A HEREFORD taekwondo instructor has followed his wife in being inducted into a Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Luke Hall was nominated by Martial Arts IIustrated Magazine for his dedication and contribution to martial arts over the past 25 years.

His wife Sarah was awarded the same prize last year for her continued success as a student.

"The magazine has been going since the 1970s and every year, everyone gets together to decide who gets nominated," said Luke.

"It's a mix of all martial arts and those who have been successful get the award.

"So I was quite happy to get it."

The 29-year-old started training in martial arts when he was four and achieved his first Dan black belt seven years later.

He is currently preparing for his 6th Dan in April, which if successful, will enable him to go for a master grade.

"It will involve three hours of examination and I have to write a 14,000 word thesis," explained Luke.

"It will involve quite a lot of things, like defence, sparring, kicking, punching and patters.

"It is very rare to get a 6th Dan at 29.

"The average age is 40 plus, but a lot of people start later in life or start early and then quit."

The Halls have also been invited to the Black Belt Hall of Fame in Burton-on-Trent on April 24, a further recognition of their work in martial arts.

"It's quite a rare thing because not many people get nominated for it," added Luke.

"You have to put in the right amount of time and prove that you do things correctly."

The husband and wife team currently run four clubs, three of which are based in Herefordshire.

Luke opened his first in Birmingham when he was just 18 and has coaches students to national and international success.

"I opened my first club with a co-partner, who was older than me," explained Luke.

"He eased me into it, because at that age I was quite young.

"But I wanted to give something back and get the ball rolling."

For more information about the Family Hall Tae Kwon Do Club, visit halltkd.co.uk