Grandmother of Black Belts : At a Low Point in Her Life, Woman Took Up Karate--and Found a Missing Piece of Herself

At 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 135 pounds and 50 years old, Susan Vasco doesn’t look tough. But ask her son.

“She’s brutal,” said Tony Vasco, 27, 6-foot-2 and a swimmer. “She’s kicked my ass many times. In the end, we’re on the floor with her fist in my mouth.”

Tony’s mom became the oldest black belt among the 10,000 martial artists who attend United Studios in Orange County when she earned her first-degree rank 2 1/2 years ago, said Dennis Brookman, her teacher. Today, Vasco is the oldest second-degree black belt.

They call her “the grandmother of black belts.”

“You don’t have to be a Popeye; you don’t have to be buffed up with giant muscles to do this,” Vasco said. “Whether you’re 6 feet, 6 inches or 5 feet, 6 inches, your arm breaks the same way.”

She insists that karate is the only sport where the participant gets better with age. “The best martial artist is an 85-year-old,” she said.

Vasco took up the sport six years ago. She was feeling frustrated by her job as a supervisor at a bill collection company, her divorce and the effects of a beating by five men in a bar.

For 10 years, the karate studio she passed on her way to work had piqued her curiosity, but not enough for her to join.

When she finally walked into the studio in Newport Beach, she was struck by how peaceful she felt, in contrast to her aerobics sessions. She didn’t feel bored either. “When I went through aerobics, if I didn’t have something to look at, one minute seemed like 10. In martial arts, your mind and body work together,” she said. “I wish I did it much earlier in my life. I found a missing piece of myself.”

Karate has also taught her lessons to use in the outside world. At work, when angry people call, Vasco now knows how to stay calm. “Just as you learn to control the person who is coming at you, you learn to redirect the verbal punches.”

Vasco’s obsession with karate led her to pursue it every day after work for three to four hours. She has also spent many an hour convincing people of karate’s merits, demonstrating a karate maneuver or a deep-breathing exercise.

“I’m tired of seeing women being beaten up, being raped, being killed. I’m tired of seeing them being the victims. [Karate] gives them a fighting chance,” she said.

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Vasco has inspired her daughter-in-law to take basic classes. Amy Vasco, 25, was a convert after seeing the dramatic change in her mother-in-law, the air of confidence she now exudes.

At work, Susan Vasco said, she’ll often jump up from her chair during a tough afternoon and show her co-workers “the moves.”

Vasco’s grandson, 6, is always screaming, “Grandma, show me how to kick, show me how to shove,” she said.

And 57-year-old Lorraine Lambeth, one of Vasco’s closest friends, took up karate three years ago after being urged by Vasco. Today Lambeth is also a black belt.

The two women underwent a rigorous test last week, Vasco for her second degree and Lambeth for a black belt. It lasted five hours and took place in 90-degree heat--on asphalt.

Both women believe karate has invigorated their memories and taught them to be self-reliant, self-confident and self-disciplined. “It’s a way of life,” Lambeth said.