Oldest Canadian Woman to get First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do

Doris Kotscha turned 63 years old at the end of October 2014 and graded for her First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do at the formal black belt testing event held at Sundance Martial Arts Academy in Vernon, British Columbia, on November 28, 2014. Doris has been training in ITF style Tae Kwon Do for over 6-1/2 years and has bounced back from a debilitating back injury that was supposed to put her permanently in a wheelchair. When she began training in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 56, the doubters were many. Her age, her physique and her various previous injuries all conspired to make her give up. However, through persistence, hard work and a lot of encouragement from her peers, she stuck with the training. She switched schools in January of 2014 and completed her training at Sundance Martial Arts Academy's Kelowna school. Doris is now continuing her training and has set her sights on obtaining a 2nd degree black belt in the future.