It is with great sadness that we announce that Grandmaster Wu Kuo Chung –
On Saturday, July 16, students from Northfield, IL and Kenosha, WI gathered to honor Grandmaster Wu. Students who have just started studying with students who have been studying for many, many years all anxious to hear stories and share memories of this amazing man. It was good to be together.
Grandmaster Wu Kuo Chung, born in China in 1932, came from a family with three generations of martial artists and started learning martial arts from his father when he was only 9. At 16, Grandmaster Wu joined the army and in 1949 followed the nationalist forces to Taiwan. After he retired from the army Grandmaster worked for the Transport Ministry but continued to practice his martial arts. Grandmaster would frequently meet some of Great-Grandmaster Cheng Man ch’ing’s students who were anxious to try out their skills on such a prominent martial artist such as Grandmaster Wu. From Grandmaster’s perspective, T’ai Chi was just “Tofu Kung Fu,” meaning completely useless in application.
Grandmaster Wu’s impression changed completely, however, after a meeting Great-Grandmaster Cheng Man ch’ing. No matter what martial art technique Grandmaster Wu used, Cheng was able to fling him against the wall, leaving him dazed and speechless. After that, Grandmaster committed himself to the study T’ai Chi Ch’uan with Great-Grandmaster Cheng Man ch’ing. Great-Grandmaster admitted Grandmaster as a closed-door student of the Yang Family Tai Chi and later the Tso Family internal energy methods.
Grandmaster Wu Kuo Chung is the founder of Shen Long T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association and the International Shen Long T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association which since 2002 has been located in the mountains of central Taiwan. Grandmaster Wu has dedicated his life to the continued study of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, refining and developing the art through his own practice and experience.