Mantis Kung fu

The Benefits of Studying Mantis Fist

Mantis Fist demands that head, shoulders, elbow, wrist and waist are flexible during practice. All the joints of the body are needed to stretch in order to improve ones' flexibility and internal abilities, so it is useful for keeping the joints strong and flexible. It is effective for strengthening your body and prolonging lifespan. The hand movements in Mantis Fist are mainly an arc or a circle; able to reduce and counter the attack of an opponent. The movements are fast and continuous, so you can protect yourself effectively and beat a stronger opponent.

Mantis Fist is an ideal martial art for both beginners and experts wishing to improve their

health and fighting ability.

The Style of the Mantis Kung fu

The Mantis Fist has several hundred years of history. It is unique and excellent, Mantis Kung fu absorbing the theory of Yin Yang, hard and soft .
Mantis Fist emphasises movements to resemble the physical form of a mantis, especially taking its brave spirit, the alternation between the upward and downward movements, and coordinating the internal and external movements. It is useful for short-range and long-range attacks. Hand, step and leg techniques are often used together in order to create an effective offencive and defencive ability. The movements are stable, agile and fast, with abundant and abrupt changes, hard but not stiff, soft but with power, fast but without disorder. The movements keep complete positions for different situations. Mantis Fist uses power abruptly and fast, tense and loose, while flexible.

Mantis fist imitates the mantis’ front claw, so it is simply named “Mantis Claw”. The main hand techniques include hook(gou), embrace (lou), grab (cai), defense with mantis hook (gua), wind (chan), chop (pi), collapse(beng), cut(jie), etc. The main steps include empty step, four and six step, jade ring step. The main step techniques include slippery step, following step, triangle step, arrow step, etc. The body techniques mostly develop around the hand and arm, moving in an arc, a circle, winding inward or outward, and spinning, the waist coordinates with the body and limbs through continuously twisting, wrenching, winding, and turning. The available power is great, as hard and soft is able to move in four directions, including upward and downward spirals. Traditionally, it is seen as as soft as a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water, and a butterfly flying across the flowers. It is brave and fierce like a tiger going down hill, like a dragon exploding out from water. It is fast like lightning in the night’s sky; it is stable like a mountain when still. The movements employ Yin and Yang aspects, the power is trembling, with continuous movements. It combines both attack and defence, using fist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and foot, often leaving no way for the opponent .

The History of Mantis Kung fu

The creator and origin of Mantis Fist have been told in many different versions, but the following version is most commonly accepted. Mantis Kung fu

Yantai has been found the original home of Mantis Fist through much research.

Mantis Fist has nearly 200 years of history and Yantai is verified as the original place through many kinds of researches . It’s well known that Mantis Fist was created by Wang Lang who lived in the late of Ming Dynasty and in the early of Qing Dynasty.

Yu Qi was a leader of a peasant uprising against the Manchu (Qing Dynasty). When the revolt was crushed, he was forced to seek refuge in one of the villages in the Laoshan Mountains (1133m high). Nevertheless, he was discovered by the Manchu Army and had to flee to Huayansi temple nearby. Then Yu Qi became a true monk, and the creator of Tang Lang fist. Throughout the whole time he was in contact with the peasant rebel leaders coming from all directions. The secret was kept on a piece of paper with both sides of which was written his Buddhist name: Shang Shan Xia He. After folding the paper, the characters Shang and Xia combined to create the character Wang. This is why Yu Qi used to call himself Wang. He would also say that his name is Deyizi, nickname Qian Sisan. Character Qian combined with Yi are read as Wang. The characters Deyi mean to add one or to add the symbol '', whereas Zi means 'son', 'boy', and another name for boy is Lang. That gives the full name Wang Lang. The rebel leaders, in order to avoid mentioning Yu Qi, would say that they went to look forWang Lang to practice the Mantis style.

It is said that Wang Lang went to LaoshanMountains, and he saw an ancient temple, abode of hermits and decided to enter for some food and water. The first thing he saw was Taoist monks practicing the art of boxing in the main plaza of the temple. Then a conflict broke out, and Wang Lang fought with the abbot, but Wang Lang failed. Wang Lang realized the depth of the abbot's martial skills and immediately left the temple. Mantis Kung fu

Wang Lang went to the woods. He lied down under a huge tree and wondered why he lost the fight. Suddenly he saw two white praying mantises on the tree fighting for an insect. During the fight, one mantis was attacking while the other would jump from side to side, ducking and counter-attacking with the lightning speed. Wang Lang concentrated wholly on this fight and suddenly realised the hidden principles of amazing agility of mantis attacks and defence. He swiftly returned to the temple and attacked the abbot once more . Wang Lang won the fight, and the abbot, surprised,asked how it was possible. The abbot invited him to live in the temple after finding how Wang Lang had won. They spent quite a long time in observing the mantises’ fight and engaging in deadly battles.Eventually the temple developed a new, secret technique which was different from all other styles and regarded as the earliest Mantis Fist, namely Mantis Beng Bu Fist. Wang Lang continued to make his own style, perfected through absorbing the essence of other 17 famous styles, called “the Gate of Mantis”.

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