JU JITSU fighter John Black has become the first Scot in the martial arts hall of fame – at the age of 70.
The grandad-of-three was also named international ju jitsu coach of the year and international supreme grandmaster of the year by the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame, who oversee the sport internationally.
He was presented with the honours at a ceremony in Newark, New Jersey.
John, from Greenock, said: “It’s absolutely brilliant. I’m so pleased that I have left my mark on the sport after so many years.
“I’m never going to be an old man happy in an armchair, wearing my slippers. Ju jitsu is a part of who I am and as long as I’m upright on my two legs I’ll be doing it.”
John, a retired diver, began practicing martial arts aged nine under the tuition of his dad Conn, who learned them in a Singapore prison camp in World War II.
At 18, after two years in the Merchant Navy, he moved to Japan for two years to develop his skills.
He earned his black belt 10th Dan, the highest grade in the world, earlier this year.
And he won two gold medals at the Freedom Games in Cancun, Mexico, last year.
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