At 74 years old, Oscar Dolian is preparing to travel to Benidorm, Spain, to compete in the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) World Cup, stepping onto the international stage against opponents much younger than him.
Dolian, a resident of Longchamps in Buenos Aires, Argentina, enters the upcoming tournament following a remarkable path through serious health challenges, armed robberies, and a late-life return to martial arts. The international event is scheduled to run from September 28 to October 4, bringing together competitors from around the globe in the veterans division.
“The doctor told me it was a miracle,” Dolian said in an interview with TN, reflecting on his survival through multiple life-threatening events. Years ago, while working behind the counter of a grocery store, he survived an armed robbery when an assailant fired a .45-caliber weapon directly at him. “They put a car in front of me and one of them fired. The bullet grazed my head,” he recalled.
Around 15 years ago, medical professionals diagnosed Dolian with glomerulonephritis, a condition attacking the glomeruli and permanently damaging his kidney filters. To manage the condition without resorting to dialysis, he altered his diet entirely, cutting out table salt and animal-source proteins. “Luckily I maintained myself and didn’t have to undergo dialysis,” he said.
Dolian’s relationship with martial arts spans decades. He began practicing judo at age 18 before stepping away four years later. At 31, he transitioned to taekwondo, though that pursuit also paused. The turning point arrived when he was 67, during a chance reunion with Romina Quintana, a training partner he had not seen in 35 years. Quintana, who continued practicing the discipline, persuaded him to return to the dojang.
Training under Quintana and her husband—who serves as a master and assumed the role of technical director for the Taekwon-Do Secretariat—reignited Dolian’s competitive drive. Two years ago at age 72, he entered a world championship held in Mar del Plata. Initially expecting an early exit, he won consecutive bouts and advanced all the way to the final, claiming the title of world runner-up. “First I said no to my master. Then that night at house, I thought: ‘I am not going to have another possibility of going to a world championship and living it from the inside.’ And I went,” he explained.
Now 74, Dolian maintains a rigorous training schedule five days a week, balancing morning gym sessions with afternoon taekwondo practice. His preparation has required overcoming further physical hurdles, including torn meniscus and minor cruciate ligament tears in his left leg sustained about a year ago, alongside chronic lower back pain that frequently challenges his mobility.
“Sometimes I get up from bed with a terrible pain and it’s practically hard for me to walk. I have to stretch to be able to walk correctly,” he said.
Despite these obstacles, Dolian views taekwondo as an essential community and a framework for daily life. “I was always a calm person and taekwondo is like a family. I feel when I go to practice that everyone loves me, everyone takes care of me,” he noted.
He emphasized that the discipline’s core teachings emphasize conflict avoidance above all else, anchored by five foundational principles: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. “Courtesy is kindness, helping those who need it,” he added.
Dolian will make the trip to Spain accompanied by Gladys, his wife of 43 years.
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