If you were one of the thousands around the world who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Bruce Lee, or have the chance to be addressed by your teacher as 'grasshopper', you were out of luck.

However, three decades on and Chinese martial arts are blossoming, thanks to the efforts of a handful of dedicated local teachers.

Among them is Duns postman John Wilson. Originally from Coldingham, John began martial arts in 1981, when he joined the Borders Judo Club and trained under the guidance of Jimmy Lindsay.

"I'm from that generation which saw Enter the Dragon, and the Kung Fu series with David Carradine on TV each week, and loved them," said John, who recently was awarded his fourth degree black sash in kung fu.

"There wasn't anywhere you could learn kung fu in the Borders, so I started judo and really enjoyed it."

However, after five years of judo, John was told he would never be able to do martial arts again after being diagnosed with a spinal haemorrhage.

"Doctors told me no more lifting, no more judo – pretty much no more martial arts ever," said John.