Ma Xianda

Ma Xianda was a Chinese wushu professor and master. He was born to a Muslim Hui family in Hebei whose association with martial arts goes back six generations. He learned from his father, Ma Fengtu, who was also a noted master. He also studied boxing, wrestling, and fencing. He won three titles in the first Chinese martial arts championship in 1952, and became a full professor at Xi'an Physical Education University. He wrote many books and papers on wushu, and edited the Chinese Wushu Encyclopedia. He was recognized as one of China's "Top Ten Professors of Chinese Martial Arts" in 1995, and as the youngest ever wushu Ninth Duan in 1998. He was a leading practitioner of his family's martial arts system, Ma Style Tongbeiquan, which is composed of four traditional styles of wushu: Fanziquan, Piguaquan, Bajiquan, and Chuojiao. He also championed the combat and fighting aspects of traditional Chinese martial arts and sanda, as opposed to the performance aspects of modern wushu. He taught the art of wushu to many students, and made a profound impact on the theory and practice of Chinese martial arts.