SILSDEN'S Rick Simpson is now a Master after passing a grading test with British Taekwondo.

The 33-year-old chief instructor for Horizon Taekwondo Academy is a 5th Dan Black Belt.

The academy has 150 students across Bradford and Manchester, with Rick and his partner Natalie Kidd teaching at clubs in Silsden, Keighley, Cottingley, Baildon and Bradford.

In Korean language, Rick will now be referred to as Kwan Jang Nim (head of school), and he is also a 3rd Class international referee with the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation).

He is also a member of the British Taekwondo Para Committee, which is developing a syllabus and competition circuit for disability groups to participate in taekwondo, with Rick hosting the United Kingdom's first event later this year.

Rick started his taekwondo training aged 16 in 1997 at Victoria Hall, Keighley, under instructor Daniel Price, and began teaching four years later after passing his 1st Dan Black Belt.

A year later, his 2nd Dan Black Belt followed, and his 3rd Dan came in 2004 after a trip to Korea, where he graduated as an international instructor.

In 2005, aged 24, he set up his own club, called Dal Seong Taekwondo and after coming second in the +84kg (heavyweight) category in the Chungdokwan National Championships, he discovered, trained and coached eight-year-old Natasha Burdock, who went on to become a three-time national champion.

Five years ago, Rick passed his 4th Dan Black Belt, and in 2013 he became a WTF international referee, also setting up the now flourishing Horizon Taekwondo Academy.