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http://today.reuters.co.uk/tv/videoChannel.aspx?storyid=0b3d1e1ab5ff7e94c2686004944a843c6833bb8b
From Reuters news article:
Feb. 10 - South Korea’s toughest grannies practice the country’s popular martial art of taekwondo.
From a distance, it looks like a typical scene at a martial arts studio-- except all 23 students are septuagenarian grandmothers.
In Inchon, an hour’s drive west of Seoul, this group of South Korean women smash plastic slabs and practice their kicks during a lesson of taekwondo, a Korean traditional martial art.
Although taekwondo is widely taught in South Korea as an after school sport for elementary kids, these grandmothers have learned to master the various routines. Most of them have been practicing for more than five years.
Almost half of these grandmas have reached black belt status, which is the highest of the martial art’s 10 levels. One must pass an exam to accelerate to the next level.
These grandmothers are very serious about the sport. For one thing, taekwondo has helped them find a way to stay healthy and have fun while they’re at it.
“Smashing! I really like smashing the plastic slabs. I release my stress that I get from home,” says 74-year-old Ji Bok-hyun, who has been practicing for nine years.
Ji is a black belt holder and is the leader of the class.
While practicing her routine of high kicks, 74-year-old Cho Jong-jae howls like kung fu legend Bruce Lee, and the other grandmas break in laughter.
“I haven’t been sick once since started coming here three years ago. It’s fun. I’m here because it’s fun. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t want to do it,” says Cho, who has a red belt.
The red belt is the second-highest level.
Yet 77-year-old Kim Hee-bok, who is the oldest of the group, focuses more on slower movements and stretches. Before she began learning the sport, she could barely walk and had been suffering from diabetes and arthritis for seven years.
“I couldn’t even walk up five flights of stairs before. Now, I can go up more than 50-60 stairs,” she says. Her son and daughter each supported her by the arms to walk her to the studio every day before she finally began to walk.
Master Yoon Yeo-ho is the first master to teach grannies taekwondo. Yoo, who has been teaching them for 15 years, constantly experiments ways to cater the art to their needs.
“There are a lot of difficulties in teaching them. They would forget what I taught them after one hour or a day later,” Yoon says.
Yoon heads the Korea Grandma T.K.D Federation, which focuses on teaching grandmas the sport.
But unlike Yoon’s elementary students, who would quit after several months, the grandmas would continue taking lessons for years after they have seen their health improve.
“I have been teaching taekwondo to fit adults and they say it has helped those with arthritis, diabetes and being overweight,” he said.
The class ends with stretches coordinated to a tune they used to sing when they were young, “Spring in my hometown.” “We can do it! We can do it!” they shout, while holding each other by the shoulder.