Many sources, including the official websites of its branches in various countries,[4][5][6] claim that Jing Wu was founded by the martial artist Huo Yuanjia, who died not long after its establishment.
[4] Due to Huo's popularity and recent death, the committee had decided that he should be the "face" of Jing Wu, resulting in his strong association with it.
Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, attended the third annual event held by Jing Wu in 1915, giving a speech of encouragement to the attendees.
[4] When Sun Yat-sen attended again at the 10th annual event in 1920, he also wrote for a special Jing Wu newsletter and made a plaque with the engraving "martial spirit".
With their new freedom, Huo's students purchased a new building to serve as the organization's headquarters and named it "Jing Wu Athletic Association".