February 12–19, 2015
How much can one intrepid KungFuMagazine.com journalist do in a week in the capital city of a country internationally acclaimed for being one of humanities fiercest freedom fighting nations? Kung Fu Tai Chi’s foreign correspondent Gregory Brundage spent Chinese New Year 2015 in Kabul, Afghanistan, collecting a series of interviews with living legends of Wushu and Kung Fu, including Masters Abdul “Rahim Kung Fu,” Khawani Amiri, Mohammad Fahim, Abbas Alizada, and Sayed Rahman Youresh, as well as conducting interviews with refugees at the SHADO - Charahi Qambar Refugee Camp in Kabul, an interview with Mrs. Dastgirzada, teacher of girls and women, small business developer and owner of and trainer in a women’s gym, all before an interview with Rafi Ferdous, CEO & Secretary General of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee. There were also side trips to the National Museum, and District 17, the up-and-coming educational district of Kabul, and the Panjshir Youth Wrestling Club, owned and operated by Abdullah Big Waziri, as well as a meeting with two courageous senior editors at Khaama Press.
Prelude
There’s a “focus of forces theory” about a few places on earth where geographic, economic, and cultural conditions come to a focus. Certainly Jerusalem is one such place; in Europe, Belgium is such a focus; Cyprus certainly is, and in Central Asia it is Afghanistan, with rugged mountainous, situated between Asia and the West—a crossroads in the crosshairs of many ancient and modern civilizations.
Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, is about 3,500 years old; and though it has been invaded time and again by foreign powers, Afghans are some of the world’s toughest, fiercest and most independent people. Hostile invaders always end up going home, regretting their unwelcome incursion into that otherwise very beautiful land.
Afghanistan is now still very much in the recovery phase of a series of brutal wars beginning in the late 1800s. Poverty and corruption are rampant, but it’s amazing how much development there is and how cheerful the majority of the people seem to be. One Afghan man said, “We Afghans are happy people; even in a war most of us are happy.”
According to the UN, Afghanistan is a “least developed country,” with the lowest socioeconomic and human resources development in the world depending on how it’s measured. But … construction is underway all over this city of 4 million people, and there is access to hospitals or local clinics for most people. Their economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, even though it’s slowed a little in recent months largely due to difficulty in the process of appointing “acceptable” designates to the major government departments.
Though there are occasional attacks by this group or that, security around Kabul is extremely tight, right down to the truck with guys carrying automatic weapons across the street from every big hotel and many public buildings. I’ve never been searched so many times a day in my life, and when they check a bag, one can bet it’s been thoroughly searched. These guys are for real, and professional. Though I was searched at least 100 times during my eight days in Kabul, nothing was ever “missing” from my rather large, heavy old photo bag.
Surviving in this war-torn and impoverished environment for fifty or sixty years isn’t easy, and for one to become the nationally and internationally acknowledged martial arts master and father of Kung Fu in Afghanistan is an accomplishment worthy of note, honor and respect. During this week “on assignment,” I was so very, very lucky to meet a few such great men, Grandmasters of Kung Fu and Wushu in Kabul.
Thursday, February 12, 2015: Arrival & Background on Kabul
Stories unfold in the oddest ways. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes not. On this trip I was very lucky, because in the lounge of the departure gate at the airport in Dubai I met a very unusual young man named Fariq. An Afghan with excellent English, he told me he was an entrepreneur involved in different kinds of businesses. For him, Kabul was just a stop-over (he would transfer planes and continue onward to his home in the south of Afghanistan). My real in-person education about this rugged land began with him. When we reached the Kabul airport, he helped me get a local sim card for my mobile. We then had lunch together, after which he gave me the phone number of a friend of his named Shaja, who, he said, was an excellent translator, teacher and guide to Kabul. Man, was he right.
Shaja and his friends Mohiuddin and Mansoor were amazing. On the first two days, Shaja gave me a tour of the old city, starting on “Chicken Street,” kind of an upscale neighborhood with lots of shops geared towards tourists, then Chicken Area, the old city with small ancient doorways leading to neighborhoods within neighborhoods. And, not surprisingly, there were chickens and all kinds of other birds. We had tea at a couple of ancient shops, chatted with locals, strolled here and there, and got a feel for the real old city of Kabul.
Friday, February 13 (late morning): District 17
The second day Shaja took me to meet Kobra Dastgirzada, President of Farah Farhat Faizi (“3-F”) Agricultural Products Production, a non-profit totally indigenous NGO that helps women of all ages start small companies. She has teachers who instruct young ladies in tailoring so they can start their own shops, and basket weaving classes for around 100 widows. The Ministry of Agriculture buys most of the baskets for farm use. Mrs. Faizi had to leave Afghanistan during the civil war because certain sadly undereducated people didn’t exactly approve of her helping women.
Then, Shujia took me to his own private school which he’d started only 10 days previously. The cement walls in the basement school were unpainted and it was a bit rough, but he had good students, 80 of them or so, and they truly love to learn English, math and other subjects. It was beautiful to see. I asked him how he got so many students so quickly and he said, “I only charge about $2.50 per month, so hey! I’m popular!” Thus, I had some background on the city, its people and my new friend Shaja. It was time to go in search of the masters of Kung Fu, which began in his district, District 17.
