Black belt for Mark an

The teenager, who has autism, has been working closely with instructor Karen Doyle at ATI Martial Arts.

He graduated last month after several years of working his way up through the ranks in the special needs-based class.

Doyle said it was wonderful to see her student achieve so much in an Olympic sport.

‘It is our first black belt grading for our special needs class,’ she said.

‘There are a lot of families with children with special needs and the general public should know about this amazing young man achieving in a sport of Olympians.’

The special needs classes are held once a week and follow the same curriculum as the rest of the general members although it can sometimes vary according to Doyle.

‘We alter slightly for particular requirements but the classes are very good for special needs children as a lot of them have that hyper activity sort of issues and this helps dissipate that energy and stress,’ she said.

‘It is an individual thing for each special needs child and they can individually progress at their own time, they all have a common goal but can achieve it independently.’