Three decades on and the bond remains just as strong.

Maitland’s Peter Kirkwood will mark 30 years in martial arts this weekend and his first instructor Neville Levine has travelled down from Brisbane to help celebrate.

Kirkwood’s annual black belt grading will take place at Maitland Federation Centre on Saturday with almost 100 preparing to pass their respective tests and move up the grades.

But once upon a time Kirkwood, now a sixth degree black belt in Kaizenryu, was the student.

Levine was hosting classes in the Literary Institute on Bank Street and Kirkwood, then a 26-year-old council worker, wandered in without a sporting bone in his body.

“I still remember when he first came in,” Levine said.

“He couldn’t even do five push ups, but after a few months he was up to about 250.

“I don’t think he realised how good he was.”

Kirkwood quickly fell in love with the training, rose up the ranks and within a couple of years was teaching.

He started out in Bolwarra and moved to both Largs and Marcellin Park but for a long time was based at Maitland PCYC.

For the past four-and- a-half years he has been at Rutherford.

Across all venues Kirkwood has taught an estimated 2000 students.

His career highlights range from charity events, disabled programs and changing attitudes.

“I remember doing 100,103 push ups in half-an-hour to raise funds for Camp Quality and helping charity is a big part of what sport is about,” Kirkwood said.

“Teaching people with a disability is also very satisfying because we can adapt our sport to make it work for all sorts of people.

“And just seeing naughty little boys turn into nice, respectable men ... you see lives change around.”

Kirkwood’s second instructor Marc Erbsleben will also travel up from the Central Coast on Saturday.

A group photograph will be taken around 3pm with Kirkwood inviting all former students to come along.

Prior to that East Maitland pair Nigel Moore and Anthony Kidd will be going for their third and fourth degree black belts respectively.