Martial Arts: An art that does not require brushes but might cause bruises. To honor the hard work and dedication of passionate Martial Artists, the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame, also known as IMAHOF, organizes a prestigious Hall of Fame every year for the Top 250 merited Martial Artists from all the nominations around the world.
On 11 December 2022, IMAHOF hosted its one-day international martial arts seminar at GIIS Ahmedabad for students and masters. Experts from Sri Lanka, Norway, Ethiopia, Nepal, and India presented and taught different martial arts disciplines like Korean Martial Arts Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do, Chinese Wushu, Shaolin Kungfu, Indian Traditional Martial Arts Kalarippayattu, etc.
The chief guests for the event were some well-known and decorated Martial Artists from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Norway, and Nepal, along with masters representing India. From Ethiopia, the chief guests were Commissioner Firanol Bulcha and Master Dessu Sema. Master Sunil Jayatissa was a chief guest from Sri Lanka.
Commissioner Firanol Bulcha, nominated as a BEST YOUNG LEADER OF 2022, is a 4th Dan black belt holder who won 7 Gold medals and 4 silver medals and has been practicing martial arts for 18 years. Along with serving as Dire Dawa Sports Commission Commissioner, Commissioner Firanol Bulcha helped instructors to open a new 9 Taekwondo school in Dire Dawa and contributed a lot to form the Dire Dawa Tae Kwon Do Federation. He coordinated the 1st International Seminar and the 1st East Africa Taekwondo tournament in 2021.
Master Dessau Sema, nominated as a BEST TAE KWON DO MASTER OF 2022, is the President of the Ethiopia Taekwondo Federation. Master Deesu Sema has been practicing Martial Arts for more than 35 years. He is scheduled for the 8th Dan Black Belt in February 2023. Master Dessu Sema is one of Ethiopia’s Taekwondo pioneers and has more than 300 black belt holders as students, including Master Hassen Aymo, 7th Dan (Africa Tae Kwon Do Federation Union President).
Other chief guests were Master Sunil Jayatissa from Sri Lanka, an expert in Hi see Wushu; Hapkido Expert Master Ronen Rafael Golan was a chief guest from Norway. Raju Newar, Gurkha & Khukuri Arts were the chief guest from Nepal.
People representing India were Gajanand Rajput from Gujarat, Dr. Abdul Rahoof from Kerela, Chandrasekhar Kadam from Maharashtra, Uttam Narzary Koch from Assam, Ganesh Govindan from Karnataka, Kaleshwar Gamad from Madhya Pradesh, and VRS Kumar from Puducherry (Pondicherry).
