PAST and present members of a close-knit Bournemouth martial arts club came together for an "emotional event" to mark the group's 25th anniversary.

The town's longest standing Wing Chun club, the Lun Kuen Academy, celebrated the landmark with a unique meeting earlier this month.

To make the anniversary even more special students from 1993, who were part of the club at its formation, surprised the existing club members by joining in the night class.

Sigung Steve Lyons has been practicing Wing Chun for many decades and he has run the school for the past 25 years.

Over this time, he has taught more than 700 students with 30 achieving the coveted black sash. The Lun Kuen Academy is a unique school, and Steve has always prided himself on teaching his skills to those that really need it, either for self-defence or self-confidence.

Russ Taplin, who trained with Steve in 1993, returned to the school for the anniversary.

He said: “It was an emotional event as although many years have gone by, the affection and respect we all have for Steve and this club has never gone away.”

Mr Lyons' school has a direct relationship from the world-famous Ip Man, who taught Bruce Lee.

Students from Lun Kuen Academy have had the privilege, on more than one occasion, of meeting Ip Man’s sons Ip Chun and Ip Ching in Hong Kong.

Ip Chun has also travelled to the UK to visit the club and train with students in Bournemouth.

The school is set in a bespoke set of workshops, drawing inspiration from the historic training experiences students in China could have with a wise old monk in a cave.