Helen Xiaorong Wu (Canada)
Helen Xiao-Rong Wu was born in Shanghai,China in 1956. She began her training in the martial arts when she was 3 yearsold, studying under both her grandfather, legendary martial artist Zi-PingWang, and her mother, Professor Ju-Rong Wang, the first female professor ofmartial arts in China.
Master Wu became an expert in the majorstyles of Kung-Fu and Tai-Chi under the tutelage of renowned Chinese martialartists, including Grandmasters, Liu-Xin Gu, Bin-Quan He and Zhon-Wen Fu.During her years at Shanghai Teachers’ University, she trained under ProfessorRong-Wei Shen and Coach Fu-Yun Zhang (head coach of Shanghai’s Wushu team).
In 1982, Master Wu graduated from theDepartment of Physical Education, Shanghai Teachers’ University. She then stayed on as a teacher of sportsmedicine while continuing her own education by taking advanced courses intraditional Chinese traumatology, rehabilitation medicine and treatment ofathletic injuries. She also studied and practiced healing for many years underthe direction of her father, Dr. Cheng-De Wu. Since then, Master Wu hasauthored more than twenty articles and has published five books on severalsubjects including Tai-Chi, Chi-Kung and sports medicine.
After moving to Canada in 1989, Master Wucontinued an active teaching career with many of her students highly successfulin competitions over the years. She hasserved on the boards of the Canadian Taijiquan Federation and the United WushuFederation of Canada. IntroducingTai-Chi, Chi-Kung and Kung-Fu to North American audiences, Master Wu alsoeducates through magazine articles and TV programs in addition to her books,videos and DVDs. She is in high demand as a guest speaker for major hospitalsand universities. Dr. Greg Malszecki ofYork University writes: “No other I have met could offer such a lucid, informedand solid introduction to the subject of Eastern theories of the body, thanthis expert.”
In 1998, Master Wu performed the FlyingRainbow fan for an episode of the TV series Highlander – The Raven. In 1999, the leading U.S. and Canadianmartial arts magazine honoured Master Wu’s talents as a teacher as extraordinaryand her contributions to martial arts as inestimable.
Master Helen Wu’s accomplishments as amartial artist and physical trainer flow from the training system “Wu Yi JieHe” passed down through generations of her family. She has dedicated herself tocreate the system“Chi-Kung, Tai-Chi & Fan” that students anywhere in theworld can practice and benefit from. Hersystem is used by instructors world-wide.
Master Wu currently teaches Tai-Chi credit courses at the School ofKinesiology and Health Science at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her mostrecent project is Chi-Kung, Tai-Chi and Fan (University text-DVD, May 2008).Professor Carol Wilson, Director of Undergraduate Studies, has spoken of “theimpressive level of organization and diligence that Helen Wu brings to theteaching of Tai Chi and the excellent teaching and course evaluations that sheconsistently receives… her commitment to the development of the Tai Chi programwithin the School of Kinesiology and Health Science is exemplary.”
