Culture
Syrian martial artist who lost leg returns home to teach kung fu
A Syrian kung fu teacher has overcome the trauma of losing his leg to follow his passion for kung fu and opened a club for children in Syria’s Aleppo province.
IDLIB — Inside a small gym in northern Syria, a group of children enthusiastically learn the martial art of kung fu from the young coach, Fadel Othman, who moves lightly, unhindered by his missing leg.
A Russian airstrike in 2015 on al-Rashidin neighborhood, west of Aleppo, cost Othman his right leg, while the left leg was severely hurt.
He is among more than 86,000 Syrians who lost one of their limbs during the 11-year war in Syria, according to the World Health Organization.
But the injury did not prevent him from achieving his passion for training children in martial arts, specifically wushu kung fu. While he was going through rehab in Turkey, he also deepened his knowledge of these arts.
