About

Our Mission

Protection • Regeneration • Longevity

Every organism seeks to protect itself and the tribe. The best way to accomplish this is to invest in practical, well-rounded training and mind-body synthesis. When we train the mind to think better, we can train the body to move better, fight smarter, breathe deeper, heal faster, and find exhilaration in life. We incorporate the latest science into our work to teach our clients to become powerful, adaptable, proactive, and balanced.

Our clients come to us not just to learn to protect themselves but also to become faster, healthier, more agile, and stronger. Our clients come to us to become leaders. Our mind-body synthesis training and breathing training allow our clients to operate from an objective, centered place on and off the mat. When we can control our minds and bodies, we can set the standard for others and we are better prepared to protect ourselves and our communities.

Our self-defense training is based on real-life events and situations we have analyzed with security experts and law enforcement personnel. Our functional training syllabus is focused on optimal breathing for athletes, myofascial release and functional patterns to aid with tissue regeneration and optimal movement. This regeneration leads to longevity and the ability to play longer, run faster, and live healthier. fight harder and live better for years to come.

Raz Chen
Founder, CEO AVIIR

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Our Team

Featured

Raz Chen

CEO and Chief Instructor

Raz Chen is an accredited Level Expert 2 Krav Maga Instructor. Born and raised in Israel, Raz trained under Master Gabi Noah and, within four years, completed the Civilian Krav Maga instructor course at Wingate. During his military service as a Kfir Operations Combatant, Raz served in missions of counter-terrorism and urban warfare. He became a Senior military Krav Maga instructor and head of the Krav Maga program, where he taught over 10,000 soldiers, including Special Forces in IDF units, including Lotar Counter-Terrorism, the Oketz K-9 unit, and US Marines. Raz wrote and developed combatives curriculum for Kfir. During that time, he also placed first in the IDF Krav Maga championship in 2010.

After his service, Raz moved to civilian training, specializing in counter-terrorism, personal self-defense and assault prevention, active shooter, military and police combative, community protection, and Krav Maga instructor certification. Raz has been featured as a Krav Maga expert on CBS, Telemundo, the NYTimes, and Elite Daily.

Raz is currently a senior instructor for Guardian Self Defense, non-profit teaching self-defense in the Jewish community. He also works with Students Supporting Israel, in Jewish schools, and on campuses nationwide. In addition to teaching, Raz is a weekly columnist at Black Belt Magazine, where he has interviewed figures like Olympian Judoka Sagi Muki and Krav Maga Master Eyal Yanilov. He has also contributed to Martial Journal and the Times of Israel.

Liz Chen

Instructor & School Outreach

Liz Chen has been teaching students of all ages for over a decade. Liz currently works with international NGOs, University groups, and grassroots organizations as well as schools. Liz’s international focus was working with survivors of assault and trafficking and advancing the status of women and girls at risk. Liz now teaches people how to advocate for themselves and how to lobby their student government and local Representatives. Liz has been teaching self-defense with Raz for various communities.

Liz studied International Politics at St. Antony's at Oxford University, Leadership Development at Columbia, and Psychology at CSN in Nevada. Liz has worked with local government leaders in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, with startups and UN-affiliated humanitarian groups. Before founding Dedimus Potestatem, she worked on Presidential and Congressional campaigns and volunteered with the ACLU and MoveOn. Her objective in establishing Dedimus Potestatem is to build a better world by empowering the next generation to think critically, aim high, empathize, sanctify integrity, and empower their peers to create opportunities based on mutual benefit and long-term cooperation.

Photo credit Candy Kennedy