Experience Taiji

11/08/2026

After another week of intensive training here in Shanghai focusing on the indepth details of the fast form also known as the usage frame, I want to emphasise something.

The cultivation of Shen, Yi, and Qi is not limited to one single curriculum or lineage and is and will always be the most important part of Taijiquan for me. Having said that Just as in Wing Chun, my journey in Taijiquan has always been one of deep research, practice, and respect for multiple traditions.

After studying the Huang Sheng Shyan Taijiquan& Fujian White Crane hybrid system, I delved deeply into the Tian Zhaolin lineage in Shanghai. I eventually received the certificate of completion of the entire unarmed Tian Zhaolin lineage directly from Tian Zhaolin’s grandson, Tian Bing Yuan.

My next goal was to go deeper into the teachings connected to Yang Shao Hou, and especially Yang Ban Hou, since the Yang Jian Hou material was already extensively preserved within the Tian family curriculum.

This path let me to a 10 years study with Sifu Tam Maan Yin and eventually led me to Guiyang, where I began studying the Gu Lisheng lineage. Even after the passing of Sifu Qi Qisheng, I continue these studies in a lighter way online with some of his senior students.

Decades ago, one of my Taijiquan colleagues in Amsterdam, Sifu Henny Eleonora, once told me:

“Wu style is Old Style Yang.”

Those words stayed with me.

After researching the Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai Wu lineages, it became very clear to me which path I needed to follow.

Now over the last years organizing several events at the Eternal Spring Institute with Sifu Zhou Zhong Fu and after receiving private lessons to deeply explore the Wu curriculum in Shanghai, Istanbul, and Madeira, it has become clear to me that none of this was coincidence. Everything happened exactly as it was supposed to.

The systematic Wu Taijiquan curriculum of Ma Yueh Liang preserves an incredible amount of Old Yang Style material in a profoundly complete way. Had I not studied the Tian Zhaolin curriculum so deeply beforehand, I would never have fully appreciated what was preserved within it.

Even the ancient 7 stepping methods used in 13 unique Tui Shou cycles are preserved in Such a detailed Indepth way. Two of those stepping methods I had learned before but were missing some important details regarding close body kicks and sweeps.

九宮步 (Jiǔ Gōng Bù) — “Nine Palace Step,” based on the traditional nine-grid directional pattern.

七星步 (Qī Xīng Bù) — “Seven Star Step,” a compact guarding stepping method connected to seven-point alignment.
It’s wonderful that because of the detailed transmission it’s all still so well preserved within the Shanghai branch of the Ma Yueh Liang Wu Taijiquan curriculum.

All of the unique stepping patterns of old Yang Taijiquan remain preserved there in their entirety and I will do my utmost best to help preserve the complete curriculum through the efforts of the Eternal Spring institute.

Combined with the correct internal development, makes the Shanghai branch of Ma Yueh Liang Wu Taijiquan the Taijiquan curriculum of choice for the Eternal Spring Institute.

The deeper I go into the curriculum of these arts, the more I understand that true knowledge comes from keeping an open mind, respecting the past, and never limiting oneself to a single perspective.

Courage, peace, and love to all.

Sifu Sergio Pascal Iadarola
Founder of the IWKA and its Schools of Kung Fu department
CEO of the Eternal Spring Institute.
Co Founder of the Weng Chun& Fujian White Crane association Hong Kong.

10/08/2026

Shanghai summer 🌞

With the relentless heat and humidity, cultivation becomes a different kind of practice. The early morning hours are precious before the city fully awakens and the heat becomes overwhelming.

This is when I prefer to do my internal cultivation: quiet, focused, and without distraction. Working on the body, mind, energy , and internal connection while the air is still relatively cool.

Later in the day, Shanghai’s summer heat can make serious training a real challenge. So you adapt, you listen to the environment, and you make the most of the right moment.

Cultivation is not only about training harder it is also about understanding when and how to train.

🌅 Early morning.
☯️Quiet practice.
☯️ Consistent cultivation.

02/07/2026

According to Shifu Sergio Pascal Iadarola’s research, Yang Shao Hou taught his own version of the fast form, the Small Frame (Xiao Jia), to Gu Lisheng and some other students during his later years. Likewise, his brother, Yang Cheng Fu, taught a Small Frame fast form known as Chang Quan (“Long Fist”) during his earlier years.

This raises an interesting historical possibility. If Yang Shao Hou and Yang Cheng Fu each developed and transmitted their own versions of the fast form, then two scenarios seem plausible regarding the Wu Fast Form.

The first is that Wu Jianquan preserved the fast form essentially as he learned it from his father, Wu Quanyu, who in turn learned it from Yang Luchan—or, more likely, from Yang Banhou.

The second, possibility is that Wu Jianquan, like Yang Shao Hou and Yang Cheng Fu, refined or modified the fast form while maintaining its core principles. If so, the Wu Fast Form may represent Wu Jianquan’s own expression of the fast form inherited through Wu Quanyu from the Yang family tradition.

Whichever scenario proves to be correct, the parallels between the Yang and Wu family transmissions provide a fascinating perspective on how these advanced fast forms evolved while preserving their shared roots.

