Ma, Jie 马杰大师

Grandmaster Ma, Jie (Taoist name Yi Jiong Zi) was the 12th generation gatekeeper of Wudang Xuanmen Dan Pai and a famous Taoist priest with formal training. He was born in September of 1925 to a martial arts family in Tianjin, China. At the age of four, Grandmaster Ma began training in martial arts. When he turned six, he entered into Taoism and became a monk. At the age of eight, he was taken as a disciple of the great Wudang Taoist master Xuan Dan and began training on Wudang Mountain in Yu Zhen Palace which belonged to the founder of Wudang Martial Arts, Zhang, San-Feng. For over ten years, Grandmaster Ma, Jie was trained in Traditional Wudang Taiji, Taiji Push Hands, Qigong, Taoist Nei Dan Gong, healing arts, and other meditation practices.

After leaving the mountain, Grandmaster Ma returned to Tianjin, where he was taken as disciple of the famous internal martial arts master Han Mu-Xia. From Han Mu-Xia, he learned Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, and Dian Xue/Dim Mak (death points). While training with Han Mu-Xia, Grandmaster Ma acted as his assistant instructor. After Great Master Han’s death, Grandmaster Ma, Jie succeeded him as headmaster of the Han Mu-Xia Martial Arts Academy. As headmaster, he taught students from all over China totaling more than 3,000 people.

After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1975, little by little Grandmaster Ma began teaching again in public. Slowly the name of Ma Jie became known again. In 1989, at the invitation of the Wudang Mountain Taoist Association and the Wudang Boxing Techniques Research Association, Grandmaster Ma presented a paper titled “The Wonderful Application of Wudang Qigong Taiji” in the “First Conference on Theories and Approaches for Wudang Boxing”. During this gathering, he won the Excellence Award.

In 1991, Grandmaster Ma became the Professor of the Department of Health at Tianjin Seniors University. For nine years as professor he taught Wudang health arts and had more than 1800 students.

After that, Grandmaster Ma set up the “Taiji Health Center” and the “Wudang Boxing and Wudang Sword Training Center” located at Tianjin University. He served as Head Coach and taught more than 2000 students from China and from around the world.

In 1991, Grandmaster Ma won the gold medal for demonstrating Wudang Dan Pai Wudang Sword in the First Wudang Cultural and Martial Arts Festival in Hubei, China.

In 1993, Grandmaster Ma won the Excellence Award for his paper on Wudang Qigong Taiji Chuan at the Second Annual Conference on the Studies of Theories and Approaches for Wudang Boxing.

In 1996, at the invitation of the China-Canada Culture Promoting Association, Grandmaster Ma traveled to Quebec, Canada, and taught Chinese Taoist Health Cultivation arts at the University of Montreal. Also during this time he taught Wudang Tenderization Nei Gong, 8 Brocade in Bed Qigong, and Wudang Dan Pai Wudang Sword at the Liang Qi Chinese Martial Arts Association. Grandmaster Ma was given the title of International Coach by the Olympic Physical Education Center in Montreal.

In 1942, he built “Ying Wu She” (Outstanding Martial Artists Association) and served as its president. Over the next decade, Grandmaster Ma Jie entered many martial arts competitions. In these competitions he fought Japanese, Korean, and Russian boxers, wrestlers, and martial artists. In these years he won many gold and silver cups.

In 1946, Grandmaster Ma was designated by the Nanjing Central Martial Arts Academy(one of the most famous martial arts academies in China’s history) to be the Vice-President of the Tianjin Branch of their Association. After this, Grandmaster Ma led his students and disciples to enter the “First Physical Education Festival Competition”. They won many awards.

In 1952, Grandmaster Ma, Jie began teaching students in Tianjin’s Hai He Square. It was around this time that he met and began training with great Master Meng, Xiao-Feng, the 11th generation gatekeeper of Traditional Wudang Dan Pai Wudang Sword. For more than twenty years, Grandmaster Ma trained with his master and was eventually taken as the master’s only disciple. With great Master Meng, Xiao-Feng, Grandmaster Ma learned the complete set of Traditional Wudang Sword, the two-person fighting form, Wudang Flying Sword, and Wudang Sword Sparring. He became the only inheritor of the ancient Wudang Sword techniques.

During the years of the Cultural Revolution, Grandmaster Ma became a target of the Red Guards because of his high standing in Chinese martial arts. He was captured and seriously beaten, resulting in broken hands, a crushed foot, and a fractured spine. For over a year, no physician would treat him for fear of being blacklisted. During this time, Grandmaster Ma healed himself, using the techniques he had learned from his master on Wudang Mountain.

In 1998, Grandmaster Ma won the Wudang Cup and the title of “Best Contributor for Wudang Martial Arts” in the Third Annual Research Conference on Theories and Approaches to Wudang Boxing held on Wudang Mountain.

In 1999, Grandmaster Ma won the Jing Ying Cup at the Wudang Famous Martial Artists Invitational Competition and was hired as Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Wudang Boxing Research Institute. He then competed at the Da Lian Wudang Boxing Technique Research Institute and won the Excellence Award. He was then hired as a consultant for the institute.

In 2000, Grandmaster Ma won the Hua Long Cup in the National Famous Wudang Martial Artists Invitational Competition. Later that year he was invited to Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Martial Arts Association to teach Wudang martial arts. He demonstrated Wudang Neigong Taiji and Wudang Taiji 13 Postures Push Hands. He was later given an award by the association.

In 2002, Grandmaster Ma, Jie was the Chief Judge at the Asian Pacific Traditional Martial Arts Exchange Competition and won the Gold Cup award for Outstanding Judge.

In 2003, Grandmaster Ma won the Top Level Gold Medal of “Jing Wu Cup” in the 2nd Annual National Outstanding Martial Arts School Competition and the Famous Martial Artists Invitational Competition.

Finally, in 2005, at the age of 80, Grandmaster Ma came out of retirement to compete in an international fighting tournament. He won first place and beat his competitor, the president of the Ukrainian Fighting Association, who, at 30 years old, was fifty years younger than Grandmaster Ma.

Grandmaster Ma, Jie had taken 32 disciples including Master Chang, Wu Na and Dr. Lu, Mei-Hui who are the current world leaders of his system outside of China.