Ma Gui

马贵 Ma Gui (1853-1940) Was a student of Yin Fu. He was very short and among friends he was nicknamed "Thunder rolling on the ground". In the bagua community he was called "Wood Ma(Mu Ma)". He was officially Yin Fu's student, but Yin allowed him to study directly under Dong Haichuan. Dong upon meeting Ma Gui said, "You are too short to do Bagua, I will have to make up an Animal just for you. Since you look like a crab, I will you teach you the Crab 蟹 (xiè) System." Ma Gui was a ruthless fighter and didn't have many formal students because few could put up with his abuse. Men Baozhen was Ma Gui's martial brother and he sent Dr. Xie to learn from Ma gui. Since Dr. Xie wasn't officially Ma Gui's student he didn't have to suffer the rigorous abuse and was able to learn the Crab System and the Backfist ( wrist striking ) techniques from him.

Ma Gui (1857-1941) [This version from Chen Rongliang, translated by Joseph Crandall ~ http://www.smilingtiger.net/2mas.htm] Was from Shandong. He was also called Shiqing. Early in his life he moved to the capitol. At the age of 18 (1875) he asked Yin Fu to be his teacher in Baguzhang. He recieved all of Yin Fu's teachings and at the same time was coached by Dong Haichuan.Thus his skills in Bagua were very deep. His outstanding use of the straight arm wrist strike was well known in the martial community. Using the wrist to strike men is a high skill of Yin Style Bagua. The wrist strikes are: Cutting Wrist, Intercepting Wrist, Stroking Wrist, Top Wrist, Plucking Wrist, Pulling Wrist, Hooking Wrist, Seizing Wrist, and Pushing Wrist. In using the Cutting Wrist, for instance, should the enemy attack with a straight strike, I use my front hand, little finger side, to cut down on the incoming wrist, then use the rear hand to attack. With the Intercepting Wrist, should the enemy use his hand to attack my head, my front hand turns inward, using the little finger side to make a strong point intercepting cut on the wrist and foil the enemy. Ma Gui practiced his wrist striking kungfu for many years and ultimately became quite famous. Near the end of the Qing Dynasty he used his cutting wrist in the Langong Palace to break the arm of a martial arts teacher. He was made head of the palace's many martial arts instructors. He became famous in the capitol and people called him "Little Kunlun Ma Gui".

When he was 23 (1880) he started a business as a lumber merchant. When not occupied he practiced martial arts. He set up a studio where students could exchange skills. At that time Cheng Tinghua's and Liu Fengchun's men were in the capitol and would come to the Lumber shop to practice. Ma Gui also got these seniors to coach him many times. Thus his martial skills quickly advanced and became pure.

Ma Gui did not have many students. One man, Cao Zhong Sheng (Yin Fu's student), recieved some tutoring . Mr Cao, with his student Lu, wrote a book in 1932 with a short chapter on Ma's life.