Martial artists from across the globe gathered this weekend to mark the 15th anniversary of a discipline founded in the north-east.
Bruce Wood developed Sooyang Do in May 2003 and since then thousands have studied the combat technique which focuses on teamwork and camaraderie.
There are now 25 schools dedicated to the sport, including one in France.
Members from Sooyang Do clubs in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire came together for a special belt examination on Saturday in the hope of being promoted by Mr Wood.
He said: “We were very impressed with the students. Everything went well and there were no failures.
“I’m quite proud of the progress Sooyang Do has made over the years.”
Mr Wood had previously trained and instructed in several other martial arts, achieving the rank of third-degree black belt.
After opening a number of schools with a total roll of 400 students, he created Sooyang Do. It was designed to be accessible to people of all abilities and many of its students start learning before they have even begun school, or after they have reached retirement age.
“It is now the norm for people to talk about things such as equality of opportunity, diversity and social inclusion,” Mr Wood said.
“The only mystery for me is why this has taken so long to become a priority and why it was never one of the most important issues in the first place.
“In Sooyang Do, we have always sought to encourage all members of the community to take part.”