Ma Gui (martial artist)
Encyclopedia
Ma Gui (1852–1942 or 1847–1941) was an accomplished master of the internal Chinese martial art
of Baguazhang
, and considered to be one of the top students of both Yin Fu
and Baguazhang’s founder Dong Haichuan
. MaGui Style Baguazhang is still actively taught in China as well as in Japan, North America and Europe.
Ma Gui is generally used when referring to the person, MaGui when referring to the style.
, Hebei
province but eventually relocated to Beijing
where Ma Gui was born and raised.
Ma Gui grew up to become a lumber merchant by trade and was nicknamed "Mu Ma" or "Lumber Ma." He was called this to differentiate himself from another prominent Bagua master, Ma Weiqi
, who was in the coal business and hence nicknamed "Mei Ma" or "Coal Ma." Ma Gui was also called "Cuozi Ma" or "Little Ma" due to his short stature.
and then with Dong Haichuan
while still a teenager. Unlike Dong's other top students, Yin Fu
, Cheng Tinghua
, and Ma Weiqi
, who blended Bagua into their extensive martial arts background, Ma Gui had very little martial arts experience before studying Bagua and therefore was taught unique training fundamentals designed to develop Bagua fighting skills from the ground up. He remained steadfastly devoted to his two masters and trained with them exclusively throughout both of their lives. Along with fellow disciple Shi Shidong, Ma Gui helped house the elderly Dong Haichuan for several years until Dong's death in 1882.
that dramatically transforms the large tendon lines from neck to feet and strengthens the entire body.
Ma Gui was most famous for his devastating fighting technique called the "zhi-be wan-da"--a wrist strike with a straightened arm. According to third generation Yin Style Baguazhang
master He Puren, "In order to practice his wrist-striking, he would do a press-up style exercise that involved him falling forward onto the floor onto the back of his wrists and then springing back up to a standing position, which he would practice repeatedly and could do with ease. He had bested many famous masters using only his wrist-striking. You couldn’t touch his body, if you did it felt like being electrocuted." To further strengthen this technique Ma was also known to practice with ten-pound iron rings on each wrist.
Ma Gui had a reputation for being an extremely conservative teacher who demanded the very best of his students. As a busy lumber merchant he did not have to teach professionally and he was therefore able to maintain extremely high standards in training. Fiercely dedicated to the traditional way he had been taught Bagua by Yin Fu
and Dong Haichuan
, he refused to modify his teachings to make them easier and felt that "anyone who felt the skill was too difficult to learn should not be taught in the first place."
Prince Duan early in his career. His reputation only grew over time, and after surviving both the turmoil of the Boxer Rebellion
and later the Xinhai Revolution
, he eventually became a martial arts instructor at the National Police School in 1919.
By the end of the 1920s Ma Gui was considered by many to be the top Bagua practitioner of his generation. In 1930, following in his teacher Yin Fu's footsteps he erected in 1930 a third commemorative stele on Dong Haichuan's gravesite. As the leader of the third generation of Bagua students, he offered the following words for future generations:
Among the prominent students whom Ma Gui taught in his later years were MaGui Style Baguazhang lineage holders Li Shao’an (1888–1982), and his business partner Liu Wanchuan (1905–1993),Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan
master Wang Peisheng
(1919–2004), and Liu Hung Chieh (1905–1981).
In his advanced age, Ma Gui also imparted special teachings from Dong Haichuan on meditation and energy work, including Dong’s special “internal dantian
” practice. According to Liu Hung Chieh’s student Bruce Frantzis, “Ma Shr Ching told Liu how Dong had taught. Dong frequently would sit with his eyes closed, describe every motion Ma was making, and tell him to adjust it one way or another. Dong used to sit and meditate for hours every day. The basis of his martial power, at least according to Ma, was at least as much due to his sitting practices, which were pure Taoist meditation, as to his martial arts techniques."
Ma Gui continued to train extremely hard well into his golden years and for sparring was said to favor the triple chuanzhang (spearing palm), another famous technique that Ma Gui perfected. According to Li Baohua, “When Ma Gui was in his 80s he would still train the triple chuanzhang. To Liu Wanchuan, watching from the side, Ma Gui’s body looked very light, as if his feet did not even touch the ground."
. Liu Wanchuan's lineage is being taught through the International MaGui Bagua Association and its English-language based MaGui BaGua Association. Wang Peisheng's lineage is being taught by the Yin Cheng Gong Fa Association.
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
of Baguazhang
Baguazhang
Bāguàzhǎng is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being Taijiquan and Xingyiquan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice...
, and considered to be one of the top students of both Yin Fu
Yin Fu
Yin Fu was a Baguazhang disciple of Dong Haichuan responsible for the creation of the Yin Style Baguazhang.Yin Fu was Dong's earliest disciple in Prince Duan's palace...
and Baguazhang’s founder Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan was born on the 13th of October 1797 in Zhu village, Ju Jia Wu Township, Wen'an County, Hebei Province, China and died on the 25th of October 1882 in Beijing. He is regarded as a skillful martial artist and is widely credited to be the founder of Baguazhang...
