BIO

Brendan McAllister is a 65th-generation instructor of Honan Shaolin. Brendan was introduced to traditional Chinese martial arts by his father, John McAllister, who was a student of Master Ching Kin Min 陳健民 in Calgary's Chinatown in the 1970s-1980s. In 1999, Brendan began training at the Canadian Branch of the Honan Shaolin Association under Shifu Rik Zak. Brendan passed his instructor's test in 2013. Since that time, he has continually been involved in the Association's martial arts and dragon dance programs, including coaching the Youth Dragon Dance Team at the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre. He holds a First Aid certification from the Canadian Red Cross. Additionally, Brendan received a PhD from the University of Calgary in 2019, and has worked in neuroscience research at the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary.