Sam was born and raised in the city of Haifa, Israel. Like any other Israelis, he joined the armed forces. Sam served in the airborne infantry during the 1st Lebanon war. During which time, Sam started weight training. After the service he further pursued his studies in sports education and nutrition.
Between 1986 and 1987 Sam came to live in Los Angeles, CA to be a body building training partner with Mr. California. Sam returned to Israel to open a gym and competed in body building, winning Mr. Israel 2 years in a roll. He also competed in International competitions. Additionally, 2 of his students later won Mr. Israel title.
In 1995 Sam turned to martial arts. He joined the Krav Maga school in Haifa. He trained almost for 4 hours a day. He became the first black belt in Israel for training within 2 1/2 years. At the same time, he also trained in Thai boxing with Master Shuki Ron.
In 1998 after the passing of the Krav Maga founder, Imi Lichtenfeld, Sam met Darren Levine (Chief Instructor of Krav Maga - U.S.A.) Following much discussions, he decided to move to the U.S. to join Darren in the expansion and became one of the lead instructors for the Krav Maga Worldwide.
The list of people he has trained with includes Bas Rutten, Amir Perets, and Marcus Vinicius (Beverly Hills Jiu Jitsu Club). Sam continues to move forward and help refine the world of martial arts.
This year he competed in his 1st "2008 PAN AM JIU JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP" competition and took the BRONZE MEDAL.
