Research and translations by Shuja Shayan
For the rest of this Kung Fu in Kabul series, see:
Part 1: Kung Fu Masters, Job Creation, Refugees and the Free Press.
Part 2: Grandmaster Abdul “Rahim Kung Fu” and a Refugee Camp.
Part 3: Abbas Alizada: The Afghan Bruce Lee.
February 17, 2015: Grandmaster Sayed Rahman Youresh – President and Founder of Wushu (Chinese Kung Fu) Afghanistan Federation
First, the heading on this section is exactly what his name card says, and I must admit to some uncertainty as to how they differentiate Kung Fu and Wushu here. Though some clubs practice Taolu, Sanda is clearly hugely popular.
One difference between the two Afghan Federations is that Master Youresh—and his “rather large” number of students and students of students—deals mostly with international events, while Master Amiri—with his very large number of students and students of students—works more on the national level. But, let there be no doubt about it, Master Youresh has some truly great fighters in his squad. Like very few other masters in Kabul, Grandmaster Sayed Rahmin (usually called “Youresh”) is without a doubt fully and uniquely qualified for his distinguished position.
Meeting him this early afternoon, I found out his international team had just ten days earlier competed in a huge Iranian International Wushu Championships, and came in 3rd—not bad, considering they’re competing against, for example, China and the very large well-funded Iranian team.
His story began in Kabul many years ago, but his life really changed when he studied Wushu for three years in India at the beginning of the 1980s. After that, for the next eleven years he took two extended training sessions in China every year for a total of 22 trips to China for Wushu study. While in China he studied many styles, including Nan Quan, Shaolin Quan, Tai Chi and other styles.
He started teaching in 1983 in Kabul. Now he has 400 schools around Afghanistan with 25,000 students. He’s been a judge four times in international competition, and works closely with Rafi Ferdous, CEO & Secretary General of the Afghan National Olympic Committee. Master Youresh’s office is in the same Afghanistan Olympic Headquarter building with Mr. Ferdous.
Had these three Grandmasters of Kung Fu I’d met here in Kabul been living in China, I’m pretty sure “interested third parties” would have found a way to “harmonize the differences” and get everyone on the same page. But Afghanistan is still very much in a rapid-growth phase, where differences will occur, and all three Grandmasters of Kung Fu are also “supermen” to me.
February 17, 2015: Rafi Ferdous, CEO & Secretary General of the Afghan National Olympic Committee
I only got to talk with Mr. Ferdous for a few moments this afternoon as everyone was very busy, but he mentioned some interesting things: for example, Iran invested five billion dollars in their Olympic effort whereas the Afghan Olympic athletes get “almost zero” help from the Ministry of Sport. But somehow things are moving forward. For one, they have cooperative agreements with Turkmenistan and are in the planning stages of building such bridges with Japan. According to him, Taekwondo is the top Olympic sport in Afghanistan, and he mentioned that a new headquarters for the Afghanistan Olympic Committee will be ready in about two months. Unfortunately, that was all we had time for. I got his e-mail and we continued the interview later. The following is from his follow-up e-mail:
“2014 is the independence year for the Olympic Committee in Afghanistan
The former President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, H.E. Hamed Karzai, achieved a great service to his country in 2014, by agreeing with the separation of AFG-NOC from the Directorate of Physical & Sports Education (Government Body) indeed he performed the greatest service to the Olympic Movement.
Now over the past nine months however, AFG-NOC was facing challenges, we have many Achievements and AFG-NOC is now heading by one of the best and young servant to sports.
Mr. Mohammad Fahim Hashimy after he is elected as the president of AFG-NOC, did the following major works: 1. As a successful businessmen, he founded the culture of helping Olympic Movements. 2. Over the past nine months, Mr. Hashimy spent almost half a million dollars of his own money to help Olympic Movements in Afghanistan to let AFG-NOC stand up on its own feet. 3. For the first time, despite many disagreements, he applied the International Olympic Charter and AFG-NOC Statute word by word in Afghanistan.
