Two local martial artists have been celebrating this week after receiving national awards.

Shona Thornhill and Richard Olpin from Cam travelled to Essex for the National Martial Arts Awards held by the British National Martial Arts Association.

Shona Thornhill (15) from Cam is a student at the Ilyokwan Black Belt Academy where she trains under the guidance of her instructor Richard Olpin. Shona was nominated for a National student award for her dedication to her training and her contribution within the school.

Mr Olpin said: "Shona was one of the very first students to join when I opened my school back in 1995 and was the first to achieve her black belt, which she did at just 11 years old. Subsequently she went on to achieve her 2nd degree black belt and is currently my highest ranking student. Over the years Shona has been a credit to my school and an inspiration to the other members. She is now training to be an assistant instructor and helps with the coaching of many of my junior classes. Along with her nomination, l had to send a letter of recommendation and a portfolio of her achievements to be considered by the awards panel. They were very complimentary about her achievements.

Mr Olpin was also presented with an award. He received a 'National Instructors Award' in recognition of his contribution to the development of the martial arts in the UK. He said, "I was of course very pleased to hear I had been nominated for this award, but also a little surprised. The BNMA has over 200,000 members in the UK and so for both myself and one of my students to receive awards at the same event was quite an honour."

The awards were presented by movie star Silvio Simac who has just returned from filming the new Jet Li film "Unleashed". Mr Olpin said, "It was fantastic to meet Silvio, because though he is now making a name for himself on the big screen, he is first and foremost a fantastic martial artist. We were very lucky because on the day after the awards we had an opportunity to train with him for several hours which was quite an eye opener to just how good he really is.

Master Olpin teaches students of all ages and holds classes three nights a week at Cam Everlands School. If you would like some more information you can give Richard a call on Dursley (01453) 549460, or visit the school's website at: www.BlackBeltAcademy.info.