She’s is 75 but Ms Ji Bok-yeon is fully capable of smashing a stack of roof titles during her daily two-hour training session at the gym in the city of incheon. The team leader of South Korea’s Grandma Taekwondo Federation demonstration team, Ms Ji credits the country’s traditional sport with curing her rectal cancer.
“I no longer take anti-cancer medicines after nine years of working out,” she says.
Her fellow team members are also enjoying the sport. “If any punk gets drunk and tries to do something stupid, i think i can knock him out in a single blow,” says black-belt holder Park Yeong-Ja, 72, clenching her fists in a mock offensive gesture. Ms Park says she has derived the most joy from bringing her weight down from 80kg to 67kg over several years.
The team’s 22 members are aged between 58 to 78, with 16 of them in their 70’s. They train at least two hours a day, six days per week. Twelve of them have black-belts. The team performs 16 times a year at home and in countries like China, Malaysia and Singapore.
Written by AFP (WeekendToday: World News)
