Examples of well-known practitioners (武术名师) throughout history:

• Yue Fei (1103–1142 CE) was a famous Chinese general and patriot of the Song Dynasty. Styles such as Eagle Claw and Xingyiquan attribute their creation to Yue. However, there is no historical evidence to support the claim he created these styles.

• Ng Mui (late 17th century) was the legendary female founder of many Southern martial arts such as Wing Chun, and Fujian White Crane. She is often considered one of the legendary Five Elders who survived the destruction of the Shaolin Temple during the Qing Dynasty.

• Yang Luchan (1799–1872) was an important teacher of the internal martial art known as t'ai chi ch'uan in Beijing during the second half of the 19th century. Yang is known as the founder of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan, as well as transmitting the art to the Wu/Hao, Wu and Sun t'ai chi families.

• Ten Tigers of Canton (late 19th century) was a group of ten of the top Chinese martial arts masters in Guangdong (Canton) towards the end of the Qing Dynasty(1644–1912). Wong Kei-Ying, Wong Fei Hung's father, was a member of this group.

• Wong Fei Hung (1847–1924) was considered a Chinese folk hero during the Republican period. More than one hundred Hong Kong movies were made about his life.Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li have all portrayed his character in blockbuster pictures.

• Huo Yuanjia (1867–1910) was the founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association who was known for his highly publicized matches with foreigners. His biography was recently portrayed in the movie Fearless (2006).

• Yip Man (1893–1972) was a master of the Wing Chun and the first to teach this style openly. Yip Man was the teacher of Bruce Lee. Most major branches of Wing Chun taught in the West today were developed and promoted by students of Yip Man.

• Bruce Lee (1940–1973) was a Chinese American martial artist and actor who was considered an important icon in the 20th century.[63] He practiced Wing Chunand made it famous. Using Wing Chun as his base and learning from the influences of other martial arts his experience exposed him to, he later developed his own martial arts philosophy that evolved into what is now called Jeet Kune Do.

• Jackie Chan (b. 1954) is a Chinese martial artist and actor widely known for injecting physical comedy into his martial arts performances, and for performing complex stunts in many of his films.

• Jet Li (b. 1963) is the five-time sport wushu champion of China, later demonstrating his skills in cinema.

• Donnie Yen (b. 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and world wushu tournament medalist.

• Wu Jing (b. 1974) is a Hong Kong actor director, martial artist. He was a member of the Beijing wushu team. He started his career as action choreographer and later as an actor.