Background
The oldest son of Wu Kung-i, he was born in Beijing, raised in Shanghai (where he was first taught t'ai chi ch'uan by his grandfather, Wu Chien-ch'uan) and spent most of his adult life teaching in Hong Kong.
The oldest son of Wu Kung-i, he was born in Beijing, raised in Shanghai (where he was first taught t'ai chi ch'uan by his grandfather, Wu Chien-ch'uan) and spent most of his adult life teaching in Hong Kong.
Wu Ta-k'uei was active in the resistance to the Japanese invasion of China, yet he later taught martial arts in Japan after the war. Wu Ta-k'uei was reputed to be a fierce fighter, and known as always ready to accept a challenge match. He is reported to have never been defeated, and to have been famous for badly injuring and taunting his opponents in those matches.
An attested story circulated about Wu Ta-k'uei was about a fight that started in a Hong Kong dockside bar between an unarmed Wu Ta-k'uei and "over 30" stevedores armed with clubs and boathooks. The dockworkers eventually fled to a local police station for protection from the enraged Wu. Interviews with dockworkers and the police records of this fight led to sensational newspaper headlines in Kowloon and Hong Kong.
He also sat on the Advisory Board of the Martial Art Association in Hong Kong and taught martial arts in the Kowloon Police Force. 1st Generation
Wu Ch'uan-yu (Wu Quanyou, 吳全佑, 1834–1902), who learned from Yang Lu-ch'an and Yang Pan-hou, was senior instructor of the family from 1870-1902. 2nd generation
3rd Generation
Wu Kung-i's younger brother, Wu Kung-tsao (Wu Gongzao, 吳公藻, 1903–1983), was senior from 1970-1983.
Wu Kung-i's younger sister, Wu Ying-hua (Wu Yinghua, 吳英華, 1907–1997), was senior from 1983-1997. 4th Generation
Wu Kung-i's daughter, Wu Yen-hsia (Wu Yanxia, 吳雁霞, 1930–2001) was senior from 1997-2001. Wu Kung-tsao's son, Wu Ta-hsin (Wu Daxin, 吳大新, 1933–2005), was senior from 2001-2005.
5th Generation
The current senior instructor of the Wu family is Wu Ta-k'uei's son Wu Kuang-yu (Wu Guangyu, Eddie Wu, 吳光宇, born 1946).