Wu Kung-i

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wu.

吳公儀 Wu Kung-i
Born	1860 China
Died	1970
Style	Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan (Wu-style taijiquan)
Notable students	Wu Ta-k'uei

Wu Kung-i
Traditional Chinese	吳公儀
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Wú Gōngyí - Wade–Giles Wu2 Kung1-i2 Cantonese (Yue) - Yale Romanization Ng4 Gung1 Yi4

Part of the series on Chinese martial arts
List of Chinese martial arts
Terms
Kung fu (功夫) Wushu (武術) Qigong (氣功)
Historical places
Shaolin Monastery (少林寺) Wudang Mountains (武當山) Mount Hua (華山) Mount Emei (峨嵋山) Kunlun Mountains (崑崙山)
Historical people
Five Elders (五祖) Yim Wing-chun / Yan Yongchun (嚴詠春) Hung Hei-gun / Hong Xiguan (洪熙官) Fong Sai-yuk / Fang Shiyu (方世玉) Dong Haichuan (董海川) Yang Lu-ch'an (楊露禪) Wu Quanyou (吳全佑) Ten Tigers of Canton (廣東十虎) Chen Fake (陳發科) Chan Heung / Chen Xiang (陳享) Wong Fei-hung / Huang Feihong (黃飛鴻) Sun Lu-t'ang (孫祿堂) Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲) Yip Man / Ye Wen (葉問) Wang Zi-Ping (王子平) Bruce Lee / Li Xiaolong (李小龍) Jackie Chan / Cheng Long (成龍) Sammo Hung / Hong Jinbao (洪金寶) Yuen Biao / Yuán Biāo (元彪) Jet Li / Li Lian Jie (李連杰) Donnie Yen / Zhēn Zǐdān (甄子丹)
Legendary figures
Bodhidharma / Putidamo / Damo (菩提達摩) Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰) Eight immortals (八仙)
Related
Hong Kong action cinema Wushu (sport) Wuxia (武俠) Boxer Rebellion
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Wu Kung-i (1898–1970) was a well-known teacher of the soft style martial art t'ai chi ch'uan (Taijiquan) in China, and, after 1949, in the British colony of Hong Kong. He was also the "gate-keeper" of the Wu family from 1942 until his death in 1970.^[1]

Biography

Wu Kung-i was the grandson of the founder of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Wu Ch'uan-yu. Wu Ch'uan-yu's son, Wu Chien-ch'uan, became the best known teacher in his family, and is therefore also considered the co-founder of the Wu-style. Wu Kung-i was his eldest son. Wu Kung-i's younger brother and sister, Wu Kung-tsao and Wu Ying-hua, were also well-known teachers. The Wu family were originally of Manchu ancestry.

There was a tradition in the Chinese martial arts that youngsters be taught by teachers of a generation older than their parents'. Since Wu Ch'uan-yu had died while Wu Kung-i was an infant, he and his brother were taught as young men by Yang Shao-hou, who was technically a generation senior to their father. Both Yang Shao-hou and Wu Chien-ch'uan were famous for their "small circle" martial expertise. The motions of t'ai chi ch'uan forms and pushing hands are all based on different sized circles, small circle movements in the forms and applications follow a more compact pathway for different leverage applications than larger circles.^[2]

After the fall of the Ch'ing dynasty in 1912, a new teaching environment was created. More people became aware of t'ai chi ch'uan, and the former dynamic of small classes and intensive military instruction of relatively young students became less practical. Wu Kung-i responded to the new demands of larger class sizes and older beginning level students by changing some aspects of the beginning level hand forms he taught. His modifications of the "square" forms he had learned from his father and the slightly different form he learned from Yang Shao-hou, distinguished by clear sectional instructions for each move in the form sequence, more compact "small circle" movements in the body and somewhat higher stances with the feet relatively closer together than in other styles of t'ai chi ch'uan. Wu Kung-i also formulated new styles of pushing hands based on smaller circles, most notably the "four corner" method of basic pushing hands.^[3]

Wu Kung-i's children were also full time t'ai chi ch'uan teachers; his oldest son Wu Ta-k'uei, his second son, Wu Ta-ch'i and his daughter, Wu Yen-hsia.^[4]

In 1953, the fifty three year old Wu was publicly challenged to a fight by the thirty-something Tibetan White Crane stylist Ch'en K'e-fu (陈克夫). The contest was arranged and fought in Macau in January, 1954. The ring was set up as if for a Western boxing match, and there were many rules prohibiting various techniques being used by the fighters; kicks, throws or joint locks, for example. The contest lasted not quite two rounds. During the second round, the judges ended the fight, declaring the contest a draw. This was done to ensure that there was no loss of face to either party. Both Wu and Ch'en invited the opposing sides to celebratory banquets. The contest was reported in detail by the media of the day, and resulted in many new students for the Wu family school, including a martial art teaching contract for Wu Ta-k'uei from the Kowloon police.^[1]

T'ai chi ch'uan Lineage Tree

This lineage tree is not comprehensive.

Legendary Figures

Zhang Sanfeng* c. 12th century NEIJIA
Wang Zongyue* T'AI CHI CH'UAN

Note: These are legendary or semi-legendary figures in the lineage, which means their involvement in the lineage, while accepted by most of the major schools, isn't independently verifiable from known historical records.

Five major classical family styles

Chen Wangting 1580–1660 9th generation Chen CHEN STYLE

Chen Changxing 1771–1853 14th generation Chen Chen Old Frame

Chen Youben c. 1800s 14th generation Chen Chen New Frame

Yang Lu-ch'an 1799–1872 YANG STYLE

Chen Qingping 1795–1868 Chen Small Frame, Zhaobao Frame

Yang Pan-hou 1837–1892 Yang Small Frame

Yang Chien-hou 1839–1917

Wu Yu-hsiang 1812–1880 WU/HAO STYLE

Wu Ch'uan-yu 1834–1902

Yang Shao-hou 1862–1930 Yang Small Frame

Yang Chengfu 1883–1936 Yang Big Frame

Li I-yü 1832–1892

Wu Chien-ch'uan 1870–1942 WU STYLE 108 Form

Yang Shou-chung 1910–1985

Hao Wei-chen 1849–1920

Wu Kung-i 1900–1970

Sun Lu-t'ang 1861–1932 SUN STYLE

Wu Ta-k'uei 1923–1972

Sun Xingyi 1891–1929

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Yip, Y. L. (Autumn 2002). Pivot – Qi, The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness Vol. 12 No. 3. Insight Graphics Publishers. ISSN 1056-4004. 
2. ^ Yip, Y. L. (Autumn 1998). A Perspective on the Development of Taijiquan – Qi, The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness Vol. 8 No. 3. Insight Graphics Publishers. ISSN 1056-4004. 
3. ^ Philip-Simpson, Margaret (June 1995). A Look at Wu Style Teaching Methods - T’AI CHI The International Magazine of T’ai Chi Vol. 19 No. 3. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049. 
4. ^ Cai, Naibiao (2006). In Memory of Wu Daxin - Journal of Asian Martial Arts Vol. 15 No. 1. Via Media Publishing, Erie Pennsylvania USA. ISSN 1057-8358. 

External links

• International Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan Federation website
• Detroit, Michigan Wu style website
• Video Footage of Macau Fight