Xingyiquan (Chinese: 形意拳; pinyin: Xíngyìquán; Wade–Giles: Hsing I Ch'üan) is one of the major "internal" or Wudang styles of Chinese martial arts. The word translates approximately to "Form/Intention Boxing", or "Shape/Will Boxing", and is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements and explosive power. There is no single organizational body governing the teaching of the art, and several variant styles exist.

A practitioner of xingyiquan uses coordinated movements to generate bursts of power intended to overwhelm the opponent, simultaneously attacking and defending. Forms vary from school to school, but include barehanded sequences and versions of the same sequences with a variety of weapons. These sequences are based upon the movements and fighting behavior of a variety of animals. The training methods allow the student to progress through increasing difficulty in form sequences, timing and fighting strategy.

The exact origin of xingyiquan is unknown. The earliest written records of it can be traced to the 18th century to Ma Xueli of Henan Province and Dai Long Bang of Shanxi Province. Legend, however, credits the creation of xingyiquan to the renowned Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) general Yue Fei.

Sam Masich is a taijiquan instructor, performing songwriter and filmmaker residing in Vancouver, Canada and Berlin, Germany.

Sam Masich was born February 7, 1962 in Prince George, British Columbia Canada. He began his career with an intensive apprenticeship in taijiquan and judo at age 18 with Brien Gallagher in Burnaby, BC. By age twenty, he was teaching in community centres in Vancouver BC and in 1985 was selected to Canada's national Chinese martial arts team to compete in the 1st World Wushu Invitational tournament in Xian, China. Between the years 1985 and 1988, Masich competed in tournaments around the USA gaining a reputation as a top taijiquan/neijiaquan competitor. He currently resides in Berlin, Germany.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Masich became a formal disciple of Dr. Yang Jwing Ming (Jwing-Ming Yang) and Liang Shouyu. As well he furthered his studies with Yang Zhen Duo, Chen Xiaowang and Jou Tsung Hwa. During this time he began teaching workshops and seminars in his native Canada and elsewhere. He created the "5 Section Taijiquan Program" and has published articles and films on taijiquan (T'ai chi ch'uan, taijijian, pushing hands), Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and other subjects.

Zhou Yue (周岳) (died 893), courtesy name Junzhao (峻昭), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan) from 886 to 893.

It is not known when Zhou Yue was born, and not much is known about his background, as there was no biography for him in either of the official histories of Tang Dynasty (the Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang). It is known that he was from Zouxi (陬溪, in modern Changde, Hunan), and likely of non-Han extraction, for he was an associate of the non-Han Lei Man and hunted with Lei. On one occasion when they hunted together, they fought over the distribution of the meat, and he tried to kill Lei but could not.

In 881, Lei gathered a group of men and attacked and captured Lang Prefecture (朗州, in modern Changde), which Zouxi belonged to. Zhou, hearing this news, gathered a group of men as well and attacked Heng Prefecture (modern Hengyang in Hunan), expelling the prefect Xu Hao (徐顥). Then-reigning Emperor Xizong, then facing the major rebellion of the agrarian rebel Huang Chao, commissioned Zhou as the prefect of Heng.