Northern Praying Mantis (martial art)

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For the Southern Chinese self-defence technique of the Hakka people, see Southern Praying Mantis (martial art).

Northern Praying Mantis (Chinese: 螳螂拳; pinyin: tánglángquán; literally "praying mantis fist") is a style of Chinese martial arts, sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis after its province of origin. It was created by Wang Lang and was named after the praying mantis, an insect, the aggressiveness of which inspired the style. Shaolin records document that Wang Lang was one of the 18 masters gathered by the Shaolin Abbot Fu Yu (福裕) (1203-1275)[1], which dates him and Northern Praying Mantis to the Song Dynasty (960–1279).

The mantis is a long and narrow predatory insect. While heavily armoured, it is not built to withstand forces from perpendicular directions. Consequently, its fighting style involves the use of whip-like/circular motions to deflect direct attacks, which it follows up with precise attacks to the opponent's vital spots. These traits have been subsumed into the Northern Praying Mantis style, under the rubric of "removing something" (blocking to create a gap) and "adding something" (rapid attack).

One of the most distinctive features of Northern Praying Mantis is the "praying mantis hook" (螳螂勾; pinyin: tángláng gōu): a hook made of one to three fingers directing force in a whip-like manner. The hook may be used to divert force (blocking) or to attack critical spots (eyes, face, accupuncture points). These are particularly useful in combination, for example using the force imparted from a block to power an attack. So if the enemy punches with the right hand, a Northern Praying Mantis practitioner might hook outwards with the left hand (shifting the body to the left) and use the turning force to attack the enemy's neck with a right hook. Alternately, she might divert downwards with the left hook and rebound with the left wrist stump to jaw/nose/throat.

Northern Praying Mantis is especially famous for its speed and continuous attacks. Another prominent feature of the style is its complex footwork, borrowed from Monkey Kung Fu.

Contents

[edit] Styles

[edit] Widespread styles

There are several styles of Northern Praying Mantis, the most famous of which are:

[edit] Seven Star Praying Mantis Boxing 七星螳螂拳

pinyin: qī xīng tángláng quán

This style is widespread in Shandong Province and surrounding areas. Luó Guāngyù (羅光玉) is famous for having passed down this style to Hong Kong and other parts of South China, where it is still practiced today. Seven Star is known as the 'hardest' of the Praying Mantis styles. Although seven star praying mantis is considered the "hardest" of the Mantis styles certain aspects of it are very internal compared with other external styles of Kung fu(Gong fu). It features seven star stance, hard hitting and subtlety. In this style it is important to train the waist and legs consistently as much of the Mantis power is generated from them. It is a combination of hardness and softness(yin/yang). It is often tricky and can be unpredictable. A practictioner must move lightly but hit with relatively strong strikes to vital areas. Many blows are fired in quick succession.

[edit] Tàijí Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing 太極梅花螳螂拳

pinyin: tàijíméihuā tángláng quán

This style is, historically, a combination of two different lineages of Northern Praying Mantis: Tàijí Praying Mantis and Plum Blossom Praying Mantis. Today, the style is the predecessor of what have become three different styles of Northern Praying Mantis: Tàijí Praying Mantis, Plum Blossom Praying Mantis, and Tàijí Plum Blossom Praying Mantis; all three trace their lineage to the 5th/6th Generation disciple of Wang Lang, Liang Xue Xiang, who combined the two styles in the 19th Century. This style is widespread in Shandong Province and surrounding areas. What is now called Tàijí Plum Blossom Praying Mantis traces its lineage to Hǎo Liányù (郝蓮玉), who was a disciple of Liang Xue Xiang. Hǎo Liányù and his many sons have since spread the style elsewhere. This style is well-known for its large, two-handed sword, and for being somewhat 'softer' than Seven Star Praying Mantis.

[edit] Tàijí Praying Mantis Boxing 太極螳螂拳

pinyin: tàijí tángláng quán

This style is, like most other Northern Praying Mantis styles, based in Shandong Province, and has since become prevalent in places such as Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and North America. This style traces its lineage to Sun Yuan Chang, who was a disciple of Liang Xue Xiang. Its most famous progenitor is Zhao Zhu Xi, who is said to have taught (both directly and indirectly) thousands of students during his lifetime in Vietnam and Hong Kong, who have since spread to all corners of the globe. He was given the (Cantonese) nickname Chuk Kai, meaning "Bamboo Creek", for a famous battle he fought with bandits at that location.

