had the great fortune to enter Steve Sexton's Hapkido school in Canoga Park. Through Steve's selfless guidance I achieved black belt in 1981 and I became an assistant instructor at the school. In those early years I viewed instructing as a sideline while I remained focused on my personal training. With time and maturity I grew nearer to the spiritual and philosophical center of the martial arts and I began to realize the tremendous personal rewards of teaching. After some months of uncertainty, I decided to completely redefine and reshape my life, and at Steve Sexton's urging, I took on the role of school owner and became a professional instructor of Hapkido. I named my school "Team Karate Center" because I became devoted to the idea that the instructors and the students should work together, as a team, so that each student can find and create their "individual art" within the traditions of Hapkido. I believe that no matter what individual qualities a student has - natural talents or special challenges - there is profound value in the martial arts for everyone. Consequently, the elementary principles at our school are centered on the teamwork required for all of us - teacher, instructor, student and parent (for our younger students) - to identify and advance this value. Currently, the school follows a multi-cultural approach that is grounded in function and usefulness. In the basic program we focus on traditional physical skills, and we stress the development of individual responsibility and core character strengths. Advanced students are introduced to an extension of Hapkido that I call Blend. From the very early years my training was based on the concept of "thinking outside the box." I evolved Blend, in this way, to move from style-based techniques to versatile, range-based frameworks. This combines Hapkido with certain aspects of Brazilian and Japanese Jujitsu, American Boxing, Wing Chun and the Filipino arts. Over the past 20 years my physical and spiritual advancements have been influenced by many remarkable people. I have had the cherished privilege of studying with Grand Master Ji Han Jae. I am, and will always be, indebted to Master Steve Sexton and I continue to extend my personal growth with the generosity of David Meyers (grappling) and Ron Balicki (Filipino martial arts: trapping, stick and knife techniques). As a teacher, I have always viewed learning as a fun and rewarding experience. I look to this philosophy, within the discipline and tradition of Hapkido, to inspire and motivate the students and the assistant instructors at our school, and I offer the multi-faceted challenge of Blend to give advanced students a contemporary martial art that is filled with unique insight and reward. "The martial arts training process is a powerful life-defining interpersonal experience that gets to the heart of the matter. It is your opportunity to alter your capacities to accomplish and to stand powerfully as the gift that you are and the difference that you make."

Di Watson holds the title of Sempai under the International Sabaki Karate-do TESHINKAI Sempai Di has a background as an advance student in Shotokan karate but returned to martial arts by enrolling with Teshinkai Karate to expand her knowledge and become more rounded in her physical and mental skills. Di is a qualified personal trainer, frequent Yoga practitioner and proud resident of Bendigo. In her professional life Sempai Di has a ten-year history of performance enhancement and coaching with teams in the financial services industry. Sempai Di describes her Karate coaching style as warm, encouraging, fun but firm. She values leading by example and seeks to conduct herself in this way in both the coach and student. As a valued member of the Teshinkai Karate Coaching team, Sempai Di uses her skills learned on and off the mat to enhance the lives of students and guide them in the way that inspires enthusiasm, loyalty and faith in ones own ability.

Ahmed Ismail is a 5th Dan Black Belt in Karate. Shihan Ahmed is the most senior (Saiko) practitioner of the Kyokushin-kan organisation in Lebanon and also holds the position of Branch Chief under the umbrella of Kancho. Hatsuo Royama. Saiko Ismail is a man who for many years has worked very hard for his community, changing the lives of many thousands of students through his martial arts teaching and personal leadership. In his home town of Tripoli, Saiko Ahmed is endeared by all who know him and highly respected by not only the people of Tripoli but also leaders in the martial arts community world wide. Traditional Karate-do (or Budo Martial arts) is important for the creation of strong bodies, and resilient minds, of which are so important for surviving todays challenges. Through the study of traditional Karate-do, Saiko Ahmad Ismail provides a powerful community contribution for the people of Tripoli. His focus on hard training and setting a high bar on quality has given him the reputation of a strong but fair leader, who trains his students to become thebest version of themselves. "The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the prfection of character of its participants!" - Gichin Funakoshi

