Sensei Keiko Fukuda recently become the first woman and only the sixteenth person to ever achieve judo's highest honor, a tenth degree black belt.

If that wasn't impressive enough on its own, the San Fransisco resident achieved the honor at 98 years old.

Fukuda began her martial arts career in 1935, reaching fifth degree black belt in 1951. At that time, judo's ruling body didn't allow women to advance beyond the fifth degree, so Fukuda's rise in the ranks was stalled until that restriction was lifted in 1971.

Learn more about this amazing pioneer, whose motto is "Be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically," in the short below:

 

[via Nerve]

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