Kuwaiti woman makes kickboxing history

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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 22: Sports in its various games in Kuwait are no longer restricted to men, as women have made giant strides on the path of development, defeating shyness from society’s view, and reached the podiums in international forums, says mixed martial arts player, kickboxing coach and world champion Siam Al-Kharif.

She told the Al-Qabas daily, “Some people see that martial arts games and kickboxing are violent sports, but in my view it is a sport for every girl, as well as children, to learn self-defense and reach high levels of fitness.”

She said, “It is easy for a girl to practice kickboxing or any sport with martial arts if she has the will, and from a personal experience, as I have been overweight and short of breath, and I never imagined that I would be a world champion in these sports and a special coach for girls.”

About her beginnings, she said: “I started in these sports 3 years ago, where I practiced karate, and then I entered the field of martial arts, where the beginning was in local championships for amateurs, and kickboxing committees contributed to my development, where I organized a number of championships for women.

“Then it gave me an opportunity to participate in a championship for professional men, and I was the only girl and the first Kuwaiti woman to participate in this kickboxing championship, and here I made history for Kuwaiti kickboxing as the first woman and champion to play in a professional women’s match.

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