Helen Wu is a martial artist living in Toronto, Canada. The daughter of Wang Ju-Rong

Wang Ju-Rong

Wang Ju-Rong was a Chinese-Muslim Martial Arts practitioner and Wushu professor in the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education.A longtime promoter of Wushu, a teacher, an organizational officer, and a Wushu event-announcer, she was the first woman who was a certified judge of national ranking for...

 and Wu Chengde, Helen began her martial arts training at age three with her mother and her grandfather Wang Zi-Ping

Wang Zi-Ping

Wang Zi-Ping was a Chinese-Muslim practitioner of Chinese Martial Arts and traditional medicine from Changzhou, Cangxian county, Mengcun, Hebei Province. He served as the leader of the Shaolin Kung Fu division of the Martial Arts Institute in 1928 and was also the vice chairman of the Chinese...

, the world renowned Wushu Grandmaster

Wushu (sport)

The sport of wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts...

.

Education and research

After graduation from Shanghai University

Shanghai University

Shanghai University is a public, comprehensive university located in Shanghai, China. The university has the longest serving President; Chien Wei-zang since 1982 until he died in 2010. He was a well known scientist in China...

, Wu began teaching in the department of Sports Medicine

Sports medicine

Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise...

.

Wu now lives and teaches in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 where she served on the board of the Canadian Taijiquan Federation and United Wushu Federation of Canada. She is a faculty member with the York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

School of Kinesiology and Health Science.

Wu has acted as a consultant on several studies on the benefits of Chi-Kung:

• The Effects of Vigorous Exercise Training on Motor Function and Functional, Fitness in Juvenile Arthritis. Dr. Brian M Feldman
• Feasibility and Impact of Qigong as Compared to Aerobic Exercise in the Treatment of Childhood Chronic Musculo-Skeletal Pain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Dr Shirley ML Tse MD FRCPC; Dr. Brian M Feldman

Professional accomplishments

Wu is an accomplished wushu coach: her training methods have produced medal-winning athletes.

• Silver Medal, Group Events Category, U.S.A All-Taijiquan Competition (1999)
• 19 Medals including Silver and Bronze All-Round Grand Championships, U.S.A All-Taijiquan Competition (2000)
• 23 Medals including Bronze All-Round Grand Championships, U.S.A All-Taijiquan Competition (2001)

Wu co-authored with Wen-Ching Wu Tai Chi Single Fan for Health and Martial Arts and Chi-Kung, Tai Chi and Fan: A Step by Step Training Course for Wellness and Personal Development. There were used as a text for her courses at York University.

Wu has also published articles for martial arts magazines: Flying Rainbow: The Fan of Martial Arts co-authored with Marsha Zeust for Kungfu Magazine (1999) and A Fan for Life for Inside Kung-fu magazine (2007).