Gary Wragg;
Gary Wragg is Chief Instructor and director of Wu’s Tai Chi Chuan Academy Bethnal Green –London-UK, and is one of the foremost exponents of Tai Chi Chuan in the UK and Europe, and senior representative of the Wu Family in Europe. He became a disciple of Gatekeeper Grandmaster Wu Kwong Yu in 1990. His is the original Wu’s Tai Chi Chuan Academy for London, UK and Europe. Gary has also been since 1995 an executive member of the International Federation of Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan.
He teaches in Great Britain and abroad, and has an international reputation for his demonstrations, workshops and Tai Chi Skills. Many of his students have also been National and international Tai Chi Chuan Champions.
Gary is also a well known Artist who exhibits regularly. Painting and Tai Chi for him are an essential and complimentary way of life, to research the world of internal and external daily experiences in his dual careers.
He began Tai Chi Chuan training in 1973, and he has been practising seriously and regularly since then, to date, forty nine years, he is now at his seventy fifth year. Gary trained Yang Style for seven years, and Wu Style for another forty three years, and has been a medalist in International competitions, given residential course several times a year from 1987to date, and seminar workshops regularly each weekend, plus daily teaching at his Wu’s Academy Bethnal Green, London. His aim in running the Academy is to teach members and novices according to the principles laid down in the Tai Chi Classics, and the high standards required by the Wu Family.
Gary was co founder of the TCUGB in 1991, serving actively on the Executive Committee and the Technical Panel for past thirty years and was chairman twice, 1994-97 & 2004-07. In 2005 he introduced, with the support of the TCUGB, a Judging Seminar programme to train and qualify officials to recognise the essential features of all the major traditional styles. Since 2007 this has been a unique and an integral part of his June Annual London Competition for Traditional Tai Chi Chuan, the largest open competition of its kind in the UK, now called The International London Competition for Traditional Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong.
Gary resigned from the TCUGB in August 2020, along with other colleagues on the EC. Since then they have become founders of the ITQF, and Gary was the Chairman from inception to March 2023.
The purpose of The International Tai Chi & Qigong Federation is to enrich the dimension of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong internationally world wide so that exchange of experience and learning may be enjoyed through connectivity and generosity of interests, uniting novices, and experienced to join and share as practicing colleagues and friends. We invite people of all ages, nationality and cultures to become members to benefit and share ours and/or your events, articles, interests, questions and understanding concerning the practice and art of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong now in the 21st century.
Sifu Gary Wragg continues to teach students at Wu’s Tai Chi Chuan Academy, Bethnal Green, London-UK.