A self-defence teacher has revealed how ‘proud’ he is after five of his students are attempting to get a higher degree in their black belts in martial arts.

Kevin Hawley, who runs Bucks Pro Mai in Aston Clinton and Amersham, revealed that just one per cent of pupils who begin their taekwondo training make it to the final stage, which is to try and achieve their black belts.

However, then that percentage attempt to get a higher grade of black belt, with the pupils being put forward for their first, second, third degree exams.

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Overall, there are 10 levels of black belt.

Speaking on his students who are  Nick Thompson-Tanner, Matt Lunn, Steve Martin, Colin Rance, and Adam Robertson, who have all been training with Kevin for a total of 104 years, he said: “It’s amazing to see.

“I am proud of anyone that wants to work with me and especially those guys who have taken it amongst themselves to try and push themselves further.

“I cannot speak more highly about these individuals they are fantastic students who give so much to others, plus during this journey, they have had their own tragedies and challenges to deal with personally, but kept going.

“It takes three to five years to get your black belt and it’s very hard to get to that stage, let alone pass it.

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“So, to go beyond that to try and get your first, second, and third degree is so rare.

“At the moment, I have got three going for third degree and two going for fourth degree and it’s phenomenal watching them grow.

“In my class, I had two girls who joined me when they were  10 and 12.

“Now, they are grown up with children of their own and they’ve been training with me for 30 years.

“It’s fantastic to see.”

For more information, visit www.buckspromai.com.