HE once fought Batman, but now he has a new adversary — anti-social behaviour in Great Lever.

Martial arts legend Grandmaster Sken will be demonstrating his Thai boxing skills at a seminar in the community gym at the Nightingale Centre in Rishton Lane next month.

He says that learning Muay Thai could help tackle anti-social behaviour in the area, because, as well as taking youngsters off the streets, it teaches discipline and self-control.

The grandmaster, whose full name is Sken Kaewpadung, lived an eventful life befitting of the plot of a Hollywood movie.

His father, a Thai police officer, was assassinated by a hired gunman after he arrested a local gangster, which forced the eight-yearold Sken out of his home, causing him to seek refuge in a Buddhist temple.

There he learned Muay Thai from a monk, hoping to learn to fight so he could take revenge, but he said he soon relinquished the idea when he began to understand the Buddhist philosophy of forgiveness and calm.

Among his achievements, Grandmaster Sken choreographed the fight scenes in the first Batman movie, starring Michael Keaton, and appeared on-screen as a swordsman in a cameo role.

Now students travel from all over the world to learn at the 55-year-old’s academy in Stockport.

The martial arts expert was invited to Bolton by one of his former students, Nigel Green, who teaches Thai boxing at the Nightingale Centre.

Mr Green said: “It’s very exciting that this is happening here. This guy is top drawer — he’s like a living Bruce Lee.”

Grandmaster Sken’s workshop is on October 9.

Tickets to watch the twohour session are £4, or £20 to take part.