90 Year Old Black Belt
This 90-year-old won his 9th degree black belt. Here are his longevity tips.
When 90-year-old martial artist Ben Rocuskie of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was asked if he can still fend off an attacker, he didn’t hesitate. “Without a doubt. Although I’m a bit slower, I still know when and where to strike.”
In other words, don’t mess with him.
Rocuskie was inducted in the World Karate Hall of Fame in 2009 and in September 2023, at the age of 89, he achieved his 9th degree black belt in Okinawan Seidokan Karate, earning the honorific “Hanshi,” which means exemplary or master teacher. There is only one 10th degree Seidokan black belt in the world today.
Hanshi Ben is no stranger to achievement. In the late 1960s, as a bridge design engineer, he was responsible for the design and construction of all bridges in the western half of Pennsylvania. As the state’s director of design, he was tasked with devising evacuation routes during the Three Mile Island accident, and as chairman of the Professional Engineers in Government, he testified before Congress regarding bridge engineer safety and unionizing civil engineers. As Rocuskie likes to say, “Not bad for the son of a coal miner.”
He was born Nov. 14, 1934, in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He remembers the outhouse out back, drawing water from a spring for the family, and “The Lone Ranger” on the radio. Growing up, he worked in and around the coal mines and set pins in a bowling alley. He graduated from Drexel University in 1960 and became a professional engineer in 1961.
At the age of 48, Ben began karate class at the dojo in Holy Name of Jesus Church in Harrisburg. Fifteen years later he was promoted to senior instructor of karate and tai chi, a position he held for the next 25 years. His numerous awards and trophies from local and state competitions are a testament to his skill.
For all his abilities, he doesn’t consider himself a warrior. “A warrior is a fighter. Karate is self-defense.“
He attributes his longevity to karate, tai chi and wife “Marlene, my angel of 68 years.” He and Marlene have three children and six grandchildren. His philosophy of life is to consider the consequences of your actions. “You have two choices, and each choice brings more choices.”
He believes you should learn something new every day and is disheartened by the number of students who stop practicing after attaining their 1st degree black belt. “That’s only the beginning. When you graduate from 8th grade, from high school, from college, it’s called ‘commencement.’ It’s the beginning. That’s what the black belt is. Right now, I’m studying pressure point techniques in self-defense. After 42 years in martial arts, yes, I can still learn.”
