Grand Master Ma Jian Feng
Northern Shaolin Kung Fu Grandmaster Ma Jian Feng (Ma Kin Fung) was born in Toi San of Guangdong province in China. He was the son of a merchant who conducted business affairs in Canada.
From an early age, Ma Kin Fung was keen to learn Chinese martial arts. His dream crystalized while he was a high school student in Guangzhou (a city in Guangdong, aka Canton, formerly spelled in English as Kwangchow) when he befriended a classmate whose father was the famous Kung Fu Master Kwan Tak Hing. Upon noticing Ma Kin Fung’s eagerness to learn, Master Kwan was happy to make him his student and teach him everything he knew about Chinese martial arts.
From the beginning of his training, Ma Kin Fung studied and practiced rigorously, both day and night, to learn all internal and external martial art forms. He became skilled in many famous techniques, including Shaolin Law Hon Fist and various traditional weapons.
Years later, during the Sino-Japanese War, Master Ma joined the army. Due to this chaotic period, he eventually lost contact with Master Kwan.
In recollection, Master Ma would always sigh, feeling quite badly that he never saw his Sifu (martial arts master) again, due to the circumstances of his life at that turbulent time in history.
To benefit from other teaching styles, Master Ma later learned from two other famous masters of Northern style martial arts: Gu Ruzhang and Suen Yuk Fung. Returning home in , he discovered that Japan had invaded China.
Consequently, Master Ma decided that it was his duty to use his martial arts skills to help his country. He promoted martial arts by establishing training centers. As a result the awareness of the Northern martial arts styles increased dramatically in Southern China.
Ma Kin Fung | Celebrated Martial Artist
In , Master Ma Kin Fung was the martial arts trainer for the Toi San Police Station. Two years later, he became a military martial arts trainer. He returned to Guangzhou, opening the “Long Chong Fist Kung Fu Club,” before going to Hong Kong to become the trainer for the Hak Keung Gymnasium or Hak Geung Gin Lik Hok Yuen (克強健力學院) (in the Wan Chai area of Hong Kong) and the martial arts coach of Ling Dong Secondary school.
Most importantly, Master Ma was enthusiastically promoting martial arts. Ma Kin Fung became very well known in South China and the martial arts community, in general. His dedication to the propagation of the Northern style, in particular, gained him many good students in China and overseas.
Master Ma Kin Fung took pleasure in sharing, with his students, stories about the past, culture, and politics; and discussing current affairs, world issues, and of course, martial arts. He spoke about fighting and the virtues of studying martial arts from a moral perspective. His advice to students was often regarding the “virtue” of what being a “good martial artist” meant and how to develop their good qualities as individuals.
Grand Master Ma Jian Feng had many students. Among his student were Chan Kwok Wai and Wong Jackman.
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