With big dreams of making it to Hollywood one day, one young Afghan man, who bears a striking resemblance to Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee, is hoping his high flying kicks will take him past mere Internet fame.
Videos and photos of Abbas Alizada, 20, posted on the Facebook page "Bruce Hazara" show him performing back flips and striking Lee's famous poses. They blazed through Afghanistan's small Internet community this week, part of a publicity burst he hopes will catapult him to broader fame.
Abbas Alizada trains at Kabul's desolate Darulaman Palace twice a week, swirling nunchuks and sporting a Lee-like bowl haircut. Alizada also showed off his wiry physique, doing push-ups on his fingertips and sparring with a partner.
His roots are very humble, coming from a poor family of 10 children. Lacking the funds to enroll in a Wushu academy, a form of Chinese marital arts, a trainer took him under his wing.
Alizada's recent success on the Internet and at a marital arts tournament in Kabul reflects changes taking place in the country, but there is still a long way to go.
Helped by the spread of television and the Internet, Afghanistan is witnessing a revival when it comes to sports and martial arts, practices that were once banned under the previous government.