ENRIQUE DANIEL WELCHER
MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR
CANADIAN KARATE AND KRAV-HAGANA
WHERE DOES YOUR FAMILY COME FROM?
My father is from Basarabia, Moldovia. His family came to Argentina when he was a baby. They chose Argentina because it was the cheapest voyage at the time among the options they were considering. My mother’s family is originally from Spain – her family was among those expelled during the Inquisition.
After making their way through Mexico and a variety of South and Central American countries over the generations, they ended up in Argentina when she was 10. I was born in Argentina. At age thirty I felt the calling to move to Israel, where I spend twenty years developing my martial arts career – training and competing, and actually winning a competition at the age of fifty. Then I moved to Dallas, Texas, and eventually Toronto.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR CAREER.
My work is focused on working with Jewish youth, teaching self defense and instilling individual confidence and pride in being Jewish. I was influenced to take up this cause by the rise in antisemitism in my native Argentina and around the world. I feel it is important that we as Jews learn to defend ourselves, to projects strength and not weakness. I also work with kids who have special needs, such as Down Syndrome and emotional difficulties, where I’ve seen tremendous success in using martial arts to enhance the development and wellbeing of children and their parents.
YOUR STUDENTS HAVE HAS SOME RECENT SUCCESS IN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THAT?
Yes. One of the goals of my work is that participants who are willing to put in the extra work – and it is a tremendous amount of grueling work and training – are able to compete internationally, both for their own confidence and growth, and as a demonstration that Jews can contribute on the international stage. This past year, two of my students won medals at the World United Karate Organization’s Karate World Cup in Italy. Antony Brainin was crowned World Champion among 6-7 years old category in combat contact, second place in non-contact combat, and third place in kata (form). Etai Golan placed second in the 11-12 years old category in combat contact and in non-contact combat. They deserve tremendous credit, having trained for two years to reach that level. It was an impressive showing for our relatively new school, and a very proud representation of our country, Canada, and of the Jewish people.
WHAT DOES THE WORK YOU DO MEAN FOR YOU IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AS A RECENT RETURNEE TO OBSERVANT JUDAISM?
I feel that the inner dimension of everything, including martial arts, is faith, one’s connection to the Divine. This is the role of the spiritual leaders, like Rabbi Yoseph and Chiena Zaltzman, who do an amazing job channeling people’s spiritual energy. But then there is the external aspect, the vessel as it is called, the actions we take to actualize it. For example, if you want to win the lottery, you can’t just pray – you have to actually play the lottery. I believe that every single man, woman and child has the capacity to defend themselves, to have strength and self-confidence, and the work I do it to help actualize that capacity.
IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A “L’CHAIM” WITH SOME FAMOUS PERSON, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I would love to meet the Rebbe. I have a lot of things I would want to ask. I didn’t know about the Rebbe during his lifetime. There are so many things I would like to ask him – for guidance in my work, how to help people more, how to reach the core of the person, the soul of the person, in a way that it is received, and on a personal level how to heal things in my own life.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
To continue to build on the success and enter more students in international competitions. I recently trained two female instructors to work with girls in the community. Girls often find themselves in vulnerable situations, so it’s important for them to be prepared and know how to defend themselves. I would like to find time to further develop such programs for specific demographics within the community so that more people can participate. I would also like to integrate the programs I developed for children with special needs into our community and find partner organizations and sponsors to help make it happen. The results in Israel in Dallas and here in Toronto have been amazing, and I would like it to continue and expand.
For more information visit Canadian Karate and Krav-Hagana at karatecka.org.
