People

World’s Leading Wu (Hao) Style Tai Chi Expert – Master Liu Jishun

Master Liu Jishun is one of the world’s leading experts on the Wu (Hao) style tai chi and has more than 40 years of experience in the practicing and teaching of the style. He is frequently invited in Chinese national tai chi events as the spokesperson for the Wu (Hao) style, which is one of the five major traditional styles (the other four are Chen [including Zhaobao], Yang, Sun, and Wu [Chien Chuan] styles) of tai chi.

Rich Heritage – 23 Years with the Grand Master

Master Liu started learning Wu (Hao) tai chi from Grand Master Hao Shaoru in 1960 in Shanghai, China. He became Hao’s teaching assistant in 1963, when he also started to demonstrate the style alongside Grand Master Hao in public. In 1981, Grand Master Hao formally recognized Liu as his most advanced student when he asked Liu to represent the Wu (Hao) style in the First National tai chi Invitational Competition (held in Zhejiang Province by the Chinese National Sports Committee) as a judge. Since then Master Liu has been well-recognized in the tai chi community in China as the leading Wu (Hao) style expert. He has been invited to teach the Wu (Hao) style all over China, mostly in Shanghai, Canton, and Zhejiang. He has also been invited by the Chin Woo [Chinese Martial Arts Association] in Singapore to teach the Wu (Hao) style there. Master Liu has 18 senior (closed-door) students in China and several others throughout the world, including US and Europe.

Career Highlights

The highlights of Master Liu’s tai chi career are:

  • Judge and official representative of the Wu (Hao) style, First National Tai Chi Invitational Competition, Zhejiang, China, 1981. All the judges in this Competition were top tai chi artists from the major tai chi styles, including Ma Yueh-Liang of the Wu [Chien Chuan] style, Chen Xiaowang of the Chen style, Yang Zhenduo of the Yang style, and Zhou Yuen-Long and He Bing-Quan from Shanghai.
  • Vice President (1983-1986) and President (1986-1989) of the Shanghai Wu (Hao) Tai Chi Association. (Master Pu Gongda was President during 1983-1986.) The Association published a regular journal on Wu (Hao) style that ran for 9 issues.
  • Master Liu was also invited to represent the Wu (Hao) style in the various national tai chi events in China, including:
    • National Tai Chi Conference, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 1986.
    • National Tai Chi Invitational Conference, Canton, China, 1988.
    • International Tai Chi Conference, Yongnian, Hebei, China, 1991.

Personals

Master Liu was born in 1930 in China. He studied International Laws in college. He is an accomplished TCM tui na doctor and had been practicing TCM tui na professionally since 1957 in various parts of China, until retiring as a senior TCM tui na specialist in a Shanghai hospital. He also coached on western boxing, free style fighting, and swimming throughout his adult life.

Since 1995, Master Liu has been living in California.

Copyright © 1997-2022 Wu Hao Tai Chi Foundation. All rights reserved.