Fadil Osman has been studying martial arts since he was 12. He lived in the Syrian province of Aleppo and even took part in competitive tournaments.
But in 2015, he was met with an unimaginable obstacle when he lost his leg. It happened during an attack in the civil war that has ravaged his country.
After several years of rehabilitation, Fadil learned to adjust to his new reality.
Now the 24-year-old is back in fighting form and is using his skills to teach others the arts of self-defense.
Fadil opened a martial arts center in northwestern Syria. Most of his 100 students are orphans of Syria’s war.
Fadil wants to teach his students how to defend themselves and wants to engender health, discipline, and focus in young people.
Kung Fu is a welcome distraction from the decade-long civil war in Syria, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. According to one student, the center takes him away from the war environment.
And though reminders of the war are never far away, martial arts classes let Fadil and his students dream of bigger things.
Indeed, Fadil says that the war — and his disability — haven’t kept him from pursuing his dreams.