Former taekwondo world champ William Crouch teaches self-defense to Chinese women. The Briton says it's satisfying to help them get stronger and more confident and do "something they never imagined," writes Tan Xian.

It was Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" that inspired William Crouch to pursue martial arts when he was a child in London. He later left a career in fashion design (he studied with John Galliano) for kung fu and Korean taekwondo.

He now holds the rare internationally registered ranking of fifth Dan (level) black belt in taekwondo, hapkido and kickboxing (the highest black-belt level is nine). There are no others in China, he says. Crouch has taken the world taekwondo championship four times, most recently in 2005, and says he will compete again.

He has traveled and taught professionals in more than 20 countries, spreading the spirit of martial arts. He calls it a "universal language" that breaks down barriers.

His latest stop is Shanghai where every Thursday night he teaches self-defense to around 20 Chinese women at Yoga Space. By day, he teaches English full time at the Wall Street English School.

Crouch, who helped establish the first Shaolin kung fu school in the UK in 1999, arrived in Shanghai a year and a half ago. He was so impressed by China that he shaved his beard because, as he says, most Chinese don't like facial hair and are clean-shaven.

Crouch had hoped to teach martial arts in the city, but he was disappointed in the advertised schools he first checked out. He found many were poorly run, charged students high fees but paid teachers little, and didn't employ highly qualified teachers.

"I felt my gift was wasted," he says.

So he decided to step back and reflect - a standard martial arts approach when confronting an obstacle - before pursuing his goal. That's when he decided to teach English full time.

As luck or destiny would have it, at the school he met and became friends with Wu Weila, yoga dance inventor and owner of Yoga Space where he now teaches. She is very confident today, but at the time she was intimidated by a bully neighbor.

"He was really nasty and I was so upset because I could do nothing to protect myself," she says. Crouch taught her self-defense and she was so impressed that she invited him to teach a class at her center that helps people lead healthier lives.

"Many girls in Shanghai experience feelings of helplessness and vulnerability when they are alone, especially those girls going home from a party at night," says Wu.

It's been rewarding for Crouch. "I like to teach women because I can see their great changes not only physically but also - and even more so - in their mentality," he says. "They realize they can do something they never imagined before and they become more self-confident and stronger."

After the class ends, Crouch practices kung fu for a while. Then he goes to the gym for another workout, even if it's already 9:30pm.

So far, Crouch only teaches women self-defense and is not yet teaching martial arts, as he had originally planned. "But I hope I can teach women and men together in one class," he says, "because when women are in danger and need to defend themselves, it's usually when men confront them."

Crouch, born and raised up in London, used to be a fashion designer. He graduated from St Martin's School of Arts,where he studied together with John Galliano, who designs for Christian Dior and has his own brand.

Fifteen years ago, Crouch decided to focus less on fashion and become a professional in martial arts, which always held a deep appeal for him. At the age of seven, Crouch saw "Enter the Dragon" (1973) and he was thrilled by the kung fu.

From then on, he read voraciously about martial arts, especially Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. The first time he visited the kung fu paradise was five years ago when he had trained with wu seng - the Shaolin kung fu monks. By that time he had been invited to train the Chinese martial arts team for two weeks.

Since leaving fashion, Crouch has won dozens of national and international titles. He is well known in Europe and the East, including Japan and South Korea. He was once thronged by fans in India on one of his journeys to promote martial arts culture.

He has been invited to train the national teams of Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.

"Martial arts breaks down religious and cultural barriers and brings people together," says Crouch. "It is dangerous and demands high concentration, which makes for mutual respect; practitioners become real friends."

So, he was a bit disappointed when martial arts teaching didn't materialize at first in Shanghai. He still hopes that it will.

Crouch wants to see people change and adopt the real spirit of martial arts, to acquire more "confidence, self-discipline, long endurance and courage."

He says martial arts training influenced him greatly, making him stronger and giving him more emotional stamina. It also helps him to understand Oriental people.

Still teaching English during the day, Crouch says he lives "every minute of the day to the fullest. I want to live a full life."

(Shanghai Daily December 25, 2007)