Tai Chi Chuan with Kevin Bryant

Words & photos: Diana Frangi

Brighton based Kevin Bryant, founder of the Brighton Tai Chi Club,became a devotee of Yang style Tai Chi in 1995 when he started training in Boston, USA. In 1998 he moved to the UK and continued studying in London. Kevin teaches Tai Chi Chuan following the approach and methods of the Yang family, the family that more than any other, was responsible for the spread of tai chi throughout China and eventually around the world. Although many teachers in the UK teach Yang style,very few are passing on their instruction directly from the source. Kevin’s practice and teaching are reinforced by annual trips to Hong Kong to train with the family and by his London teacher – the leading Yang family exponent in Europe.

Kevin’s classes are relaxed, laughter is encouraged as an important component of a positive learning environment. He teaches his own students according to their individual strengths, weaknesses and character. Kevin reckons the benefits of Tai Chi are broad and deep,covering body, mind and spirit. Medical research continues to uncover new benefits of practising Tai Chi: it lowers blood pressure, increases bone density, improves blood circulation and digestion, loosens and strengthens connective tissue, relieves joint pains and raises core strength – especially important for those with back pain. It increases mental clarity and creativity and heightens overall feeling of well being.

Kevin’s classes are relaxed, laughter is encouraged as an important component of a positive learning environment

Kevin says: “I had a book on Tai Chi as a teenager and I was attracted to its mystique. I liked its internal and philosophical aspects. The idea that a slow moving and sometimes static practice could also function as an effective, if not deadly martial art, was very seductive. When I had a taste of the art twenty years later, from one of its leading masters in the US, it sealed it for me. My mind, body and spirit knew they were home!”

Classes are on Mondays:

11:00 am at Unity Studio, 130 Lewes Rd, Brighton

4:30 pm at The Float Spa, 8 Third Avenue, Hove

And on Fridays at 7:00 pm at Alive Fitness, 25 Castle St, Brighton

From March to November Kevin offers a Free Practice session on Adelaide Crescent Square at 9:30am – all are welcome.

To contact Kevin for Tai chi classes go to:

https://www.meetup.com/Brighton-Tai-Chi-Club

KEVIN BRYANT TEACHER

WORDS & PHOTOS: DIANA FRANGI