Joel has been coaching and mentoring people of all ages since he graduated from college in 1989. It is said that to be successful, one must find something that he would find himself doing, even if he weren’t getting paid for it. For Joel, teaching, coaching, and mentoring have always been that something.

Joel Levy has an optimistic view of life, which he expresses in the following way: “When I was in my late twenties, I went blind in my left eye, due to severe diabetic retinopathy. At first I was depressed, but that didn’t last long. When I died as a fighter and competitor, I was reborn as an instructor and coach. I am actually grateful for my adversity, because without it, I may never have discovered my true passion in life.”

“Teaching isn’t something I do; it is something I am,” says Joel Levy. “I guess it’s a gift. I just have a knack for being able to break things down and make them simple.”

Borrowing a line from Tony Robbins, Levy has committed himself to constant and never-ending improvement. “I just can’t stop. I’m sort of an information and personal development junkie,” he chuckled.

Joel says that right after college, he really didn’t know what to do, and wasn’t sure what direction he would take in life. While working as a bartender, he came across the book, Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.

“I realized that the book was more about living up to your own potential in life than it was about financial riches. I immediately recognized that personal growth and the science of achievement would become a never-ending pursuit of mine.”

It just seemed natural to go into education, so Joel earned his Masters Degree in Education from Rutgers University, and became a school teacher. “At that point, I just knew I was born to teach,” he explains. “In everything I did, I always found myself taking someone under my wing. People would come to me about relationships, their kids, career matters, or anything else in life, and I always found that I could guide them, and see things clearly and objectively.”

He soon discovered as a teacher, that he was more interested in teaching ‘life lessons’ than the actual curriculum he was supposed to teach. After this realization, Levy (a lifetime martial artist) opened his own martial arts studio, and called it Family Martial Arts Academy. “For me, the martial arts were more than fitness and self-defense. My dojo became the perfect platform from which to teach life lessons, and help people improve themselves,” commented Joel Levy.

Not long after that, Levy became well known in his community as a person to go to when people needed help. He has worked with local clergy to mentor members of their congregations. School principals and guidance counselors have utilized his talents to address violence and behavioral issues with both individuals and groups of students. Even local police have come knocking on his door with community matters that he was instrumental in mediating and preventing violence between groups of teens.

Joel put his coaching and mentoring skills to further use when he became a Youth Development Specialist with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). Working with students in a New Jersey High School, he ran a young men’s group for high school students who had issues with violence or substance abuse. “It seems that angry teen boys are difficult for most people to handle. Don’t ask me why, but for me it is easy. I guess it is sort of like Cesar Millan and his pit bulls. For some it is scary, but he just gets them,” stated Joel. “I guess I was one of them once, and now I am a graduate,” he laughs.

Today Joel coaches a variety of people, of all ages, with different issues and goals. Some of the subjects he addresses are: diabetes, turning adversity into victory, finding one’s unique purpose in life, relationships, and even fear of dogs, to name a few. At his dojo, Levy continually guides parents in matters related to parenting, school bullying and many other concerns. He is also highly sought after for personal and group training in self-defense, fitness, boxing and kickboxing. He coaches everyone from teens, to therapists, to athletes, to entrepreneurs and other professionals from all walks of life.

Life Coaching

Some of Joel’s personal empowerment – life coaching clients have included:

• A top ranked professional boxer
• Mental health professionals
• At risk teens
• Diabetics of all ages
• A diabetic federal inmate via email
• A variety of individuals with substance abuse and violence issues
• University Professors
• Medical professionals
• Educators
• Parents
• … and many more.

Personal Trainer

Some of Joel’s self-defense and personal training clients have included:

• A 2x world record holding power lifter
• Top business professionals
• Top attorneys
• Law Enforcement and Military personnel
• Amateur and professional boxers, kick boxers, and mixed martial artists
• Students going off to college
• Families moving to foreign countries
• Individuals looking to lose weight privately
• Ordinary people looking for extraordinary Self-Defense skills
• … and many more.

To have Joel be your personal self-defense instructor, personal trainer, or personal empowerment life coach, contact him today!