Su Yu-chang (; – ),

was a Taiwanese martial artist, scholar and practitioner of

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

who devoted his life to teaching

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

, traditional

Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developmen ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

all over the world.

Life and career

Su’s father, (蘇正生), was one of the members of the legendary Taiwanese

Kano baseball team The , officially the , was a Taiwanese baseball team established in 1928 in Japanese Formosa. The team was a motley crew that consisted of Han Chinese ( Hoklo and Hakka), Taiwanese indigenous people, and Japanese players. The high school baseball ...

. Su started his studies of

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

at the age of eight under

Praying Mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

Master

Chang Tekuei Chang may refer to: People Surname * Chang (surname), the romanization of several separate Chinese surnames * Chang or Jang (Korean name), romanizations of the Korean surname Given name * Chang Bunker () (1811–1874), one of the original ...

, who came to work as a foreigner from mainland China and taught him Mizong Quan and Pimen Tanglang Quan. After studying with other famous masters, he became since 1963 a notable disciple of

Liu Yunqiao Liu Yun-qiao (劉雲樵, 1909 - January 24, 1992) was a Chinese Army Colonel and a martial artist from the Republic of China. He was born in Jibeitou Village, Cangzhou, Hebei Province and is most famous for his martial arts prowess. He was a clo ...

, founder of the Wutan Center for the Promotion of Chinese Wushu (武壇國術推廣中心), an institution to which he gave international continuity in the form of the

Pachi Tanglang Martial Arts Institute Pachi may refer to: * Pachi, Kerman (پچي - ''Pachī''), a village in the Central District of Rigan County, Kerman Province, Iran * Pachi, Mazandaran (پاچي - ''Pāchī''), a village in Dodangeh District, Sari County, Mazandaran Province, Ir ...

(八極螳螂武藝總舘), with branches worldwide. In 1976, Su travelled to Venezuela, where he settled in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. He started a practice of Chinese traditional medicine and started teaching several styles of kung fu. Initially he taught jointly with fellow expatriate

Dai Shizhe Dai may refer to: Names * Dai (given name), a Welsh or Japanese masculine given name * Dai (surname) (戴), a Chinese surname Places and regimes * Dai Commandery, a commandery of the state of Zhao and in early imperial China * Dai County, in Xinz ...

(戴士哲) at ''La danza del dragón'' school, and some time after he founded the ''Instituto Pachimen'' (八極門). During this period, he served as vice-president of the South American Martial Arts Federation. In 1989 he travelled to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, where he founded the first European branch of his institute, now rebranded Pachi Tanglang Martial Arts Institute. Shortly thereafter a

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

branch opened, and in 1992 Master Su was hired to train special security teams for the Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the following years, new branches of the school were opened in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and the UK. Master Su would spend the year doing the rounds of the Institute around the world, securing the transmission for posterity of the wealth of knowledge he had accumulated.''The Invisible Web: A Taichi Chuan Manual'', p.6
Bio page
at the Mallorca site. In later years, Su returned to his native Taiwan, where he strengthened the

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

and

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

branches of the school, and from where he would continue to travel extensively. He died in

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, in April 2019.

Works

Master Su published a number of well received books on martial arts, mostly compiled from his lessons in Spanish, Japanese and English, as well as several video recordings on teachings of Bagua Quan, Baji Quan and several Praying Mantis substyles.Bio at Wutan Alaska

Bibliography

* ''Pachi Tanglang Chuan: Eight Ultimate Praying Mantis'', Pachi Tanglang International, 2014. * ''I Ching: el oráculo'', Madrid, Visión Libros, 2012. * ''Taichi Chuan to Awaken the Power of the Qi'' (気の力を覚醒させる太極拳), Tokyo, Budo-RA Books, 2009. * ''Secret Method of Praying Mantis Style'' (螳螂拳秘法), Tokyo, Budo-RA Books, 2007. * ''Pachi Tanglang Chuan'', Madrid, Visión Libros, 2006. * ''Yang Taichi Chuan'', Madrid, Visión Net, 2005. * ''The Invisible Web: A Taichi Chuan Manual'', Palma de Mallorca, Asociación Europea Pachi Tanglang Chuan y Tao, 1998. * ''El tejido invisible: Manual de Taichi Chuan'', Palma de Mallorca, Prensa Universitaria, 1995. * ''Pachi Tang Lang Chuen'', Barcelona, Alas, 1990.

References

External links

at Wutan Alaska.
Main English-language page
of Pachi Tanglang International.
Main Spanish site
of Pachi Tanglang International. {{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Yu-chang 1940 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Taiwanese physicians Chinese martial artists Chinese tai chi practitioners Chinese xingyiquan practitioners Martial arts school founders Martial arts writers People from Tainan Taiwanese expatriates in Spain Taiwanese expatriates in Venezuela Taiwanese male martial artists Taiwanese philosophers Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners 20th-century philanthropists Chinese baguazhang practitioners