According to actor Chen Kuan-tai, most of the Shaw Brothers films took roughly two months to work on, but due to a tight schedule, this had to be shot in one month. With this cramped schedule, director Chang Cheh was only able to direct during the night shoots while uncredited director Pao Hsueh-li directed during the day shoots.
Similar to when Bruce Lee starred in Tang shan da xiong (1971), star Chen Kuan-tai was a Cantonese speaker, but Ma yong zhen was a Mandarin production. However, unlike Lee, who spoke Cantonese during shooting and was dubbed in Mandarin later on, Chen actually learned how to say his lines in Mandarin, even though he wasn't completely sure what they meant. Ironically, actor Cheung Pui San was the Mandarin voice actor for both Lee and Chen.
The famous final fight when Ma Yong Zhen takes on the hatchet gang took 10 days to complete.
The fight with the European challenger, played by Mario Milano, took roughly 5 days to complete.
The symbol on the back of the cart that is unveiled midway through the film is the word "Ma", the main character's surname.