Ma Xianda was born in 1932 to a Muslim Hui

Hui people

The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...

 family in Hebei

Hebei

' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...

 whose association with martial arts

Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...

 goes back six generations. Ma Xianba was taught by his father Ma Fengtu and uncle Ma Yintu. He is only one of four living masters to have reached the highest level of Chinese martial arts (Ninth Duan).

In the course of his life, Ma has studied many traditional forms of wushu

Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...

, including tongbeiquan

Tongbeiquan

Tongbeiquan is a school of martial arts popular in northern China. Tongbeiquan's basic precepts are Taoist in nature and many of the training methods in Tongbeiquan are similar to those of the internal styles...

, piguaquan

Piguaquan

Piguaquan , also known as Piguazhang due to its emphasis on palm techniques, is often practiced along with Bajiquan and is a style of wushu that features explosive, long-range power...

, bajiquan

Bajíquán

Bājíquán is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan...

, bashanfen, and cuojiao. He has also studied Western boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

 and fencing

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

. Ma has coached the International Wushu champion Zhao Changjun, and taught Jet Li

Jet Li

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...

 the Chinese martial art of fanziquan

Fanziquán

Fānziquán is a Chinese martial art that emphasizes offense and defense with the hands. Its movements have been described as:Fānziquán routines are usually quite short and very fast...

. Ma's sons, Ma Yue

Ma Yue

Ma Yue was born in 1959 to a Muslim Hui family in Hebei whose association with martial arts goes back six generations.As a five year old, his father Ma Xianda took him to train with his grandfather, Ma Fengtu where he learned his family styles Tongbeiquan, Piguaquan, Fanziquan, Bajiquan, and Cuojiao...

 and Ma Lun, are national champions and noted masters. More than twenty of Ma's close students have earned the coveted title of Wu Yin or "martial hero," a title conferred on athletes who have repeatedly placed in the top three positions in national competition.

Students

• Gao Xian, who played a major supporting role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
  
  
• Ma Yue
  Ma Yue
  Ma Yue was born in 1959 to a Muslim Hui family in Hebei whose association with martial arts goes back six generations.As a five year old, his father Ma Xianda took him to train with his grandfather, Ma Fengtu where he learned his family styles Tongbeiquan, Piguaquan, Fanziquan, Bajiquan, and Cuojiao...
  
   (son)
• Ma Lun (son)
• Zhao Changjun