Meet The First Female Wushu Trainer Of Afghanistan Sima Azimi!

Afghanistan has got its first woman Wushu trainer. Sima Azimi is the Alpha female who is inspiring many girls and women to take up this ancient form of Chinese martial arts.

According to the Huffington Post, Azimi learned Wushu when she was in a refuge in Iran. Her habit of watching martial art movies in her childhood helped her cause.Azimi is currently training a group of girls aged between 14-20 years in wushu and her main motto is to train these girls so that they can protect themselves. Azimi once defended herself from a robber using the techniques of Wushu.

Evidently, most of the communities in Afghanistan do not allow women to take part in sports, although the slightly liberal Hazara community allows their women to practice athletics in the open. Aware of the harassments due to practicing Wushu, these girls are trying to establish it as one of the prime sports in Afghanistan. Azimi desires to see her students take part in International Wushu competitions despite the obstacles. Unfortunately, the lack of funding and freedom in women's sports in Afghanistan is a detriment in the realization of that dream.

According to the Gulf News, Wushu is a mixture of both exhibition and full-contact sports. It came into being in the year 1949 in China with an outlook to regulate the practice of traditional martial arts. Sima Azimi and her group sometimes practice at the Shahrak Haji Nabi hilltop near Kabul, where they practice both bare handed and with weapons like sabers and daggers.

Sima Azimi has been an ardent fan of Jet Li and Jackie Chan since her childhood. The 20-year-old Wushu trainer teaches her students at a club situated in western Kabul. She returned to Afghanistan from her refuge in Iran just a year ago. Many of her students' families feel concerned about their girls taking part in Wushu training, but it is the determination of the young Azimi that inspires them to allow them.

From a refugee in Iran to a Wushu teacher in Afghanistan, Sima Azimi has gone through many ups and downs in her life. It's her determination that led to what can be called a revolution against the Afghan tradition of keeping women in veils and inside the house.

TagsSima Azimi, Afghanistan, Wushu, Martial Arts, Sports