In 1979, I left Lebanon for Iraq under a contract to train the Iraqi Special Forces (Army and Police), as well as Palestinian Karate Federation coaches. Alongside my Kyokushinkai Karate expertise, I provided training in self-defense and close-quarters combat with edged weapons.

After nearly two years in Iraq, I returned to Lebanon and joined the Internal Security Forces as an instructor in mixed martial arts and self-defense.

In 1982, I was sent on a four-month specialized mission to France for military and civilian combat training. There, I trained with the French police in various disciplines—self-defense, wrestling, boxing, savate, judo, jujitsu, aikido, and weapon arts such as nunchaku, tonfa, and sai—eight hours daily. As no Karate instructor was present, I also trained the team in Karate after hours.

Upon returning to Lebanon, I became an international instructor in martial arts and self-defense. Over the next 15 years, I trained Lebanon’s security forces (Internal Security, General Security, and State Security), leading elite teams in local and international competitions.

In 1993, I moved to California, USA, where I completed an advanced self-defense course with the World Self-Defense Federation, earning a 5th Dan and First-Class Instructor certification. Upon returning to Lebanon later that year, I was appointed the federation’s representative for Lebanon and the Middle East and established a national technical committee for martial arts under the Lebanese Judo and Karate Federation, serving as its chairman.