A 90-year-old master who’s still limber enough to get on the mat every once in a while has just been awarded his ninth degree, or dan, in Judo.
Only 6 individuals in the UK hold a ninth dan, and Michael Leigh is the oldest judoka in the country to reach what is the second-highest rank in the sport.
Michael Leigh set up the Kin Ryu Judo Club in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1976 after taking up the martial art in 1955 in London and acting as a backup on the UK ’64 Olympic team.