Ran SteinbergMartial arts & self-defenseThe system developed by Dr. Dennis Hanover
Judo, jujitsu, karate, grappling and boxing come together in one Israeli martial arts method. Students learn to work standing and on the ground, move between ranges and situations, deal with grips and weapon threats, and connect physical ability with self-defense and judgment.
Ran has trained with Dennis since childhood. What he has learned and continues to learn from Dennis shows in the way he teaches: challenge, patience, respect for your training partner—and curiosity that doesn't end with the next belt.
What is Dennis Survival?
As the distance changes, so do your options. Practice that starts with strikes and blocks can move into a grip, a throw or groundwork. Dennis built a system that connects these situations. You learn each tool on its own, then learn to move between them and choose what fits the situation.
The tools come together for self-defense: noticing what is happening, managing distance, responding when needed and moving away when possible. Training develops fitness and technique through controlled partner practice, including work against grips and weapon threats. The ability to act and the judgment of when to use it develop together.
Five central elements of the method.
Judo develops your feel for balance, both your own and your partner’s. You practice grips, pushes and pulls, throws, controlled falls and groundwork. Within the system, it helps you understand contact: how movement and shifts in weight create an opportunity for a throw or a hold.
Jujitsu includes grips, joint locks and holds that limit movement. You work standing and on the ground, learning how body position and grip affect your options. These skills connect close contact, throws and groundwork.
Karate brings stance and movement, blocks, strikes and kicks. You practice the path of the movement and its precision, the distance at which it works and its timing against another person. Power becomes something you can control: moving into range, moving out of it and keeping your balance as you act.
Grappling focuses on body control, grips and transitions between positions, both standing and on the ground. Within the method, it develops the ability to work at close range, stay balanced and move from one position to another without losing control.
Boxing adds precise hand work: movement, defense, distance and timing, including against punches aimed at the face. Within the method, it complements the tools drawn from karate and broadens the stand-up training. Practice is controlled and adapted to age and experience.
You first learn to perform a movement accurately and with control: understand the purpose of the movement, keep your balance and practice with a partner. You repeat the movement, receive corrections and gradually add speed, power and complexity. Over time, you connect techniques and learn to adapt them to distance, pace and the other person’s response.
Your coach adjusts the challenge to your age, experience and ability. Conditioning, technique and judgment develop together: choosing what fits the situation, recognizing your limits and continuing to learn when it gets difficult.
The belt color indicates the student’s rank. Everyone begins with a white belt and progresses through different colors as knowledge and ability grow. Learning continues after the black belt. The ranks beyond it are called dan grades, and progressing through them requires years of continued training and development.
It's a question Dennis often asks after an explanation. He wants to know what actually came across to the person he's teaching. Learning means turning a movement you've watched into something you understand and can practice.
That's why questions, pauses and corrections are part of the work. Another attempt may look similar from the outside, but this time the student understands more clearly what the movement is meant to achieve.
Dennis teaches his students never to give up. That encouragement goes hand in hand with the coach's responsibility to understand each student's limits and look out for them.
Challenge and compassion belong in the same session. The work is serious, with close attention to the person doing it: when to encourage another attempt, when to explain differently and when to adjust the practice.
Founder of the method, who continues to set its direction.
Ran first came to Dennis as a child. Today, he describes him as an educator and role model. He still comes back for his guidance, the friendships and the chance to keep improving.
Dennis leads by example beyond the training hall, too: helping others, keeping relationships alive over the years and commemorating students of the method who were killed in Israel’s wars or in terrorist attacks. Ran saw these actions in his teacher, and they became part of how he teaches and lives.
The method bears the name of Dr. Dennis Hanover. For Ran, it also expresses a way of looking at the world: how you use your ability, how you treat the person in front of you, and what you take from training into everyday life.
Meet the student who became a coachFrom the training center in Herzliya
Israeli President Isaac Herzog
at the Dennis Survival center.
The video documents a visit by the president of Israel to Dennis’s training center. It is included here as part of the story of Dennis and the community that has grown around the system.
Video: Dennis Survival — The Israeli Center for Self-Defense and Physical CultureThe full video, with its original Hebrew text.
The seven principles of respect in Dennis Survival
Dr. Dennis Hanover set out seven principles of respect for the system. They concern your training partners, the people waiting for you at home and the world you live in. In each one, skill comes with responsibility.
For Dennis, respect for God means believing in a power greater than ourselves and in each person's divine purpose. It is expressed through humility, gratitude for the ability to protect and help others, and responsibility whenever force is used.
Seeing nature and every living creature as part of creation, to be cared for and protected. Dennis looks after animals in his yard and considers compassion for them part of being a martial artist. That responsibility also means caring for the environment where we live and train.
Respect for the State of Israel and the home of the Jewish people. For Dennis, it is expressed through a willingness to contribute, serve and protect, and through remembering students of the system who fell in service. Individual skill carries a wider responsibility for the country's security and the people who live there.
Recognizing the care and effort parents put in. Treat them with respect in the way you speak and behave at home. For Dennis, the respect learned in training is also tested in how you treat your parents afterward.
Listening carefully, staying disciplined and being willing to learn even when it's difficult. Respect for a teacher is built on trust — and on the teacher’s responsibility toward the student. This is how teachers pass on knowledge and lead by example.
Your training partner challenges you and offers a hand when you need to get up. On the mat, everyone is equal, regardless of religion, race or background. Respect means helping when things get difficult, offering encouragement after an unsuccessful attempt and being glad to see someone else progress.
Knowing your worth and what matters to you, even under peer pressure. Self-respect develops through effort, facing fear and being willing to try again. Part of it is choosing not to use your strength to hurt or humiliate someone.
A look at advanced practice
Ran demonstrates advanced self-defense practice: responding to an armed threat, both standing and on the mat.
These demonstrations use scenarios involving armed threats to show an advanced part of the system. They don't represent every class or a first session and are not intended for practice on your own.
Notice your surroundings, understand the distance and decide whether to respond or move away. Not every situation calls for physical action; early awareness, keeping distance and avoiding confrontation are also part of the training.
Meet Ran and his approachLet’s talk
What would you like to learn? What fits into your week? Ran will help you choose the right training and arrange a trial session.
Talk with Ran Or call 054-450-2060