We all hear lots of immigrant stories; why people leave their homeland to live a life in a foreign land. Many times we ask ourselves was it worth it? For Keiko Fukuda, it was.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Sensei Keiko Fukuda left her homeland of Japan and settled in California to "dedicate her life to judo, fighting gender discrimination that kept her at lower belt levels decades longer than men less skilled than she".
How bad was the discrimination, you ask? The US Judo Association reported that she remained at the 5th degree black belt for 20 years because that was "the highest rank for women that could be achieved" in Japan.
Since then she has earned more black belts and many awards. In 2001, she earned her 9th degree black belt.
Today, at 98 years of age, she has been awarded the 10th degree black belt, by the association, the highest level in judo. This makes her the first woman to receive this honor and the 20th person in the world. On hearing the news, she is quoted in the newspaper saying "All my life, this has been my dream".
She still teaches judo to women in San Francisco. A documentary about her life is in the works. Click on the link below to see the fascinating trailer.
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