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Master Wu Kuo Chung (吳國忠) was born in 1931 in Chekiang Province, China. As a small boy, he studied martial arts with his father. At 16 he joined the army and after moving to Taiwan in 1949, was decorated for valour while serving as captain of a special commando unit, nicknamed Shen Long (神龍). By his mid-thirties he had never lost a martial art challenge and he looked down on Tai Chi calling it 'tofu' (beancurd) kung fu.
This all changed when he was persuaded to challenge an old man twice his age, Cheng Man Ching, who thwarted every means of attack Master Wu used, leaving him dazed and speechless. At this point, Cheng asked: “Well, are you going to learn Tai Chi now?” From then on Master Wu dropped everything and followed Cheng for the next five years until Cheng passed away. A few months before his death, Cheng divulged the secrets of the Tso style to Master Wu. From then on, Master Wu studied the texts and trained fervently interpreting what Cheng had taught him. Later, he was invited to Japan to display his skills and consistently thwarted challenges by several top martial artists.
After his success in Japan, his fame led to many thousands in Taiwan wanting to study with him. He later went to Chicago where he taught for two years. Since then he has established schools in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. He founded the International Shen Long Tai Chi Association and a special training camp in the mountains of Taiwan was completed in 2003. He has written numerous books on Tai Chi, the internal arts and philosophy some of which have been translated into English.
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