For 21 years, Senaid Salkicevic has been living on one leg only. May 24, 1994 is a day that he will never forget. It was civil war in his native Bosnia (former Yugoslavia), and for days there have been no shootings. Young Senaid was playing in front of his father's house on a sunny afternoon, when three grenades hit the front yard from out of nowhere. His father died immediately, while Salkicevic was severely injured. His right leg had to be amputated from the knee downwards.

But Salkicevic has always been a fighter. He was eight years old when the horrific incident happened, but the anger kept him going. "I owed it to my father, to go on with my life", the now 30-year old told German outlet GNP1.de.

He was seven when he started Karate, his father took him to his first training in Bosnia. After his family left the war-torn country for Germany, Salkicevic decided to stick to his roots. When he turned 16, a neighbor, who was doing MMA at the time, took him to his gym. He tried the new sport, had his first fight, lost, and decided it wasn't for him.

But kickboxing was.

By now, he can look back on 15 years in the sport, and a record of 14 fights with only three defeats -- all fights competed with a transtibial prosthesis. He doesn't kick with his right leg since the prosthesis is made out of carbon, but he still has three other limbs left. Last October, Salkicevic fulfilled his biggest dream, when he won the Thai & Kickboxing Council (TKBC) world title in Romania. A small organization, but a world title nonetheless.

Salkicevic is a regular man, works nine hours in his regular job everyday to feed his family. After work, he trains for his fights, just like everyone else. But yet, people approach him differently simply because of his prosthesis. That's not fair, he says.

"Everyone who knows me, knows, how hard I train. It's not right when people don't treat me like a regular athlete. I have achieved more in this sport than many fighters who step in the ring without a handicap", he assures.

Last year, he received a sponsorship package from sports-apparel company Nike, making him the first handicapped fighter ever to be sponsored by the popular outfitter.

"Many people out there have a handicap and no trust in themselves to make something happen", Salkicevic says. "But you can never give up on yourself. Even regular people have to fight to reach their goals in life. You have to always show courage, and you will be rewarded someday."

On June 20, Salkicevic will compete in his 16th fight, a boxing match against experienced kickboxer Massimo de Lorenzo, but already has his sights set on his next K-1 battle in September. Besides that, he also works as a trainer in his gym Arena Aschaffenburg, a task that he is taking very seriously.

"I have a couple of very strong and promising guys here", he says. "It's my goal now, to build them up. That is the future."