Seeking Out A Master

One of the many things that I have to complete in order to finish my black belt test is to seek out a master. I have to talk with someone who is considered a master in isshinryu karate. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Master Diane Ortenzio-Cooling. She is a ninth-degree black belt and has been training in the martial arts for the past 47 years. I knew that when I had to talk to someone for this task, I knew I wanted it to be a woman, because I am a woman training in karate, which is typically a male-dominated sport. I asked her a lot about her experience training in karate as a woman, especially in the 1980’s, which was definitely not as forgiving to women. She told me that she originally started doing karate because she used to work in an office that was in a dangerous area, and she wanted to learn self-defense in case she ever needed to defend herself. She shared that, being one of only a few women in her dojo, it was very difficult. The women had to keep up with the men, or they wouldn’t last long. Lots of other women wouldn’t be in the dojo for long because there was an expectation during that time that women were supposed to take care of the children and keep up the household. This obviously didn’t stop her though. She trained to get her black belt, and while her black belt test didn’t include a year-long test like mine does, her day-of test was very similar to mine. She had to do all of her open hand katas, two bo kata, two sai katas, know lots of history questions, and she had to complete a sparring test. However, back then, there was no sparring gear and no mouthguards either! Obviously, a lot has changed from then into what modern martial arts looks like now, and it was really inspiring to hear from such a powerful woman who worked so hard to get to such a high position in the isshinryu karate system! 

My current Challenge progress as of May 26, 2026.