Taekwondo Grannies

[Fluffy]

I love this!

Taekwondo Grannies: The Ladies Who Punch
Thursday March 05, 2009
Peter Sharp, Asia correspondent
news.sky.com

Forget a walk in the park or afternoon tea. These little old ladies spend two hours a day in a gym outside Seoul kicking six shades of you- know-what out of hardboard and roofing tiles.

Hell's Grannies: The team are aged between 58 and 80

They're members of South Korea's elite, kick-ass Taekwondo Grannies Team, which boasts 22 fully fledged black belt members, all aged between 58 and 80.

The daily workout is a melee of flailing fists, high-kicking feet and the sound of shattered wood and crashing tiles.

In the country where Taekwondo was born these practitioners of the art take their sport deadly seriously.

Ji Bok Yeon is an intimidating 75-year-old. You really would cross the street to stay out of Granny's way.

She joined nine years after being diagnosed with cancer. She beat the disease and has been beating her way through the wooden boards ever since.

"Doctors first saved my life by giving me a 30-month anti-cancer treatment and Taekwondo then gave me a cure," she said. "

I no longer take anti-cancer medication after my nine-year workout."

Ladies have new-found confidence

The team has not only shattered myths about ageing, it has also given the ladies a new-found sense of confidence.

"They have a feeling of courage and power which is unusual for the elderly," said coach Yoon Yeo-Ho, a Taekwondo master who founded the team in 1989.

"Before they joined they may have felt nervous on the streets, but not any more."

Park Yeong-Ja, 72, agrees. She wears a second grade black belt and says: "If any punk gets drunk and tries to do anything stupid I think I can knock him out in a single blow."

Their families are having to get used to a lethal weapon wandering around the house.

"I don't think my husband is afraid of me. I think he is just happy I am staying healthy," said Bok Yeon.

The Grandma Taekwondo Federation Demonstration Team makes appearances at festivals and ceremonies all across South East Asia.

They provide their own security.

So, just how old is to old?

[tkd4life]

never too old!!

[tkd4life]

You know, I was thinking. It doesn't matter how old you are when you start, just as long as you feel your body can keep up. Maybe at this age, being the best fighter isn't there goal, which it probably isn't. They are just doing it for health reasons, which is awesome. Along the way, they learn that they can defend themselves, which gives them more incentive to keep doing it.

I think that this is really awesome!