First Martial Arts Museum in Israel

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On Sunday the 5^th of December, gurus in all styles of Martial Arts Combat gathered in Herzlia from across the globe for the opening of the Museum of the history of Martial Arts in Israel. The brainchild of former South African Dr. Dennis Hanover  (10^th Dan OEJJU – European Judo Union) evolved over decades of honouring the top masters and students, remembering the fallen soldiers who trained under him as well the holistic outlook that was sparked off by the six respects underwriting the Dennis-Survival Martial art style : Respect for G-d,  teachers, the flag,  friends, parents and oneself.

70 Grand Masters and world champions of all styles from as far back as 1940 came to receive special awards and honour a dear colleague and friend. It was an action packed weekend from the word go, where top students from across the world including Israel, Australia, Croatia, South Africa and others   took part in a hard core training session in the Park in Herzlia as well as on Friday morning engaging in what was called “A 120 fights”, where for over 3 hours opponents duelled up in fights lasting 5 minutes each– talk about the clash of the Titans!  True to his character of a lifetime of not just coaching many of the top ranking officers in the IDF but also empowering many groups and individuals in the down and out circles of society,  Dennis paid tribute to his family and encouraged his audience.

But this is just the beginning. Soon a Virtual Museum on the Internet will be up and running where all of this will be available by the click of a button, as well as an archive of interviews with all the Grand Masters on their styles and life journey, whom Dennis personally interviewed over the last 3 years.

Since making Aliyah from South Africa over 50 years ago, Dennis has made tremendous impact in all streams of society with a power packed track record of lifetime achievement awards including those from Arik Sharon and Shimon Perez, testifying alongside the slogan of the newly found museum: With a strong hand and with outstretched arm.