World’s Highest Ranked Woman in TaeKwondo

                                       World’s Highest Ranked Woman in TaeKwondo

Fifth Dan black belt assistant, Happy Kierstead, (right) stands with 9th Dan Grandmaster Brenda Sell during a recent test at the Kootenay Martial Arts. — Submitted photo

A world leader in TaeKwondo is coming to Nelson to help award black belts to 20 students from the Kootenays, Alberta, and Washington State. 9th Dan Grandmaster Brenda Sell is one of only two 9th degree black belt women in the world, and the highest-ranked non-Korean woman in the world. She will be the lead examiner for the black belt testing at Kootenay Martial Arts on October 18.

Grandmaster Sell is president of the United States Chung Do Kwon Association (USCDKA) and will bring her expertise to adjudicate at the black belt testing and teach two days of Tae Kwon do seminars.

“Kootenay Martial Arts is starting its 18th season with a bang. We’re testing 20 candidates, ages 10 to 60, for their black belts, which is pretty intensive, and pretty impressive. There are four hours of closed-door exams on all of the requirements for USCDKA and World Taekwondo Federation black belts. These are world-level credentials that are issued if the candidate is successful,” says 6th Dan Master Dean Siminoff, owner of Kootenay Martial Arts (KMA).

“Six students will be testing for their 1st Dan black belt, and the rest of the students will be testing for promotion to higher levels. We even have two candidates for 5th Dan. Students have trained on average at least four years to attain a 1st Dan black belt.”

Students from Midway, Alberta, Seattle, and KMA’s dojangs in Nelson, Playmor Junction, and Castlegar are participating. The graduation and demonstrations are open to the public starting at 6:00 pm on October 18 at the St. Joseph’s School gym. The demonstrations include breaking wood and concrete with their bare hands, flying kicks, and other superior martial arts skills.

“Grandmaster Sell and her late husband have been my mentors in Tae Kwon do for almost 20 years. It’s an honor for our students here in the West Kootenays to have her participate in their training and help them celebrate their achievements,” says Siminoff.

“It is my pleasure to be more of an observer during this testing and let the students stand on their own merits and trust that I have prepared them well to be evaluated by one of the highest-ranked individuals in the world in martial arts,” he adds.

Kootenay Martial Arts (KMA) is the largest professional martial arts centre in the Kootenays and now has a permanent home in Nelson with one of the largest and best-equipped facilities in BC. Owner Dean Siminoff is the only 6th Degree Black Belt in the Kootenays and one of only 144 in Canada. KMA is a member of the World Tae Kwon Do Federation and has more than 20 qualified instructors.