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National Trainers

A headshot of National Trainer Mamdouh Ibrahim
USA Karate
Name: Mamdouh Ibrahim  
Title: National Trainer
Email: cpageek@gmail.com
Cell Phone: 646-623-7440

State/Region: New York/Region 5

Years in Karate: 36

Rank: 5th DAN

Style: Shotokan  

Major Accomplishments: Coached International Junior athletes, 5 of whom placed in competition.

Education: Bachelor’s Degree: Accounting and Information Systems

Other: Mamdouh is the Founder/Developer of FitX50 which is a 50-minute group fitness class in NY.  He is also a Pro MMA and Corner Man since 2018, and a certified Lifeguard.


USA Karate National Trainers
USA Karate
Name: Alex Jinesta
Title: National Trainer
Email: Ajinesta@aol.com
Cell Phone: 561-603-7858

State/Region: Florida/Region 6

Years in Karate: 26

Rank: 4th Dan Goju Ryu / 3rd Dan USANKF

Style: Goju Ryu

USA NKF previous roles held: Former National Team Member -60kg Member of the medical committee

Major Accomplishments: 3x Senior Team Member, National Champion, Coach of Jr. PKF Gold Medalist, Coach for several youth league finalist

Education: BA in Exercise Science and Health Promotion; AS in Nursing

Other: Pediatric ICU nurse at Palm Beach Children’s Hospital, love to travel, big into hiking and being outdoors, and gaming!


USA Karate National Trainers
USA Karate
Name: Brian Hilliard
Title: National Trainer
Email:bhilliard@usankf.org
Cell Phone: 951-543-3128

State/Region:  California/Region 1

Years in Karate: 35

Rank: 4th Dan

Style:  Shito Ryu

USA NKF previous roles held: Team Member and USA NKF Board of Directors member

Major Accomplishments: USA National Champion, US Open Champion, PKF Team Medalist



USA Karate National Trainers
USA Karate
Name: Bryan Nixon
Title: National Trainer
Email: planodojo@planodojo.com

State/Region:  Texas/Region 3

Years in Karate: 27

Rank: 5th DAN

Style: Wado International

Major Accomplishments: National & International competitor – (1997-2011), Male competitor of the year, TKL 1998, 1999, 2000, Silver medalist, (-84kg) - Wado World Cup 2011, Gold medalist, Team USA – Wado World Cup 2011, National & International coach – (2011-current), Kumite Coach, WIKF TX, 2011-2020, Head Coach, WIKF TX, 2021 – 2024, Head Coach WIKF USA, 2023-2024

Other:  Bryan is Positive Coaching Alliance certified and has a passion for developing athletes though a focus on mastery of skills and honoring the game at the highest level.



USA Karate National Trainers
USA Karate
Name: Alex Padalka     
Title: National Trainer
Email: karate.denver@gmail.com
Cell Phone: 970-456-8178
State/Region: Colorado

Years in Karate: 29

Rank: 4th Dan

Style: Shotokan      

Major Accomplishments: Alex was a member of the Russian National Junior Karate team. His highest achievement was a gold medal in Team Kumite at the Junior European JKA Championships in 2004. He runs his dojo together with his brother, Vitaly. One of their students, Eduard Sagilyan, is a 3-time Junior Pan American Champion, a Pan American Bronze Medalist, and a Team Champion at the Senior Pan American Championships. He is also a Bronze Medalist in Series A in Salzburg and was ranked #1 in the world in 2022 in the Juniors. Another one of their students, Maria Gladkih, won a bronze medal at the Junior Pan American Championships in 2019. Their students have consistently been selected for Team USA since 2019.

Other: Alex also works as a real estate agent with his wife. They have two kids and a golden doodle named Mango. Living in Colorado, Alex enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities - snowboarding, hiking, camping, paddleboarding, biking, and more.


2024 National Team Coaches
USA Karate
Name: Ralph Palomino
Title: National Trainer
Email: rpalomino@usankf.org
Cell Phone: 480-430-8585
State/Region: Arizona/Region 2

Years in Karate: 41         

Rank: 3rd Dan (Shotokan and USANKF)                                   

Style: Shotokan

USA NKF previous roles held: No previous roles

Major Accomplishments: Accomplishments: as a sensei and coach he has produced 10 National Champions, 1 Bronze medalist in Pan American Championships, 2 Silver Medals in the WKF K1 Youth League.

Education: 3 years of College

Fun Facts: Grew Up in NYC trained under Toyotaro Miyazaki Sensei & Moved to Arizona at age 30.



2024 Team USA Headshots
USA Karate
Name: Chris Wood
Title: National Trainer
Email:  cwood@usankf.org
Cell Phone: 816-716-3123

State/Region: West Virginia/Region 4

Years in Karate: 36

Rank: 7th Dan in Shoshin Kan and 3rd Dan in USA NKF

Style: Shoshin Kan

USA NKF previous roles held:  Member of the Jr National Team and member of the Senior National Team

Other: He is a 5th Dan in Judo


SafeSport accreditation requires that two steps be completed, a NCSI background check required every two years, and the online SafeSport Training required annually. 

To access your background check and SafeSport training, log into your membership account at usakaratemembership.com. 

For information regarding SafeSport Training, please contact the National Office at natoffice@usankf.org.