In relation to your questions I have to say that: Up to now, none of the institutions financially have helped AFG-NOC including Afghan Government. The only source, from which AFG-NOC has received a limited financial help is, IOC, OCA and OS.
In 2015 AFG-NOC has planned to: Attract Funds from International Organizations, Donors and Traders, in order to build a Sports Complex and High Performance Center for Athletes in Afghanistan; and to attract Funds from Afghan Government in order to strengthen and growth sports in Afghanistan and to prepare Afghan Athletes for Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Afghan Wushu Federation: AFG-NOC does not recognize Mr. Khawani Amiri as a President for Afghan Wushu Federation; the federation which AFG-NOC works with and recognize as the Afghan Wushu Federation, is the one which is recognized by the Asian & international Wushu Federation the one headed by Mr. Sayed Rahman Yuresh.
Should you need any other inquiries please feel free to contact me.
Regards, Rafi Ferdous, Chief Executive Officer & Acting Secretary General, Afghanistan National Olympic Committee”
Well, I guess we know whose side he’s on. As for me, I have no sides. These interviews, by the way, are presented in the order in which I found these masters.
After a late lunch, Shuja had to go to his school for a while, so Mohiuddin and Mansoor came to my hotel and I showed them how to build a site for Mohiuddin’s job, which involves promoting the country’s four-month-old transportation workers union, which has 60,000 members already. I asked if the government was happy about this development and they said the government was helping to sponsor it. No end to surprises here!
February 18, 2015 (am): Interview with Negeena
After Mohiuddin came to the hotel where I was staying, we went to his car; and while waiting for Mansoor to arrive, I interviewed 10-year-old Negeena, whose family is from Tajikistan and has lived in a tent in District 10 for five years. She begs for a living because both her father’s arms are incapacitated in some way. Or, as the local papers suggest, she might work for an organized crime boss. Or both. Who can say? I gave her 100 Afghanis and my name card with Mohiuddin’s phone number and asked her to ask her father to call. I strongly feel refugees need a human face, family and details, but 24 hours later Mohiuddin had not heard from Negeena or her parents.
February 18, 2015 (2:00 pm): National Museum
Then it was on to the National Museum of Afghanistan. Sitting outside are some of the first trains in Afghanistan, which were used in 1920. I also found out that the rebellion led by good King Amanulla to defeat the British and end their colonial rule started in this same area. Shaja must have been an exceptional student in school.
The fantastic museum has several time-period collections of great antiquity going back to the Bronze Age. There is a special “Buddhist Heritage of Afghanistan” exhibition at this time. Some of the Afghan-made Buddhas are perhaps more muscular than those found in most Indian and Chinese art, and they had more idiosyncratic facial expressions than usually found in China and India—more like normal people rather than with stereotypic features.
There was also awesome ancient Afghan weaponry including very unique bows, swords, shields, and the first long guns. There was a collection from the “Mes Aynak,” an archeological excavation site located 38 km south of Kabul first surveyed in 1963. Among other things, the Pa Buddhist Monastery was discovered and excavated, along with a second monastery.
The Afghanistan National Museum also has a display from Bactria—a Bronze Age (3300 BC to 1200 BC) culture of Central Asia dated to ca. 2200–1700 BC, in Northern Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Alexander the Great’s army never managed to establish control over Bactria.
February 18, 2015: Panshir Youth Wrestling Club and Interview with Abdullah Big Waziri
From before the beginning of this trip, I was curious about traditional Afghan martial arts, knowing that almost every ancient culture has at least one. Lo and behold, they have several, including wrestling, knife fighting and archery. The knife fighting I can live without, and traditional archery I’ve heard is not being practiced at this time, but wrestling is very popular.
