Wu Ch'uan-yu - As A Teacher

As A Teacher

When Wu retired from the military, he set up a school in Beijing. Wu's Beijing school was successful and there were many who studied with him, he was popularly known as Quan Sanye (全三爺) as a term of respect. His disciples were Guo Songting (郭松亭), Wang Maozhai (王茂齋), Xia Gongfu (夏公甫), Chang Yuanting (常遠亭), Qi Gechen (齊閣臣) (see Wudang t'ai chi ch'uan Lineage) etc. Wu's skills were said to be exceptional in the area of softly "neutralising" (化勁, hua jin) hard energy when attacked, which is a core skill of good t'ai chi ch'uan practice as a martial art. Wu had three primary disciples: his son Wu Chien-ch'uan, Wang Mao Zhai and Guo Fen and another student by the name of chang yuanting father o chang yun ji who kept the tradition and saved this unique taijiquan style today called quanyou laojia (quanyou's old form or Chang style taijiquan).