Donington martial artist inducted into hall of fame, completes book and has action figure made in his honour

June was a month to remember for martial artist John Stephenson as he was inducted into a hall of fame, released his final book and also saw himself immortalised as an action figure.

The third degree black belt was inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame London in Kensington at the end of the month, on a roster that included film star Samuel Kwok.

“It was great. It was absolutely amazing,” said John, who lives in Donington.

“I got a nice big trophy and the Hall of Fame certificate and met a couple of stars.”

John also completed Legends Legacies 2 – his 18th and final book.

After interviewing some of martial arts’ biggest names – and a host of movie stars including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal and Cynthia Rothrock – throughout the past few years, he believes it is time to take a step back from publishing.

“I think it’s my last one,” he said.

“There’s not much more I can do, I’ve covered most of the big ones.

“It’s fantastic how it was received. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve spoken to movie stars and really enjoyed it.”

Rounding the past few weeks off nicely was the news that John has had an action figure of himself created by manufacturer Dead or Alive.

While John sees it as a shock, but an honour, not everyone in the house felt quite the same.

“I loved it. It’s a little bit crazy isn’t it but it was an honour really,” he said.

“The missus just laughed at me and called me Action Man. We did have a chuckle over it.

“They just messaged me on Facebook and sent it to me. It was great and it’ll go with my trophies.”

John’s books are available on Amazon.