Feature: Kung fu promotes unity among Afghans

My main objective is to train youngsters and inspire increased unity among war-torn and ethnically divided Afghanistan and eventually change the face of the militancy-plagued country to a peace-loving one,"the coach of a Kung fu club in Kabul, Khalid Zahorian, 39, told Xinhua recently.

Around 100 teenagers and adults of different ethnic groups were seen busy practicing Kung fu in the poorly equipped club in the Khair Khana neighborhood, in north Kabul. Zahorian said that 250 athletes receive Kung fu training four times a day at his club. "Since many teenagers from different ethnic groups prefer to learn Kung fu as a marshal art for self-defense, I am sure that the art,as with soccer, could become a symbol of unity among the war-torn Afghans,"the ambitious Kung fu coach observed.

In militancy-hit Afghanistan, the peace-loving Afghans, in spite of suffering from conflicts, have been working hard to promote music,sport, cinema, theater, art and other social activities to change the face of their war-torn country and remodel the nation as a peaceful one in the eyes if its citizens and the world.

Post-Taliban Afghanistan has made tremendous achievements in the sporting field over the past decade as Afghan athletes have brought medals home from 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games, besides attending regional tournaments and winning medals.

Kung Fu coach Zahorian said that the popularity of Kung fu among youths as an art of self-defense has inspired him to open his club's branches in each corner of the country and to promote the art among sport fans as much as possible.

Dozens of sport clubs have been privately established in Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan over the past decade to promote sports in the country.

Zahorian, who has been mastering Kung fu over the past 27 years and giving self-defense training to his Afghan teens and youth over the past 15 years, told Xinhua proudly that he had won a bronze medal in a Kung fu competition held in Moscow in December last year. He also noted that the promotion of sports in Afghanistan could also help the country combat drug use. "Participating in different kinds of sports at both amateur and international levels and winning medals at home and abroad will inspire the younger generations here to set positive goals and could even sway farmers away from growing illicit crops used to manufacture drugs and generally lead to a healthier society,"the sportsman observed.

Kung Fu, football, taekwondo, karate, judo, cricket, volleyball and running are popular sports in the post-Taliban Afghanistan and Afghans believe that promoting sports in the war-torn and ethnically divided country can strengthen national unity.

Inspired by Kung fu stars likewise Jacky Chan and Bruce Lee, the Afghan Kung fu practitioner said ambitiously,"I am trying to get fame at home and abroad like world Kung fu star Bruce Lee." "Promoting sport in the country and participating in competitions abroad would show the real face of Afghanistan as a country that is not a war-mongering lost cause, but rather a peace- loving nation,"trainee of the club,Jawed Askarzada, told Xinhua while exercising with a club mate. Endi