Introduction to MaGui style BaGuaZhang Lineage The creator and Grandmaster of BaGuaZhang ---DongHaiChuan (1813-1882)
DongHaiChuan was born in WenAn county,Hebei province,he got special instruction deep in the mountains from an immortal when he was in his middle ages,then he formed the style of bagua through that teaching and various other kinds of chinese martial arts. He brought chinese martial arts to the highest level and he represented that highest level,he became one of the most prominent martial art masters in the whole of chinese history.
The first generation of Ma Gui style BaguaZhang --- Grandmaster Ma Gui AKA Ma ShiQing (1852-1942)
MaGui's ancestors were from LaiShui county,HeBei province,but he was born and raised in Beijing.He began to learn BaGua from DongHaiChuan at a very young age. Dong HaiChuan instructed him to become YinFu's student due to his father's friendship with YinFu ,but the most important parts of his training he received from DongHaiChuan. In fact, MaGui was really a student of DongHaiChuan. MaGui's Bagua advanced to the highest level, he also received special teaching on the "internal Dan Tian" practice from Dong HaiChuan.He walked the circle in the most difficult posture which used to be called the low level posture, he was probably the only one who could do that kind circle walking.When he issued power,the power was heavy and ferocious. His martial art skill seemed almost superhuman. MaGui was one of the most important inheritors of bagua,the photo above taken in 1930 is of when MaGui collected almost all the bagua masters of his day and rebuilt Dong HaiChuan's tomb. At that time they also erected a tombstone and wrote down on the stone that they were very worried about bagua's future. They were worried that so many different bagua branches spreading too much might cause the whole system to become chaotic and disorganized. Together they formed twenty traditional words to hold the bagua system together. these twenty words are: hai fu shou shan yong qiang yi ding guo ji chang ming guang da lu dao de jian wu ji (in pin yin pronunciation) His eternal fortune and happiness like mountains with enormous power and strength The light of his wisdom shining on earth comes from the Way of morality.
(Dr.Hou YuJing/s translation) 海福寿山永，强毅定国基, 昌明光大陆，道德建无极. (chinese characters, each character means the title of one bagua generation) These words are a record of the successive generations of bagua masters, each generation having its own special title.
The second generation of MaGui style BaguaZhang --- Master Li ShaoAn AKA Li MengRui（1888-1980）
Li ShaoAn was born and raised in HaiYang county, Shandong province, and later moved to Beijingand opened a large restaurant called Yu Chun Lou. When Ma Gui was in his old age he was very poor; Li ShaoAn took care of him and supported him during this time without asking anything in return. Ma Gui later passed on all his bagua knowledge to Li ShaoAn, had it not been for Li ShaoAn Ma Gui bagua may have been lost forever. Li ShaoAn's bagua reached the highest level, he was known for his "dragging palm" and people called him "Iron arm Li." He was just as well-known for being an upright and generous person, he was good friends with many other bagua masters, such as Li WenBiao, Yin YuZhang, Liu Bin, Liang ZhenPu and famous external martial artist of the time. When Li WenBiao was killed during a military rebellion, only Li ShaoAn dared to commemorate him, spending a lot of money to obtain his body and give him a proper burial. During the cultural revolution Li ShaoAn was treated very badly and sent to the country side for re-education in Shandong province. The above picture was taken in 1972 and reflects the hard life he had at the time. I am making this picture public for the first time to show my utmost respect for this great figure in bagua history.