. MaGui Style Baguazhang is still actively taught in China as well as in Japan, North America and Europe.
Ma Gui is generally used when referring to the person, MaGui when referring to the style.
Biography
Ma Gui's parents were originally from Laishui CountyLaishui County
Laishui County is a county in Hebei province, China. It is under the juridiction of Baoding prefecture-level city.-Administrative Divisions:Towns:...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province but eventually relocated to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
where Ma Gui was born and raised.
Ma Gui grew up to become a lumber merchant by trade and was nicknamed "Mu Ma" or "Lumber Ma." He was called this to differentiate himself from another prominent Bagua master, Ma Weiqi
Ma Weiqi
Ma Weiqi was a disciple of Dong Haichuan in the martial art of Baguazhang. He owned a shop in Beijing selling coal and briquettes and he was therefore nicknamed "Mei Ma" or Coal Ma"....
, who was in the coal business and hence nicknamed "Mei Ma" or "Coal Ma." Ma Gui was also called "Cuozi Ma" or "Little Ma" due to his short stature.
Introduction to Bagua at an Early Age
Ma Gui began studying Bagua at the age of twelve with Yin FuYin Fu
Yin Fu was a Baguazhang disciple of Dong Haichuan responsible for the creation of the Yin Style Baguazhang.Yin Fu was Dong's earliest disciple in Prince Duan's palace...
and then with Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan was born on the 13th of October 1797 in Zhu village, Ju Jia Wu Township, Wen'an County, Hebei Province, China and died on the 25th of October 1882 in Beijing. He is regarded as a skillful martial artist and is widely credited to be the founder of Baguazhang...
while still a teenager. Unlike Dong's other top students, Yin Fu
Yin Fu
Yin Fu was a Baguazhang disciple of Dong Haichuan responsible for the creation of the Yin Style Baguazhang.Yin Fu was Dong's earliest disciple in Prince Duan's palace...
, Cheng Tinghua
Cheng Tinghua
Cheng Tinghua was a renowned master of Chinese Neijia martial art Bagua Zhang.-Biography:Born in the Cheng family village, Shen County, Hebei , he was the third of four brothers....
, and Ma Weiqi
Ma Weiqi
Ma Weiqi was a disciple of Dong Haichuan in the martial art of Baguazhang. He owned a shop in Beijing selling coal and briquettes and he was therefore nicknamed "Mei Ma" or Coal Ma"....
, who blended Bagua into their extensive martial arts background, Ma Gui had very little martial arts experience before studying Bagua and therefore was taught unique training fundamentals designed to develop Bagua fighting skills from the ground up. He remained steadfastly devoted to his two masters and trained with them exclusively throughout both of their lives. Along with fellow disciple Shi Shidong, Ma Gui helped house the elderly Dong Haichuan for several years until Dong's death in 1882.
Rigorous Training and a Conservative Approach to Teaching
Ma Gui advocated a rigorous approach to training with a heavy emphasis on developing extraordinary lower leg strength. According to current MaGui Style Baguazhang lineage holder Li Baohua, “The Baguazhang passed on by Ma Gui emphasizes the lower basin walking, so his lower legs were extremely thick. Lower basin walking means that the strength of the whole body is concentrated on the lower legs and feet, using the hidden strength of the bones and tendons. Ma Gui’s lower legs were so developed that the shin bone was completely protected by tissue. He often had Liu Wanchuan (Li Baohua's grandmaster) look at his shins, and would occasionally allow people to hit them with wooden or iron staffs." Ma Gui would often wear a sand filled jacket on his body or a sand filled belt around his waist or legs for strength training and would also attach ropes on nearby trees to make a netting, and then train under the netting. The netting would ensure that he stayed low. Ma Gui was also known to demonstrate his strength by Bagua circle walking underneath a three foot high table. While an impressive feat, the majority of Ma Gui’s leg training was not done through walking at such an extremely low level, but rather was cultivated by countless hours of his system’s “bear walking:” slow concentrated circle-walking in a horse stanceHorse stance
The horse stance is an important posture in Asian martial arts and takes its name from the position assumed when riding a horse. It is called mǎbù in Chinese, in Japanese, kekuda or kuda-kuda in Malay, asvavadivu in Malayalam, and juchum seogi or annun seogi in Korean...
that dramatically transforms the large tendon lines from neck to feet and strengthens the entire body.
Ma Gui was most famous for his devastating fighting technique called the "zhi-be wan-da"--a wrist strike with a straightened arm. According to third generation Yin Style Baguazhang
Yin Style Baguazhang
Yin Style Baguazhang is a style of Baguazhang.-Substyles:Yin Style has many substyles, some of the lineages of which are given below:*Dong Haichuan**Yin Fu***Yin Yuzhang****Wang Fu***Ma Gui****Wang Peisheng****Liu Wanchuan***Li Yongqing...
master He Puren, "In order to practice his wrist-striking, he would do a press-up style exercise that involved him falling forward onto the floor onto the back of his wrists and then springing back up to a standing position, which he would practice repeatedly and could do with ease. He had bested many famous masters using only his wrist-striking. You couldn’t touch his body, if you did it felt like being electrocuted." To further strengthen this technique Ma was also known to practice with ten-pound iron rings on each wrist.