An interesting point that’s often overlooked in discussions about the Wu fast form is the timeline.

If we follow the historical record, Wu Quanyou was a direct disciple of Yang Lu Chan and Yang Banhou whom he inherited the complete martial curriculum of the time. Yang Shaohou was Yang Banhou’s nephew and also learned within that same family tradition.

This raises an important question: why assume the Wu fast form had to come through Yang Shaohou when both Wu Quanyou and Yang Shaohou inherited the same martial tradition from Yang Banhou?

There is no historical statement from Ma Yueliang or other senior Wu family authorities saying that Wu Jianquan’s fast form was learned from Yang Shaohou. On the contrary, the fast form was transmitted within the Wu family as part of its own inherited curriculum.

Yang Shaohou was undoubtedly an extraordinary martial artist, and his reputation for fast, compact, combative Taijiquan is well deserved. But admiration should not be confused with historical evidence.

Until someone produces a primary historical source showing that Wu Jianquan learned the fast form from Yang Shaohou, the more straightforward conclusion is that Wu Quanyou and Yang Shaohou were both heirs to Yang Banhou’s martial teaching. Their respective lineages naturally preserved advanced methods, including fast practice.

History deserves evidence, not assumptions.

28/05/2026

The cultivation of Shen, Yi, and Qi is not limited to one single curriculum or lineage and is and will always be the most important part of Taijiquan for me. Having said that Just as in Wing Chun, my journey in Taijiquan has always been one of deep research, practice, and respect for multiple traditions.

After studying the Huang Sheng Shyan Taijiquan& Fujian White Crane hybrid system, I delved deeply into the Tian Zhaolin lineage in Shanghai. I eventually received the certificate of completion of the entire unarmed Tian Zhaolin lineage directly from Tian Zhaolin’s grandson, Tian Bing Yuan.

My next goal was to go deeper into the teachings connected to Yang Shao Hou, and especially Yang Ban Hou, since the Yang Jian Hou material was already extensively preserved within the Tian family curriculum.

This path let me to a 10 years study with Sifu Tam Maan Yin and eventually led me to Guiyang, where I began studying the Gu Lisheng lineage. Even after the passing of Sifu Qi Qisheng, I continue these studies in a lighter way online with some of his senior students.

Decades ago, one of my Taijiquan colleagues in Amsterdam, Sifu Henny Eleonora, once told me:

“Wu style is Old Style Yang.”

Those words stayed with me.

After researching the Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai Wu lineages, it became very clear to me which path I needed to follow.

Now over the last years organizing several events at the Eternal Spring Institute with Sifu Zhou Zhong Fu and after receiving private lessons to deeply explore the Wu curriculum in Shanghai, Istanbul, and Madeira, it has become clear to me that none of this was coincidence. Everything happened exactly as it was supposed to.

The systematic Wu Taijiquan curriculum of Ma Yueh Liang preserves an incredible amount of Old Yang Style material in a profoundly complete way. Had I not studied the Tian Zhaolin curriculum so deeply beforehand, I would never have fully appreciated what was preserved within it.

Even the ancient 7 stepping methods used in 13 unique Tui Shou cycles are preserved in Such a detailed Indepth way. Two of those stepping methods I had learned before but were missing some important detailed regarding close body kicks and sweeps.

九宮步 (Jiǔ Gōng Bù) — “Nine Palace Step,” based on the traditional nine-grid directional pattern.

七星步 (Qī Xīng Bù) — “Seven Star Step,” a compact guarding stepping method connected to seven-point alignment.
It’s wonderful that because of the detailed transmission it’s all still so well preserved within the Shanghai branch of the Ma Yueh Liang Wu Taijiquan curriculum.

All of the unique stepping patterns of old Yang Taijiquan remain preserved there in their entirety and I will do my utmost best to help preserve the complete curriculum through the efforts of the Eternal Spring institute.

Combined with the correct internal development, makes the Shanghai branch of Ma Yueh Liang Wu Taijiquan the Taijiquan curriculum of choice for the Eternal Spring Institute.

The deeper I go into the curriculum of these arts, the more I understand that true knowledge comes from keeping an open mind, respecting the past, and never limiting oneself to a single perspective.

Courage, peace, and love to all.

Sifu Sergio Pascal Iadarola
Founder of the IWKA and its Schools of Kung Fu department
CEO of the Eternal Spring Institute.
Co Founder of the Weng Chun& Fujian White Crane association Hong Kong.

18/05/2026

Day 3 of the intensive Wu Taijiquan Instructors Course with Sifu Zhou at the is a wrap and the feeling among the students is unanimous: total information overload in the best possible way.

The depth of the Shanghai Wu Lineage passed down through Ma Yuehliang is extraordinary. Every session reveals another layer of refinement: structure, sensitivity, timing, internal mechanics, partner work, and the subtle details that transform movement into true Taijiquan.

What becomes increasingly clear is how rich and complete this curriculum really is. Behind every posture lies decades of preserved knowledge and methodical transmission.

Grateful to experience such authentic teaching and to continue exploring the internal principles of the Wu family system.

11/05/2026

Ma Yueh Liang Shanghai Wu Style