A 65-year-old ju-jitsu expert who set up the Genshin Kai fighting school in Melksham has been inducted into the Martial Arts Illustrated Black Belt Hall of Fame.

Den Butler, of Hampshire Place, who set up the ju-jitsu club almost twenty years ago, began practicing martial arts back in 1972.

Since then Mr Butler has acquired 32 black belt grades in several different disciplines including karate, judo, iaido, kyoshu ju-jitsu and goshin jutsu.

The owner of the club in Avonside Enterprise Park said: “I am very proud to have been inducted into the hall of fame and having something like that given to you is quite a prestigious thing considering the people that are up there.

“There are thousands of people in it and it has been running for years. I was nominated a year ago but they had to go through several back ground checks.

“At the ceremony we were sat in a big marquee and all had a meal before going up on stage and giving a speech about ourselves.

“It is nice you come away and have a chat with your old mates you have not seen for a while and have a few drinks.

“It was quite humbling to get up there on stage and speak about yourself. After 40 odd years being inducted into the hall of fame is quite a big deal.”

Mr Butler, who moved to Melksham in 1980, has an affiliated club in Alicante, Spain and another in Coverack, southern Cornwall.

He is married to Bath RUH nursing assistant Allison Butler with whom he has three children, Luka, 29, Alana, 25, and Joshua, 23.

“I do not think that anyone else around here has been inducted into the hall of fame. There are quite a few different organisations that do the halls of fame but you get this one on merit.”

“It all started when I was in a pub and a fight broke out and I looked up and a man got angry with me and started to fight me. I thought I do not like that,” he added.

“After that I decided that I needed to learn how to defend myself. I went to the library to find a karate club and see what I could do.”