Wu Kung-i was the grandson of the founder of Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan, Wu Ch'uan-yü. Wu Ch'uan-yü's son, , 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-yü 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'üan 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.
After the fall of the 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 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.
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.
In 1953, the fifty three year old Wu was publicly challenged by to a fight by the thirty-something Tibetan White Crane stylist Ch'en K'e-fu . 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 , 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-kuei from the Kowloon police.
Family tree
This family tree is not comprehensive.
LEGENDARY FIGURES
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Zhang Sanfeng*
circa 12th century
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Wang Zongyue*
T'AI CHI CH'?AN
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THE 5 MAJOR CLASSICAL FAMILY STYLES
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Chen Wangting
1600-1680 9th generation Chen
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+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Chen Changxing Chen Youben
1771-1853 14th generation Chen circa 1800s 14th generation Chen
Chen Old Frame Chen New Frame
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Yang Lu-ch'an Chen Qingping
1799-1872 1795-1868
Chen Small Frame, Zhao Bao Frame
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+---------------------------------+-----------------------------+ |
| | | |
Yang Pan-hou Yang Chien-hou Wu Yu-hsiang
1837-1892 1839-1917 1812-1880
Yang Small Frame |
| +-----------------+ |
| | | |
Wu Ch'uan-yü Yang Shao-hou Yang Ch'eng-fu Li I-yü
1834-1902 1862-1930 1883-1936 1832-1892
| Yang Small Frame |
Wu Chien-ch'üan | Hao Wei-chen
1870-1942 Yang Shou-chung 1849-1920
1910-1985 |
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| Sun Lu-t'ang
Wu Kung-i 1861-1932
1900-1970
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Wu Ta-k'uei Sun Hsing-i
1923-1972 1891-1929
Note to Family tree table
Names denoted by an asterisk are legendary or semilegendary 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.
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