Fadel, the teacher who teaches Kung-Fu with a single leg in Syria

Butterfly style kicking and powerful punching. In northern Syria, a group of students learn complex martial arts techniques under the tutelage of Fadel Othman

Fadel, the teacher who teaches Kung-Fu with a single leg in Syria

Butterfly style kicking and powerful punching. In northern Syria, a group of students learn complex martial arts techniques under the tutelage of Fadel Othman, a Kung-Fu teacher with a single leg.

This young agent of 24 years run a modest school of martial arts in Abzimu, a town in the west of the province of Aleppo, controlled by the rebels.

Among his hundred disciples there are orphans or children who have lost any of their parents in the long decade of war in Syria.

"It's the first team I train from my wound," he explains to AFP on outdoor land where he often offers his Kung-Fu classes.

"I am convinced that one day will be world champions," he adds about his disciples.

Othman was injured by a piece of obscure in 2015, during combats between rebels and forces of the regime in the city of Aleppo. He now is part of the more than 86,000 Syrians considered amputees of war by the World Health Organization.

The young man, who practiced Kung-Fu since he was 12 years old, was forced to leave his passion. "I felt that all the doors closed in front of me," he recalls from the Academy of Him, just below an imposing flag of the Syrian opposition.

But during the past three years in Turkey to heal, he continued to attend martial arts courses with coaches and even participated in competitions.

This year he decided to open this Academy of Kung-Fu where he trains students from different levels.

In his modest gym, with bags of boxing and traction bars, the walls are full of Othman photographs in tournaments.

The young man teaches a series of heating exercises, without the need to use crutches. He then observes students to make the sophisticated Kung-Fu sequences before helping them refine the technique to stop kicking or punches.

Its objective is to teach children "useful movements they can use to defend themselves" and reinforce their trust.

As the gym is not connected to the local electricity network and the batteries that are currently discharged, Othman takes refuge against a wall to look for the last sunbeams, while his training gloves continue to receive the punch of a young student.

Then, in an open-pit field, Kung-Fu teacher trains a group of 14 children dressed in identical uniforms.

"I consider them as my little brothers," he explains. "My goal is to form a solid team that can aspire to international competitions," he says.

Date Of Update: 07 December 2021, 14:34