Shire Hill Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa
Association
The Complete Therapeutic and Health Care System
AND
Yong Nian Taijiquan (UK)
A member of the World Yong Nian Taiji Federation
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An English Master On Your Doorstep.
Review of Kevin McQuaid and The Shire Hill Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa Association.
The problem with Classical Yang T'ai Chi is the Chinese Masters never seem to live within a short drive of me. I know I should book a trip to China, ideally learn the language before I get there, and impress them with my phenomenal ability so quickly that I'm a named Disciple before lunch.
But I'm not going to do that (go to China and learn the language) obviously the Disciples a given. So, how to find an English Master?
Doing yet another late night Google trawl I came across Fu Zhong Wen. A direct named Disciple of Yang Cheng Fu, unfortunately both are deceased and didn't live in Derby anyway. However Fu Zhong Wen had a son called Fu Sheng Yuan (you know I'm flicking from Google and back, right?) who had a son called Fu Qing Quan, who trained a chap called Kevin McQuaid... who lives just down the road from me!
Do you see what I did just there? Saved the plane fare, cut through the language barrier and turned a two month trip to China into a £80 weekend in Glossop.
In addition Kevin had received training directly from Dr. Zhuang Yuan Ming and his son Master Coach Zhuang Jian Shen. He captained the first UK team to perform at the International Conference in Shanghai (wining Silver) in 2006. He is a named instructor for the World Yong Nian Taijiquan Federation and a qualified teacher in Taijiquan in China (In fact, in the three sets of Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa he’s the most qualified and experienced of any European instructors).
Bit of a no-
In addition to Yong Nian Taijiquan (UK) Kevin founded The Shire Hill Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa Association. This particular course was on Qian Shi Ba Fa which is one set of a group of three Chinese exercises. Great on their own and a fantastic warm up routine. Never done them before, so prior to attending, Kevin sent me a disc of the first 18 movements with some brief and insightful notes.
As I guess most of us know, watching and reading about a subject aren't the same as being taught directly and the information Kevin passed on during his teaching immediately showed the subtlety and real health benefits of the Qian Shi Ba Fa exercises. When I thought I was stretching, he made a slight adjustment and I realised I could stretch much further.
He included time spent demonstrating how each movement targets different areas of the body and on relieving tension through pressure points (which I was shown how to locate on myself). Keeping the correct posture and demonstrating how to avoid stupid mistakes so the joints where allowed to move correctly to reap the full benefit. The exercises combine healing methods, breathing and correct stances. Literally allowing you to produce massage in motion. We also covered the two following sets of Hou and Xu Shi ba Fa and The Healing Sounds (Liu Zi Jue) exercises, plus many other relaxation techniques.
Just as importantly Kevin taught with humour and a realistic outlook. No magic dust here, just solid instruction based on his years of travelling to absorb authentic Chinese teachings. If I want to put in the time to take it further then he's happy to help.
The age range of the participants on the course was diverse and his instruction took account of each person’s qualities. As always (it is T'ai Chi after all), everyone participating was friendly and welcoming.
If you are looking for the real deal in the UK, then I have to tell you, Kevin and the Shire Hill Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa Association are exactly that. An English Master on your doorstep.
Please do give him call. Highly recommended.
Neil Bradley
TCUGB Member.
Secrets
“Consider carefully ideas presented as secret.
Its like walking a tightrope, you can show me clearly how to do it and I’ll still fall off.
But don’t tell me you can’t show me.”
Neil Bradley