From Wu Kwong Yu
Master Chuan Yau (全佑,1834-1902) was the 1st generation of Wu Style Tai Chi. He learnt martial arts from Yang Lu Chan (楊露禪), the founder of Yang Style Tai Chi, when he was an Imperial Guard of the Qing Emperor. His style is well known for its emphasis on softening and mitigation “柔化His eldest son, Wu Chien Chuan (吳鑑泉), made great contributions to the development of the Wu Style Tai Chi, principally the modification of what he had learnt from the Yang Family into a“small form", with an emphasis on practical application.
In 1924, Grand Master Wu Chien Chuan in association with Xu Yu Sheng, Young Siu Hou and Yang Cheng Fu co-founded a renowned martial arts academy and that was the first time that the public had an opportunity to learn Tai Chi.
After relocating to Shanghai in 1928, Grand Master Wu Chien Chuan was appointed Director of the Council of the Shanghai Martial Art Association and thereafter taught at the famous Jing Wu Sports Association (精武髓育會). In 1935, my great-grandfather established the first Wu's Tai Chi Chuan Academy in Shanghai. The Hong Kong Wu's Tai Chi Chuan Academy was established in 1937.
Grand Master Wu Kung Yi (吳公儀) was the eldest son of the third generation of Wu Style Tai Chi. He was instrumental in the promotion of the Wu Style Tai Chi in South East Asia. In 1954, Grand Master Wu Kung Yi following a series of newspaper articles debating the effectiveness of tai chi as a martial art, agreed to have a contest with a master of the White Crane Style to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Wu Style Tai Chi as a martial art. The only condition he attached was that the proceeds of the fight should go to charity. The contest attracted tens of thousands of spectators. Grand Master Wu Kung Yi was 53 at the time of the contest, nearly twenty years older than his opponent. However, the concern of the Preparatory Committee as to whether it was a fair contest given their respective ages was dispelled at the beginning of the fight. The contest ended in a draw after the second round. The performance of Grand Master Wu made the world understand the practical value of Tai Chi as a martial art.
Grand Master Wu Kung Yi's brother Grand Master Wu Kung Cho (吳公藻) and sister Grand Master Wu Ying Hua (吳英華) also made a number of contributions to the development of the Wu Style Tai Chi. In addition to operating the Shanghai Wu's Tai Chi Chuan Academy, Grand Master Wu Ying Hua also reopened the Shanghai Wu's Tai Chi Chuan Academy in the late 1970s. Grand Master Wu Kung Cho had a deep understanding of the philosophy of Tai Chi. His book “Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan" marked the beginning of Tai Chi written literature. The book was first published in 1935 and reprinted in 1980.
Grand Master Wu Tai Kwei (吳大揆) was the eldest son of the fourth generation of the Wu Style Tai Chi. As a respected martial arts master, he contributed to expanding Tai Chi to South East Asia for his father. In addition, he was also invited to Japan to promote Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan as well as demonstrating on television in Hong Kong and Singapore.