Like most cities, Kabul is divided into districts and District 17 deserves a lot more attention than it’s ever gotten. It’s the educational center of Kabul, but people from there say no international journalist has ever been there before. Not even U.S. soldiers ever went there, Shuja told me. Exactly why that is, is a bit mysterious, but Shaja said, “District 17 is one of the best-kept secrets of Kabul.”
It’s a part of town moving up to middle class, and has been safer than most. We weren’t bothered by beggars. It was a sunny early afternoon in spring, the birds were singing, and there were a lot of nice apartment buildings, shops and schools. It was cleaner than most places downtown, and heck it was nice with that large student population atmosphere. There were three Sanda schools, a boxing school and a Taekwondo school along the main road within a 10-block walk. There are many private schools, colleges, and universities there, as well as foreign hospitals. Everyone seemed to be carrying a book or notebooks. I saw a seven-year-old girl with an English language text book, so with Shuja’s help I asked if I could take a picture. She said OK, but of course turned mostly away as modesty demands in traditional Afghan culture.
Friday, February 13 (4:00 pm): Mohammad Fahim, Sanda Teacher
It was in District 17 that we started our search for the masters of Kung Fu. Since it was only 4:00 pm, most of the Kung Fu and Wushu clubs hadn’t opened yet, but finally we found one with an early class with about 20 students. I led the class in stretches for a while, and then we played with the heavy bags. After that I interviewed young Master Mohammad Fahim, the first of the Sanda Kung Fu teachers I met in Kabul. He’s competed in national championships and in neighboring countries in the 75–80 kilo division. His club is called Fahim Wushu Club, and though it’s only been open one month, he already has 90 students. When we asked him who the Kung Fu Federation of Afghanistan leader was, he said, “Khawani Amiri,” and also mentioned his teacher, Abdul Rahim Yosufi, affectionately known as “Rahim Kung Fu.” Better yet, he had their phone numbers. Bingo! We were hot on the trail of the old masters! (Oh, there is no phone book here yet, but maybe soon.)
Friday, February 13 (evening): Grandmaster Khawani Amiri
Guided by Shaja, I went to the Wushu club of Master Khawani Amiri. Master Khawani is President of the Afghan National Federation of Wushu, President of Wushu in the General Directorate of Physical Education and Sport, and a major protégé of Abdul Rahim Yosufi. He should not be confused with Sayed Rahman Youresh, who is the President and Founder of Wushu (Chinese Kung Fu) Afghanistan Federation. They are a bit different.
Walking up the four flights of old cement stairs in the old shopping mall, I knew I was close to a real gym by the qi in the air and the smell of sweat.
Climbing further up the stairs I could hear the coach shouting techniques to practice. When I got up to the dimly lit large training gym with a ring, there must have been 50 mostly men and a few boys training hard, sweating profusely, really working kicks and kick-punch combinations with maximum speed and intensity.
It was Rocky Balboa slumming it, except this was and is a very bright star club in the constellation of Kung Fu, Wushu, Sanda, and Sanshou in Kabul. After a few minutes of gawking at the most excellent training, we were introduced to Master Khawani and shown into his small but comfortable office adjacent to the training area with windows so we could continue to watch the class.
After introductions, we found out that Master Khawani had studied Wushu in Iran for four years during “the war.” Everyone’s life here was completely turned upside down and inside out by at least one or more of the recent wars.
He told us an interesting story about a division between the National Team which he coaches and an international team trained by the “former leader of the Wushu Federation.” Apparently Master Khawani is “the people’s choice” by a vote of the members of the Wushu Federation, but the other President of the International Wushu Federation team has all the international connections, and there’s no bridge between the organizations. More about that later.
Master Khawani also mentioned that several of his clubs outside Kabul specialize in taolu. I asked the name of some of the taolu they teach. He told me the names, but I think they’re Persian names because most of the masters here studied Kung fu and Wushu in Iran. He told us he has 70 schools around Kabul, and 27 branches around Afghanistan, 10 of which specialize in taolu. Most, however, he said, train in Sanda. In Herat alone, he has 25 clubs, 15 of which specialize in taolu. I asked if an ethnic Chinese Kung Fu or Wushu practitioner had ever visited Kabul, and he said, “Not that I know of, but I sure wish one would!” (By the way, my most excellent new friend Shaja is translating all this like it’s easy, which I know it can’t be.) Altogether he has more than 20,000 students. I also found out that he graduated from Kabul University with a degree in law. He showed us photos of some of his students, which included several female Wushu champions winning in competitions in Afghanistan and India. He also showed us official badges with his name, photo and titles.
Anyways, I felt right at home in Master Khawani’s club; it reminded me of the killer, brutal, most excellent workouts at Sabir’s Kempo-Goju Karate School in West Milwaukee “back in the day.” He also showed us a leather-bound student attendance roster going back to the black and white era of the first years he was a Kung Fu teacher. He is currently 35 years old and has been teaching in Afghanistan for 18 years. After the interview, I really didn’t want to leave because it felt so much like home, but at least we knew where we had to go next: his Master.
For Part 2, click here.