Paul Starling is an 8th Dan in Goju Ryu Karate. Hanshi Paul Starling is an icon of the Australian martial arts scene. Known for his physical abilities in the Goju Ryu Karate system, Hanshi Paul is ultimately respected for his good leadership during the growth period of Australian martial arts. Paul was the first Australian karateka to compete in a Karate World Championships and remain undefeated when in 1970 at the first Karate World Championships his team came up against undisputed favorites Japan at the inaugural event held in Tokyo Japan. Paul Starling was also the first graduate (1973) of Gogen Yamaguchi's Japan Karate do College, and the only Caucasian and Australian to graduate as a Shihan (Master). He commenced training as a teenager in 1963 at the first Dojo (karate school) of Goju Kai established in Australia at that time, with the founder of Goju Kai in Australia; Merv Oakley Sensei. During this period in Australian Karate do history there were few qualified Instructors in the country, and of those only a handful were proficient or graded legitimately to Instructor level. In 1983 Paul Starling was chosen from Australia's top karate-do athletes to portray the Karate Instructor in this classic Australian movie 'The Coolangatta Gold, by producer John Weiley; director Igor Auzins and writer Peter Schreck, whereby Starling was noted by the reviewers of respected American Variety (magazine) as having played a most commendable and convincing role. Many international, Australian national, and state karate champions have come from the dojo of Paul Starling. Many of his students have gone on to become internationally recognised instructors in their own right.

Nick Noordink is a 3rd Dan in Karate. Sensei Nick is a well known and highly respected martial arts teacher from Brisbane Australia. Sensei Nick began his martial arts journey in early 2000 and after grading for Shodan (1st Dan) he decided to make karate an even bigger part of his life by teaching and becoming involved in the largest tournament circuit in Australia, the National All Styles – NAS. Sensei Nick’s approach to training clearly reflects tradition, hard work, and integrity. Sensei Nick is a highly proficient martial artist who believes that when teaching is grounded and systemised you have a much greater chance of establishing success with students and as a result have a program rich in providing positive community values. In Sensei Nick’s own words – “We strive to create an environment that supports parents and helps children to grow and develop their character. We encourage families to train together, saving precious time. A safe and enjoyable atmosphere, where everyone is welcome.” It is well documented how Karate trains the body and the mind and provides tools for life! At Sensei Nick’s Dojo “Bonsai Karate” he has established programs that reach out to all members of the community, from classes for children all the way to older adults, and raw beginners to high performance, Bonsai Karate has it all. All of Nick’s gradings have been conducted under the highest scrutiny via the Kenshinkan International Karate Organisation directed by Australian Budo Karate legend Shihan Jim Casey. Bonsai Karate is situated in Albany Creek, which is a suburb of the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland.

Melody Johnson is a 6th Dan in Taekwondo Melody Shuman has over 25 years of experience in the Martial Arts. Melody earned her black belt in 1988 in New Orleans, and since then has achieved many accomplishments in her Martial Arts journey. She began working as a program director and instructor in Orlando, Florida at the age of 19. From there, Melody co-owned and operated 4 schools in south Florida for 6 years. During that time, she won the title of world champion and was a coach to one of the best competition teams in her organization with a combined total of 37 world champion titles amongst the entire team! Melody also dedicated a lot of her time researching and developing some of the best methods for teaching children. In 2000, Melody presented her first innovative program, the Little Ninjas, to the Martial Arts industry and today that program is operating in over 2,000 schools in over 25 countries. This program opened up many doors for Melody and launched a new destination in her Martial Arts career. Melody’s extensive consulting background includes a huge seminar demand, specifically her Children’s Martial Arts Instructor Certification Course, in which she has already certified over 5,000 instructors worldwide, including Chuck Norris’s organization the UFAF. Chuck Norris personally presented Melody with a special award in recognition for her contributions to teaching children in 2005. This was the first award that Chuck Norris has ever presented of its kind. Melody’s latest career move is the development of her age-specific curriculums branded as SKILLZ. This is the very first of its kind and is getting a lot of attention for her systematic approach to skill-based Martial Arts training. Endorsed by some of the nation’s leading child psychologists, including the late Dr. Ruth Peter’s, Melody has left a huge footprint on the Martial Arts industry with her age-specific programs. Currently there are over 150 licensed SKILLZ schools in over 9 countries. She also has an online drills website, which currently contains over 1600 age-specific drills, as well as teen, adult, and specialty drills. This website currently has over 125 subscribers in 6 countries.