QUETTA: Nadia Zakir Hussain who was born with severe scoliosis, practices Shaolin, one of the oldest and most famous styles of kung fu, to manage her chronic pain.
The 11-year-old undertakes a two-hour-long climb of the steep Koh-e-Murdar mountain near her home Quetta, stopping to rest thrice before she reaches a spot where she and other students train in Shaolin Kung Fu.
11-year-old named was born with severe scoliosis. However, this disease does not stop her from training in Shaolin Kung Fu. The climb is not easy for Hussain because of the illness, an excessive curvature of the spine, but Hussain knows one of the oldest and most famous styles of kung fu.
“The basics of Shaolin teach us how to tolerate pain, hence now I am able to fight against any physical pain,” she said. Hussain’s mother Fozia Abdul Wahid said she was diagnosed when she was one year old and the doctors warned her against exertion, especially through sports.
At the age of nine, she started training with Mubarak Ali Shan, a 52-year-old martial artist from Quetta’s Shia Hazara community who has been training children at his Shan Wang Shaolin Kung Fu Academy since the mid-2000s.
Although her mother still wants Hussain to quit fighting because of her condition, September’s win has motivated her to participate in international competitions. “Several times I have urged Nadia to skip and rest, but she has a dream of winning gold for Pakistan,” Wahid said.
