Scott Bird with Jackie Chan during the televised SportAccord Combat Games. Photos Provided to China Daily

Taylor had already practiced martial arts but wanted to take it to the next level and rise to the status of kungfu master.

"After one month I found what I needed and this has helped me build confidence about the future," he says.

For Ohlsson, who has studied at the school for seven months, the best part of the experience has been training and making new friends.

Owning his own martial arts school in China is certainly a dream come true for Bird, but it has been a long time in the making and he has suffered his fair share of setbacks.

Bird's journey began at age 11 in Birmingham when he started learning Shotokan Karate. After six years' training, he earned a second dan black belt grading and was successful in numerous national and international tournaments.

At 18, he worked in Portugal as a private trainer for two years and after returning home, served in the military. After a short stint, he was medically discharged and studied to become a qualified personal trainer.

In 2003, Bird fulfilled a personal ambition to come to China to learn kungfu from the Shaolin monks in Jilin province.

Although he enjoyed the experience in many ways, there was also frustration and he quickly saw a business opportunity.

"Although I stayed at the Siping Academy for just over one year, many Westerners cut their time short because of the bad management and lack of communication," he says.

"After my time was nearly up I thought it would be nice to open my own martial arts school in China and put things right where many other Chinese-owned schools go wrong."

Bird partnered with one of his Shaolin teachers to open a kungfu academy in Yantai, in eastern China's Shandong province, but after only a month, discovered his management ideas clashed with those of his teacher.

The Briton considers it all good experience, which has helped him to prepare for his new enterprise.

In 2006, Bird married his Chinese girlfriend and the couple traveled to her hometown in Taining county, which boasts a beautiful UNESCO-listed global geo park. He quickly saw it as the perfect place to found a kungfu school because of its peaceful and safe environment.

It was also helpful to know the right people. "My father-in-law used to be a top government official in Taining so I was introduced to the mayor and other top government officials who were all very supportive of me opening a school," he says.