After 33 surgeries, Ziamari now wants to start jiujitsu school
AMERSFOORT An accident caused Abdel Ziamari to look death in the eye and undergo 33 surgeries, but life is smiling back at him. Despite doctors not giving him much chance, the Amersfoort native overcame. Brazilian jiujitsu gave him joy back and now he wants to start his own jiujitsu school.
It is Monday afternoon when Ziamari parks his car on the Nijverheidsweg in Amersfoort. He has just returned from Amsterdam, where he practiced his beloved sport of jiujitsu and is feeling well. Smiling, he gets out of his car and looks for a moment at the intersection where things went so terribly wrong on November 10, 2006.
The Amersfoort man was 16 years old when he rushed past here on his scooter and was hit by a car that did not give him the right of way. Ziamari took a huge hit and was thrown meters high into the air. The moment drastically changed the now 29-year-old's life, although he is only too glad to be alive. Things could easily have turned out differently, and it can actually be called a miracle that Ziamari is still breathing on his own. "The doctors gave me a five percent chance."
Abdel Ziamari | Photo by Rinus van Denderen
LITTEKENS AND DEUKEN Eight weeks he was in a coma and in total Ziamari had to undergo 33 surgeries. At the water's edge, he recalls that one moment on Nov. 10. ,,I experienced everything consciously. The trauma helicopter had also been called, but the ambulance took me directly to the UMC. All my intestines were perforated and once in the hospital the light bulb went out for me. From there I don't remember anything."
This is just as well, because these were grim moments. At one point he had to make an important choice and decided to give the green light to a dangerous operation. This succeeded and Abdel Ziamari was determined to fight back. "My whole body is now full of scars. Just look," he says, raising his shirt. ''All scars and dents. I lived in the Hoogstraat in Utrecht after all those operations to rehabilitate. I could barely do anything. It was terrible. But one thing was for sure; I'm coming out of this strong."
CONTROLATED OUTCOME This sport is a martial art that aims to establish dominance and ensure that an attacker is controlled as quickly as possible. It is often "ground fighting," and despite negative advice from doctors, Ziamari has now been practicing it for six years. ,,Every day I drive to Amsterdam and train six times a week. I can handle it mentally and physically. Believe me," says Ziamari, standing towards the water. "This sport has saved my life."
The togetherness that the sport in Amsterdam brings him, he now wants to bring to Amersfoort. At A-dance he has already arranged to have a hall at his disposal every Wednesday and Friday starting in May and he wants to fill it with Amersfoorters. ,,I want to start my own Brazilian jiujitsu school under the name AmersfoortBJJ. Where many martial arts focus on throwing punches or kicks, this sport focuses on taking out the other person in a controlled manner without damage. The techniques taught here are based on intellect rather than brute force. This makes it a very suitable system for self-defense for men, women and children alike."
Abdel Ziamari thinks that people in Amersfoort can benefit a lot from this sport and in doing so, he hopes for the support of the municipality. ,,You can get young people off the streets with this. That has much more effect than building a soccer field. Besides the sport, I can tell them my life story and teach them discipline/motivation. In Amsterdam I see people really blossom with self-confidence and I grant that to Amersfoorters as well."
As he prepares to go to the car, he tells happy news. ,,I will soon become a father for the first time and I am super proud of that. On this spot, here at the Nijverheidsweg, a lot of misery started, but that book is closed. Life is smiling again and that is partly because of Brazilian jiujitsu."
Source: The City of Amersfoort