The second generation of MaGui style BaguaZhang --- Master Liu Wanchuan （1906，11，1-1991，11，6)
Liu WanChuan was born and raised in HaiYang county, Shandong province. As a child he began learning bagua from his uncle Liu QingFu, a famous student of Yin Fu. Later he moved to Beijing, and beginning in the 1920's and 30's he learned from the bagua master Yin YuZhang, Yin Fu's son. Later he helped Li ShaoAn take care of Ma Gui and also inherited the whole system of Ma Gui bagua. He became the most important inheritor of Ma Gui bagua. He was almost like a new figure of Ma Gui, he was skilled at practicing the crab style and the linking palms. When he issued power it was as heavy and as fearsome as Ma Gui.He was very good at striking pressure points, and grabbing the tendons and controlling the pulse.He inherited all of Ma Gui's special skills such as the wrist strike, the dragging palm, the chopping palm, the fire-wheel palm, the back-fist, and the hard striking. More information on Master Liu WanChuan, please go to the: Commemorative article on Liu Wanchuan The third generation of MaGui style BaguaZhang ---Yu ZhiMing LaoShi AKA Yu JiNian (1920 - )
Yu ZhiMing was born in HaiYang county, Shandong province.He began to learn bagua from the famous bagua master LIu QingFu when he was 16 years old.He trained very hard for three years, but had to move to Beijing because there were a series of kidnappings in his hometown at that time.After moving to Beijing he had to support himself and his new family and was unable to continue training. Due to his busy work schedule, and a shortage of food at that time, he developed a serious stomach disease. At the end of the 1960's, he met Liu WanChuan in Beijing during the cultural revolution. He began to learn bagua from Master Liu, and spent more than thenty years learning from him and inheriting the complete Ma Gui bagua system. He achieved a very high level of bagua, he was especially good at the stretching palm, the spearing palm, the shoving palm, striking with the shoulder, the dragging palm, the pressing-down palm, and the covering palm. He was also very good at the bagua kicking techniques, and his understanding of the internal dan tian training reached an especially high level.
The third generation of MaGui style BaguaZhang ---Fan YaoHua LaoShi （1934 - ）
Fan YaoHua was born and raised in Ji county, Hebei province. He worked in the same factory as Liu WanChuan. Because he was so weak and frail, Master Liu offered to teach him bagua to improve his health. He began to learn from Master Liu in 1959 and learned from him for more than thirty years, learned all the bagua routines. He is a very optimistic person, always willing to help others. He trained bagua for health and wellness, without concentrating on the fighting skill so he is a very open-minded and happy person. He taught many people openly and selflessly. --- 彭广增
--- 孙笃令
--- 毕桀
--- 李文岭
另外，刘先师还有几个练功有成的弟子，等以后有了他们的情况，再介绍出来。
The Fourth Generation of Ma Gui style BaguaZhang --- Li BaoHua (1964 - )
Li BaoHua was born and raised in QueShan county, Henan province. In 1982 He began learning bagua from Shi ChongYing LaoShiwhile attending Zhengzhou university, and in 1984 became one of his apprentices. He spent almost ten years learning Ma Weiqi bagua, Yang style Taiji, and Xing yi from Shi LaoShi. In 1986 he began to learn Cheng style bagua from Zhang RongLi LaoShi, and spent four years training under his instruction. In 1989 he was fortunate enough to meet Ma Gui bagua inheritor Yu ZhiMing LaoShi and from that time began a very close student-teacher relationship with Yu LaoShi. Out of his utmost respect for Yu LaoShi, Li BaoHua whole-heartedly accepted his instruction in bagua and many other matters. He trained Ma Gui bagua year after year without cease, and became the inheritor of Ma Gui bagua. Although he has been practicing so long and so hard without cease, Li feels his bagua has still not reached the level that the previous generation expects of him.He began to learn from Fan YaoHua LaoShi in 2007 after he had learned almost 17 years from Yu LaoShi, and also he learned from Li Tao LaoShi who is the son-in-law of Master Liu WanChuan in 2008. Bagua is one of the most precious ways of life in the world, and must be passed on to the following generations so that the whole world can benefit from it. The previous generation of teachers have already reached a very old age and it is impossible for them to continue passing down the teachings of bagua. Li wants to pass on all of the bagua trainings, but he has already reached his middle ages and does not have the youthful energy required for such a great responsibility. He worries and fears for the future of bagua, and would like to invite those with the ability and character to understand and promote this way of life to help spread it throughout whole world.
Note: Bagua has left us with three mysteries: the origin of bagua, Dong HaiChuan's teacher and Dong HaiChuan's life and age. Ma Gui's and Li ShaoAn's ages are recorded in some books as different from what I learned from my teachers. I hope that at some point I can contact their descendants and confirm these details. I will correct these facts as soon as I learn more on the matter.
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