Bird rented land, spent more than a year building and renovating the school buildings, and then took three months interviewing and searching for four good Chinese instructors, each specializing in different styles of marital arts. For example, 56-year-old Deng Fuming is a third-generation disciple of Sun-style boxing, and is also a taichi master.

After spending eight years in China, Bird's business and martial arts abilities have attracted plenty of attention.

In August, 2010, he performed with Jackie Chan on live TV and in front of 17,000 people in Beijing for the opening ceremony of the first ever SportAccord Combat Games. "That was certainly my most interesting experience in China," says Bird, who adds the Middle Kingdom is not just another country but another world.

"I have traveled the world and find China to be very different to everywhere I have been," he says. "I tell people that China is probably the only place in the world where strangers will just invite you to their table to eat, drink and have a good time with them."

So how does he describe his fellow countrymen to his Chinese friends? "English people are very up-front, open people who speak their mind but everyone is not the same," he says. "In China I have come across many fellow English people living here all from different backgrounds, such as businessmen, teachers, investors, journalists, martial artists and chefs.

"It doesn't matter which country you come from there will always be good and bad."

Bird now considers Taining county his home and the place where he has realized his dream.

"My future plans are to keep up with my own martial arts training and to keep on improving Rising Dragon Martial Arts School and make it more and more famous in China and around the world," he says. "I want to keep promoting Chinese martial arts and culture to other Westerners."