JEDDAH, 13 December 2002 — Saudi Arabia’s Sameer Hassan Kurdi, acknowledged as a world champion in kung fu, the Chinese system of self-defense, has announced his readiness to participate in international tournaments, including the one coming up in Europe in 2003. The European venue, yet to be decided, could be in either Germany or France.
“I’m confident of retaining my position in the upcoming European and other world championships,” Kurdi told Arab News yesterday.
For Kurdi, who learned the martial art 25 years ago after attending school in Madinah and high school in Jeddah, getting five dans is no surprise. “There’s a lot of hard work, physical fitness and dedication involved in becoming what I’m today,” Kurdi said. “By the way, it’s not simple to get dans. Each dan involves hard work for at least two years,” he added.
Recalling his early days, Kurdi said he initiated into the martial art with training at the Chinese Consulate here under a Chinese trainer. “I then traveled to China several times to perfect the art and also acquired professional skills over the years,” he said. He has since been conducting training courses for local enthusiasts.
Asked what factors go into acquiring perfection in kung fu, Kurdi said: “There are physical and psychological requirements aside of course from aptitude and dedication. Every one wanting to learn the martial art must patience, concentration, and strong body buildup, fists and feet.”
Replying to a question whether enthusiasts drop out of training once they find it hard to accomplish, Kurdi said: “Beginners should always tolerate the punches they get during training sessions. They should also sharpen their reflexes to maneuver and thwart dangerous attacks from opponents.”
Asked for his own track record, Kurdi said he took part in nine kung fu tournaments and achieved good results. “I won the British kung fu championship in 2002,” he boasts.
With his prowess in kung fu, he wishes to popularize the martial art across the world. The United States, Britain, France, Japan, Germany and Nigeria are some of the countries where he demonstrated the sport and got an excellent feedback from young enthusiasts. Kurdi has lately developed interest in studying anatomy. “The idea is to find the points of weakness in us and how it can be overcome while tackling attacks in competitions,” he said.
Dwelling on the martial art, Kurdi said kung fu was like karate but it emphasized circular rather than linear movements. Karate is a Japanese system of self-defense characterized chiefly by sharp, quick blows delivered with the hands and feet.
“Different styles that highlight the martial art are dragon, tiger, snake, etc. In this sport there are 21 punches that are ‘killer punches.’ Seven of them could put the defender in a coma or become fatal,” said Kurdi who received the 5th dan black belt kung fu certificate after a test in juka freestyle martial arts techniques over a year ago. He has become a member of the two worldwide martial arts organizations - National College of Martial Arts (NCMA) under founder grandmaster Hashin Lou Angel of South Jackson, Joplin Missouri, USA, and World United Martial Arts (WUMA) under founder grandmaster Richard Hopkins of London Road Cheltenham, England. WUMA has awarded him an official certificate as a juka freestyle international instructor under the WUMA federation constitution of 1989.
