GRANDMASTER WANG ZI PING
(1881-1973)
Wang Zi Ping was born in 1881, during the unsettling time of the last Chinese empire. He started his Wushu training at age six and became an expert in many styles of Wushu. He was well versed in all the major weapons, in qinna, shuaijiao, free fighting, hard qigong, soft qigong, light body techniques and many more. He was acclaimed as a well rounded martial artist. At the same time, he was also a famous expert in traumatology. He combined his adept knowledge of qinna with his bone setting skills.
Second Generation
GRANDMASTER WANG JU RONG
(1881-1973)
Wang Ju Rong was born on November 4th, 1928 in Cangzhou County, Hebei Province, China. Her father, Grandmaster Wang Zi Ping named her Ju Rong, Ju to represent the fall birth and strength and Rong to represent prosperity. It was Grandmaster Wang Zi Ping’s wish that his daughter would have a happy and prosperous life.
She went on to fulfill that hope through an extraordinary path in martial arts, becoming one of China’s most respected female masters. Trained from a young age in traditional Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Qigong, and weapons, she broke historical barriers as the first female professor of martial arts in China, teaching at the Shanghai University of Sport. Through her skill, discipline, and dedication to preserving her father’s legacy, Wang Ju Rong helped elevate martial arts as both a healing art and an academic discipline, inspiring generations of practitioners and teachers who followed.
DR. WU CHENG-DE
(1930-2020)
Dr. Wu Cheng-De was a Professor Emeritus of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, specializing in traditional medicine and herbology. He was both a disciple and the son-in-law of Grandmaster Wang Zi Ping, carrying forward the legacy of one of China’s most influential martial arts families. Dr. Wu served as the first coach of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Wushu team and was a highly respected practitioner of Shuai Jiao as well as multiple Wushu styles. In addition to his teaching and clinical work, he was widely recognized as an authoritative advisor for International Wushu, contributing to the preservation, standardization, and global recognition of traditional Chinese martial arts.
Third Generation
GRANDMASTER HELEN WU
(1956-Present)
Master Helen Wu was born in Shanghai, China into one of the most distinguished martial arts families in Chinese history. She was trained from the age of three by her grandfather Grandmaster Wang Zi Ping, and her mother, Grandmaster and Professor Wang Ju Rong. Immersed from early childhood in a complete traditional system, she studied Chaquan, Tantui, Baji, Green Dragon Sword, Qiankun Ring, and numerous other classical forms. By the age of ten, Master Helen Wu had already mastered many traditional Wushu weapon forms and continued her training into adulthood, later teaching sports medicine and martial arts at the Shanghai University of Sport. She has since become internationally recognized for preserving, refining, and transmitting her family’s authentic martial, medical, and Qigong traditions.
GRANDMASTER SIMON HU
(1956-Present)
Master Simon Hu was also born in Shanghai in 1956 and began his formal martial arts training at the age of twelve. He studied directly under Grandmaster Wang Zi Ping and Grandmaster (Professor) Wang Ju Rong, receiving deep instruction in traditional Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and Qigong. His training was further enriched through study with eminent Tai Chi masters, including Master Gu Liu-Xin and Master He Bin-Quan. With over thirty years of teaching experience, Master Simon Hu is widely regarded as an expert in the major styles of Tai Chi, Qigong, and Kung Fu, and is respected for his ability to integrate martial skill, internal cultivation, and therapeutic application. Together with Master Helen Wu, he has played a vital role in sharing this rare and authentic lineage with students around the world.
Fourth Generation
MASTER GEORGE PICARD
(1954-Present)
Sifu George Picard began his martial arts journey in 1971, training in several styles of Okinawan Karate and eventually earning the rank of 7th-degree Black Belt and the title Shihan. He started teaching Tai Chi and Qigong in the mid-1990s in Toronto, Ontario, and opened his own martial arts studio in 1999 in St. Catharines, Ontario, which later became part of his Village of Healing and Wellness community. His path took a transformative turn in 2001 when he met Grandmaster Helen Wu and was accepted as a private student in the Wu Yi Jie He family system of Chinese medicine and martial arts; after four years of dedicated study he received his 4th-generation diploma from Helen Wu and her family, formally linking him to the lineage of Grandmaster Wang Zi Ping. Sifu Picard has since become internationally recognized as a 4th-generation Tai Chi and Therapeutic Qigong master, specializing in the 24-Posture Therapeutic Qigong for Health, Healing, and Longevity developed by Wang Zi Ping and expanded by Helen Wu. Over more than 40 years of teaching experience, he has certified hundreds of instructors across Canada, the United States, and Europe, co-authored research papers, presented Qigong for cancer care to professional audiences, and continues to teach classes at Glenridge Martial Arts Academy and Wu Yi Jie He Academy in Thorold, Ontario.
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