Kelowna Woman Could Be Oldest Female 1st Degree Black Belt Holder in Canada

A Kelowna woman appears to have become Canada’s oldest female to receive her First Degree Black Belt in ITF style Tae Kwon Do.

Practising for over six years, 63 years old Doris Kotscha is now referred to as a First Dan as she is now a black belt holder. Kotscha says she got into the sport after a bad back forced her to quit running, and she was looking for a new activity.

Doris Kotscha preparing to spar at Sundance Martial Arts (Photo Credit: Contributed)

“A friend of mine was going into Tae Kwon Do so I thought I would give it a try,” explains Kotscha. “When I first started I was not very physically fit, I couldn’t even do proper push-up. I didn’t know how far I would go, but I knew it was very good for stretching and to keep me focused by going out to class rather than trying to go and exercise on my own.”

Since 2008, Kotscha has trained steadily to strengthen her muscles, work on her equilibrium and push herself to achieve her goals. In the process she has competed in several fun tournaments and won medals.

“I certainly can’t compete at a level of a 16 year old but when you compete they put you in a division in accordance to your belt rank,” adds Kotscha. “As you progress through the system you get a higher and higher belt rank. When I went into tournaments it was a lot of fun, I got to compete with a lot of women who had the same belt level but none were near my age. I think the closest I ever competed against was 12 years younger than me.”

Doris Kotscha wearing her First Degree Black Belt moments after she earned it (Photo Credit: Contributed)

Kotscha believes that no matter what your age or ability anyone can get involved in Tae Kwon Do.

“You are never too old and you are never too out of shape, you’re never too hurt unless you are physically unable to do something because of a debilitating disease,” encourages Kotscha. “Age is not a factor at all, you just have to get out there and start exercising and start stretching. The fun part of Tae Kwon Do is I always jokingly say, I get to legally hit somebody. It’s fun and it keeps you focused. I sit in front of a computer all day long, but this keeps me on track.”

Kotscha learns and practices at Sundance Martial Arts and recommends that anyone looking to get healthy and have some fun join the sport. Sundance Martial Arts is run by Mr. David White, a 5^th degree black belt who runs a school in Vernon and a school in Kelowna. He can be reached at [email protected] and the Kelowna phone number is 250-215-5425.

Doris Kotscha with sparring partner Judy Conway who is a Second Degree Black Belt (Photo Credit: Contributed)