Here is the second section of the Introduction to Duan Bing by Ma Xianda from his book. In the first part he discussed the long history of swordplay and fencing in Chinese culture. In this next section he discusses the extremely influential Republican era of China(1912–1949) and its effect on the formation of Duan Bing… Continue reading Ma Xianda: A Short History of Duan Bing part 2-短兵格斗简史及其特点
The cover of "Chinese Duan Bing" by Ma Xianda The following is a selection from the book “Chinese Duan Bing” by my teacher’s father, Ma Xianda. Ma Xianda is probably best known for his contributions to Modern Wushu and teaching Jet Li what would become his specialty set, Fanziquan. In fact, Ma Xianda was the… Continue reading Ma Xianda: A brief history of Duan Bing and its characteristics-短兵格斗简史及其特点
A few days ago, my Sifu Ma Yue celebrated his 62nd Birthday. So, in a belated birthday post, I thought I would repost my sketch of my esteemed teacher from a few years back. Enjoy! Ma Yue is one of the few teachers that is educated and skilled in the academic, performance, sporting, and traditional… Continue reading A Sketch of a Master: Ma Yue
Translated by Chad Eisner- September 2019 (Additional translation and assistance by Dr. Jared Miracle) This is a piece by my teacher Ma Yue. This is a basic explanation of the core principles and qualities that make Ma Shi Tongbei Wuyi (Ma family Tongbei Martial arts) what it is. It is the following that forms the… Continue reading 通备武艺 马越- Tongbei Wu Yi- by Ma Yue
Fitness, and especially martial arts, is replete with sayings and training koans. Many of these sayings are rather suspect, sounding good on the surface but not standing up to scrutiny. Others are so counter intuitive, they foster resistance to them to this day. One of these sayings is “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”.… Continue reading Slow is smooth and smooth is fast
Terra Prime Fighting Words 