Ma Gui had a reputation for being an extremely conservative teacher who demanded the very best of his students. As a busy lumber merchant he did not have to teach professionally and he was therefore able to maintain extremely high standards in training. Fiercely dedicated to the traditional way he had been taught Bagua by Yin Fu
Yin Fu
Yin Fu was a Baguazhang disciple of Dong Haichuan responsible for the creation of the Yin Style Baguazhang.Yin Fu was Dong's earliest disciple in Prince Duan's palace...
and Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan was born on the 13th of October 1797 in Zhu village, Ju Jia Wu Township, Wen'an County, Hebei Province, China and died on the 25th of October 1882 in Beijing. He is regarded as a skillful martial artist and is widely credited to be the founder of Baguazhang...
, he refused to modify his teachings to make them easier and felt that "anyone who felt the skill was too difficult to learn should not be taught in the first place."
Leader of the Third Bagua Generation
While Ma Gui's conservative teaching approach turned away many students, he was still highly sought after as an instructor. He was hired as the martial arts instructor for the son of Qing DynastyQing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
Prince Duan early in his career. His reputation only grew over time, and after surviving both the turmoil of the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
and later the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
, he eventually became a martial arts instructor at the National Police School in 1919.
By the end of the 1920s Ma Gui was considered by many to be the top Bagua practitioner of his generation. In 1930, following in his teacher Yin Fu's footsteps he erected in 1930 a third commemorative stele on Dong Haichuan's gravesite. As the leader of the third generation of Bagua students, he offered the following words for future generations:
- "Dong left us happiness and long age as lasting mountains from the land of Chinese Traditions. May his art shine and expand in our nation. He had an incredible strength and was involved in the education of his country. He was trying to bring happiness by elevating to the origin of everything."
Teaching Increases in Old Age
While still highly conservative in his teaching, Ma Gui began to teach more openly to students in his seventies after his lumber business began to fail and he needed financial support.Among the prominent students whom Ma Gui taught in his later years were MaGui Style Baguazhang lineage holders Li Shao’an (1888–1982), and his business partner Liu Wanchuan (1905–1993),Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan
Wu style tai chi chuan
The Wu family-style t'ai chi ch'uan of Wu Ch'uan-yu and Wu Chien-ch'uan is the second most popular form of t'ai chi ch'uan in the world today, after the Yang style, and fourth in terms of family seniority. This style is different from the Wu style of t'ai chi ch'uan founded by Wu Yu-hsiang...
master Wang Peisheng
Wang Pei-sheng
Wang Pei-sheng was a teacher of Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan. He was Yang Yu-ting's student and also a student of Wang Mao Zhai. He began training in martial arts with the Baguazhang master Ma Gui learning Yin Style Ba Gua Zhang 64 Palms. He assisted Yang Yu Ting teaching Tai Chi from the age of 15...
(1919–2004), and Liu Hung Chieh (1905–1981).
In his advanced age, Ma Gui also imparted special teachings from Dong Haichuan on meditation and energy work, including Dong’s special “internal dantian
Dantian
Dantian, dan t'ian, dan tien or tan t'ien is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques.There are various points of dantian...
” practice. According to Liu Hung Chieh’s student Bruce Frantzis, “Ma Shr Ching told Liu how Dong had taught. Dong frequently would sit with his eyes closed, describe every motion Ma was making, and tell him to adjust it one way or another. Dong used to sit and meditate for hours every day. The basis of his martial power, at least according to Ma, was at least as much due to his sitting practices, which were pure Taoist meditation, as to his martial arts techniques."
Ma Gui continued to train extremely hard well into his golden years and for sparring was said to favor the triple chuanzhang (spearing palm), another famous technique that Ma Gui perfected. According to Li Baohua, “When Ma Gui was in his 80s he would still train the triple chuanzhang. To Liu Wanchuan, watching from the side, Ma Gui’s body looked very light, as if his feet did not even touch the ground."
Ma Gui's Legacy
Ma Gui's decision to teach more seriously later in life meant that only a rare few actually carried on the full extent of his knowledge. Many third and fourth generation Bagua fighters were certainly influenced by Ma Gui's teachings but only received bits of his knowledge. Today there are only two known lineages that can be said to have received the full transmission of his martial arts teachings - the schools of Liu Wanchuan and Wang PeishengWang Pei-sheng
Wang Pei-sheng was a teacher of Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan. He was Yang Yu-ting's student and also a student of Wang Mao Zhai. He began training in martial arts with the Baguazhang master Ma Gui learning Yin Style Ba Gua Zhang 64 Palms. He assisted Yang Yu Ting teaching Tai Chi from the age of 15...
. Liu Wanchuan's lineage is being taught through the International MaGui Bagua Association and its English-language based MaGui BaGua Association. Wang Peisheng's lineage is being taught by the Yin Cheng Gong Fa Association.