Qatar People, Qatar Interviews|
Following your dreams is not always the easiest thing to do, especially when those dreams lead you away from your family’s traditions and culture. |  |
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Date:
04/03/2008 | |
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Ahmad Al-Sulaiti faced exactly this situation a year ago when he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a professional martial arts competitor in Thailand, a job which was a far cry from his desk job at Qatar Petroleum, and an even farther cry from the Qatari culture he was raised in. At 27, Al-Sulaiti has been practicing martial arts for 20 years, since his first classes at the age of 7 in Dukhan. He was a member of Qatar’s first national Karate team in 1994/95 and when he was 16 he received a scholarship to go to Texas Tech, where he continued his martial arts training. After school he returned to Qatar, where he began working at Qatar Petroleum. “I realized that I didn’t want to be an employee.” Says Al-Sulaiti, “I wanted to own my own thing, so I thought, I’ll leave and build my own thing.” So in 2007, against the wishes of his father who swore not to help him achieve his dream, Al-Sulaiti moved to Thailand and joined a martial arts camp where he met the producers of the reality TV show “Contender: Asia” “My friend thought I could compete in the show, but I was pretty out of shape after too many years in an office job, but I went anyway, and ended up being friends with everyone on the show.” Says Al-Sulaiti. Unfortunately the show didn’t make it to air. So instead of competing in the “Contender: Asia”, Al-Sulaiti, with his friends, Somluck Kamsing (1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner), Kaoklai Kaennorsing (world champion kickboxer), Julaluck Ismalone (one of Thailand’s most famous actresses) and Thai actor Nicky Pimp, decided to make a movie. The movie is Aukmen and it’s based on Al-Sulaiti’s story. It’s set to premier at the Canne’s film festival. “This isn’t just a fight story,” says Al-Sulaiti, “this is a strong, well acted story. All the others in the film are such good actors they held me up.” For more information visit www.aukmenthemovie.com 
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