Judo master makes 10th degree black belt

[n2doc]

Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, August 6, 2011

After 98 years, the phone call finally came.

Last week, Sensei Keiko Fukuda of San Francisco became the first woman to be promoted to judo's highest level: 10th degree black belt.

Only three people in the world, all men living in Japan, have ever reached that mark.

The martial arts promotion by USA Judo brought 98-year-old Fukuda to tears at the women's dojo where she still teaches in Noe Valley. (Fukuda was the subject of a Chronicle Datebook profile on July 25.)

She gave up marriage and left her homeland to dedicate her life to judo, fighting gender discrimination that kept her at lower belt levels decades longer than men less skilled than she.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/05/DD181KHUV0.DTL

[renate]

1. that is really cool

:thumbsup:

I'm really happy for her! She must be a fascinating person.

[roguevalley]

12. I'm waiting for her to turn it up to eleven. :-D What a great woman.

[rog]

2. There is a film about her in progress (clip).

"Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful" ... this is a 10 min. clip from the film. Stick with it to the end, because the segment where she talks about giving up her life for judo is one of the most poignant moments I can remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfLNCvvzFfU

.rog.

[Rex]

3. And she looks so harmless...

Pity the fool that tries to steal that grandma's purse on the streets!

[pipi_k]

4. Whoa...kind of depressing

to know that someone 40 years my senior could probably kick my ass



Seriously, though, good on her!
:)

[HCE SuiGeneris]

5. Totally cool! Thanks for the positive post :) n/t

[Zax2me]

6. 98? I think I could take her.

[chrisa]

8. Can you outrun her ninja stars?

She might even be right behind you right now. Just for posting that. :yoiks:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. bwahahaha

That was too funny!

;)

[dana_b]

7. amazing!! k&r

[Recursion]

10. Omedetou gozaimasu!

This judoka bows in respect.

[Gregorian]

11. 4'11" and 100 lbs. she studied from the man who created Judo.

I love this!

I'm kind of following in her footsteps to a degree. Gave up everything in my 30's to pursue a life of bike riding. Every day is hours of stretching and workouts.

I think this kind of effort is the only thing that can keep one healthy.

[Obamanaut]

13. . nt

[Withywindle]

14. Wow. I wish the headline reflected that this is a 98-year-old woman

I think the story would get a lot more views if people could tell at a glance how powerful this story really is.


Thanks for posting it. I don't know much about martial arts and I learned a lot from this article. :thumbsup: