Fu Zhong Wen ~ Sigong ~ was born in 1903, a native of Guang Fu, the Yang Family village in Yongnian County, Hebei. At the age of seven (this is 5 years old in the west )  he started training under the guidance of Yang Zou Pun (1875-1938), the only son of Yang Ban Hou, in his youth Fu Zhong Wen was fortunate to train directly under Yang Jian Hou, Yang Shou Hou and Yang Chen Fu when they returned to the village. In 1925 Sigong married Zou Kuei Cheng, the great granddaughter of Yang Jian Hou.

At the end of 1925 Sigong moved to Shanghai to assist his uncle Yang Chen Fu in furthering the development of the Yang Family schools there, as well as in the cities of Nanjing and in Guangzhou. They worked together to maintain the integrity of the system and the style.

In 1936 the Great Master Yang Chen Fu passed away after complications from a short illness in Guangzhou. Sigong was with his master till the end and received his teachers’ final teachings. Shortly after Sigong accompanied his teachers’ body back home to Guang Fu where he was buried alongside his other family members.

Fu Sheng Yuan ~ SiFu~ (FSY), born 19th February 1931, a native of Guang Fu the birthplace of Yang Family Tai Chi, he was the only son of the famous Tai Chi Master Fu Zhong Wen.

Fu Sheng Yuan is a direct descendant of the founder of Yang Tai Chi, Yang Lu Chan and was the first male of his generation, making him the 5^th generation patriarch of the Yang Family. Being first male of his generation, FU Sheng Yuan started learning his family art from the age of seven.

Sifu was extensively tutored by a core group of Family, as well as students of Yang Jian Hou and many disciples of Yang Cheng Fu some of these masters he trained with for decades as it was a great honor to teach a generational leader.

For nearly half a century Fu Sheng Yuan trained nightly with his father, as well as his father’s Gong Fu brothers and their disciples, generally for a minimum of four hours a day and often from 11pm onwards. 

Sifu (Fu Sheng Yuan) was influenced by so many great masters. They include:

–          His father, Fu Zhong Wen.

–          Cui Yi Shi and Nu Chun Ming, who were students of Yang Jian Hou and disciples of Yang Chen Fu, both of whom resided in the Fu Household for long periods of time, including parts of the Japanese occupation. Sifu also spent considerable amount of time in Beijing with Cui Yi Shi and regarded them both as Sigong (Kung Fu Grandfathers).

–          His Uncles Fu Zhong Yuan and Tian Zhao Lin, who were both Disciples of Yang Chen Fu, and some of the only students of Yang Shou Hou.  regularly stayed with his uncle Fu Zhong Yuan who was a large man like his great uncle Yang Cheng Fu and excelled at push hands, Fu Zhong Yuan later became resident master teacher in Guang Fu.

–          Other Disciples of Yang Chen Fu, Sifu regularly trained with included: Chen Wei Ming, Niu Jing Xuan, Li Ya Xuan, Chu Gui Ting, Zhang Qin Lin, Chen Guang Kai, Pu Yu, Chen Yua, Wu Wei Chuan and his cousin Yang Shou Chung (first son of Yang Cheng Fu)

–           Fu Sheng Yuan and his family had a close relationship with the Wu family who resided in the same village just around the corner from the Fu Family home he would often visit and practice, one of his favorite Wu style uncles was Wu Tu Nan whom he was friends with for over 50 years.

 In later years Sifu assisted his father in teaching Wu Shu as an instructor at the Shanghai Wu Shu Association, as well as other institutions such as Tongji University and Shanghai Chemical University. After emigrating to Australia in 1989, he continued to teach his Family’s Tai Chi, spreading the art to over twenty-five countries around the world. After his father passed away in 1994, he became head of the Yong Nian World Tai Chi Federation, until his passing in 2017.

Sifu Damon Bramich

Shortly after the death of Fu Sheng Yuan, Damon accompanied his body back home with his Kung Fu brother, Fu Qing Quan, to be laid to rest with the other great Yang Family Masters.