So, after the illuminating beautiful and exciting tour of ancient history and culture at the National Museum, we went to Panjshir Youth Wrestling Club, owned and operated by Abdullah “Big” Waziri. They call him big for a reason. He went into business five years ago and has competed in national and international competitions like the Asian Games in 2002. He told me about Hama Kara Afghan Traditional Wrestling where they compete in mud after oiling up their bodies. Apparently modern-style wrestling was started by “Naga” 60 years ago, and it was he who instituted the use of mats. There were about 35 youth training at the time we were there.
February 18, 2015: Khaama Press Senior Editors Zabihullah Moosakhail and Ahmad Royeen Rahnosh
One thing I always like to do in foreign countries is visit the Press Club, but I couldn’t find one here, even listed on the internet, and my local friends couldn’t find one either. So I did the next best thing, meet up with the editorial staff at Khaama Press, as it’s been their (free online) newspaper that taught and prepared me for this trip during the month or so before I came here, and kept me up to date during my travels. For a variety of reasons, Afghanistan is one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a reporter. It wasn’t easy finding their offices by any means, but thanks to good friends, nothing seems to be impossible here except an end to the lingering war and consequent poverty. Fortunately, we did manage to meet two senior editors who were gracious and welcoming. My favorite staff writer there is S. Mubashir Noor who has a phenomenal knowledge of history and current affairs, and a remarkable ability to integrate information at the highest levels of meta-cognitive analysis, with an obvious appreciation of the absurdity of life and vicissitudes of human nature. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there at the time I visited. I do pray he is well, as I know honesty can be a very dangerous thing. (Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if he was offered jobs in the government.)
Conclusions
There’s a lot of work to be done to help an ancient country suffering under a lingering war to build itself into a new nation. I have the highest regards for the Afghan Kung Fu/Wushu masters and students, journalists, editors, police, soldiers, other security personnel, translators and people. Reporters and soldiers especially are under extreme pressure, and every day there is an average of between 4 and 15 “Shaheed” or martyrs for the nation and the liberty of the majority of the people. Everyone here in Kabul prays for the end of the war, and for an inflow of foreign investment that can create jobs, money and better education—which are the only ways to catch up with the rest of the world and end the extreme poverty (hordes of begging children and women with infants are ubiquitous in this city at this time). Something almost everyone mentions is government corruption. I did many other interviews while I was in Kabul, but for the sake of brevity I can’t include then all in these stories (for example, an interview with a Kabul prosecuting attorney who was and remains very concerned with corruption).
As for the masters and refugees, the widows and students, time flows while each survives with the help of their family, friends, teachers and Allah. Having some Kung Fu Wushu skills can be helpful at times as well. Clearly the Kung Fu family in Afghanistan is really huge and growing fast, and you never know, world peace through Kung Fu could just happen here in Afghanistan if Kabul’s three true Grandmasters of Kung Fu/Wushu (Grandmaster Abdul Rahim Yosufi, Grandmaster Khawani Amiri and Grandmaster Sayed Rahman Youresh) can somehow iron out their differences.
Every master I talked with here asked if a Chinese Kung Fu master could come and help teach their coaches and students. I promised to pass on the request.
Abbas, the Afghan Bruce Lee, is training hard and waiting for a Hollywood contract. His future is so bright “he’s got to wear shades,” in my opinion.
The million-plus refugees in Afghanistan urgently need rapid short- and long-term assistance, food, medicine, jobs, real homes, education for their children and hope for the future.
Very special thanks to all the gracious, welcoming, hardworking and highly skilled masters, and my new best friends Shuja, Mohiuddin and Mansoor for all their most excellent help. “Ta Shukur” means “thank you” in Dari language. “Insha’Allah” we will all meet again soon.
Finally, thanks to Mikel Holt (of Milwaukee Community Journal and Wall Street Journal fame), my first great editor who taught me how to be a reporter, and who first put a real camera in my hands.
Further reading —
http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-refugees
