A NORTH-EAST man who spent six years learning karate from masters in Japan has established a martial arts academy in the region.

Adam Walker, 31, had been jumping between a variety of jobs and studies when he went on holiday to the Land of the Rising Sun, in 1993.

So when he found he loved the country and, in particular, its martial arts, he decided to stay there.

"With regards to martial arts, especially karate, it's the best place in the world to learn," he said.

"It's learning straight from the horse's mouth. There is no middle man." Despite never having learned karate before, he took up Kyokushin, one of the world's premiere styles of the art, which he is now teaching at Durham Academy of Martial Arts, in Spennymoor, County Durham.

Mr Walker, originally from Tudhoe Village, opened the academy in Low Grange Road.

He and David Berriman, who teaches Muay Thai, converted a disused warehouse and gym into the academy, which they say is the only one of its kind in the region.

"This is our own building. It's dedicated to the promotion of martial arts," said Mr Walker.

Having undergone his years of training, he is the region's only trained teacher in Kyokushin.

Mr Walker said: "When people come to my classes, they don't learn a watered down version.

"They learn exactly how I learnt from the masters in Japan."

Kyokushin classes run on Monday and Wednesday nights, while Muay Thai sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

On each night, children's classes are from 6pm to 7.15pm, followed immediately by adult sessions, which run until 8.45pm.

For more details, or to enrol, telephone Mr Walker on (07713) 411198.