[edit] Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing 梅花螳螂拳

pinyin: méihuā tángláng quán

Widespread in Shandong Province and its surrounding areas, including Korea. Plum Blossom Praying Mantis traces its lineage to the blood brothers Jiang Hua Long and Song Zi De, both disciples of Liang Xue Xiang. The former is credited with refining the style by adding movements and techniques from Connecting Arm Boxing (Tong Bei Quán) and Eight Trigrams Palm (Bāguàzhǎng). Late in his life, Jiang Hua Long's continual refinement prompted him to develop a new style named Eight Step Praying Mantis (bā bù tángláng quán), which is listed below.

[edit] Six Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing 六合螳螂拳

pinyin: liù hé tángláng quán

Known as the 'softest' or most 'internal' of the Praying Mantis styles, Six Harmony Praying Mantis was passed down by Dīng Zǐchéng (丁子成), whose students taught in Shandong Province as well as Taiwan. Six Harmony Praying Mantis has a very different curriculum, with unique routines not found in other Praying Mantis styles.

[edit] Rare styles

Other, less widespread styles include:

[edit] Eight Step Praying Mantis Boxing 八步螳螂拳

pinyin: bā bù tángláng quán

This style was originally conceived by Jiang Hua Long, and was further refined by his principle disciple of the style, Féng Huányì (馮環義), which was passed down by his disciple Wèi Xiàotáng (衛笑堂) in Taiwan.

[edit] Shiny Board Praying Mantis Boxing 光板螳螂拳

pinyin: guāng bǎn tángláng quán

Rare style of Praying Mantis, also known as flat plate or hidden grip Praying Mantis.

[edit] Long Fist Praying Mantis Boxing 長拳螳螂拳

pinyin: cháng quán tángláng quán

Rare style of Praying Mantis. Influenced strongly by Chángquán (literally "long fist").

[edit] Throwing Hand Praying Mantis Boxing 摔手螳螂拳

pinyin: shuāi shǒu tángláng quán

This style was passed down by Wáng Sōngtíng (王松亭) in Shandong Province.

[edit] Secret Gate Praying Mantis Boxing 秘門螳螂拳

pinyin: mì mén tángláng quán

This style was passed down by Zhāng Dékuí (張德奎) in Taiwan.

[edit] Seeking Leg Praying Mantis Boxing 探腿螳螂拳

pinyin: tàn tuǐ tángláng quán

This rare style was passed down by Pui Chan, who immigrated to the United States.

[edit] Schools

There are many schools of Northern Praying Mantis. In Taiwan, there are the students and grandstudents of Eight Step Praying Mantis master Wèi Xiàotáng, Secret Gate master Zhāng Dékuí, Six Harmony master Zhang Xiangsan, and Wang Songting, who is linked to multiple styles, including Long Fist Praying Mantis, Plum Blossom Praying Mantis, Tàijí Praying Mantis, and Throwing Hand Praying Mantis as well as Tàijíquán. In the Mainland Chinese capital of Beijing, there are the students of Tàijí Praying Mantis and Six Harmony Praying Mantis master Ma Hanqing, his successors outside of China include Ilya Profatilov in New Haven, CT, Hu Xilin in Canada, Gao Jian in Australia. In Shandong, there are the students and grandstudents of Tàijí Plum Blossom Praying Mantis master Hao Bin, Tàijí Praying Mantis master Wang Yushan and his sons Wang Yuanqian, Wang Yuanliang, Seven Star Praying Mantis master Lin Jingshan and countless others in this province, the homeland of Northern Praying Mantis. One of the successors of Seven Star Praying Mantis master Luó Guāngyù was Chiu Chi-Man, who passed the art on to his nephew Chiu Leun and to his student Lee Kam-Wing, whose successors include John Cheng of the United States, Brandon Jones of Texas, Latouille Fabien of France and Dirceu Amaral Camargo of Brazil, as well as Seven Star Praying Mantis teachers in Germany and Italy, Hungary, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Canada. There are schools for seeking leg mantis (Northern Jade Forest Seeking Leg Mantis) in Boston, MA and Rapid City, SD. Eight Step Praying Mantis Kung Fu is spread throughout North America through the American Chinese Martial Arts Federation, with schools in several states including California, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, and Texas. Eight Step is also taught internationally in British Columbia.

[edit] Media

[edit] Film

In The Tricky Master (1999), Stephen Chow's apprentice beats an overweight card sharp in a "fixed" high-stakes poker game. When taunted, the card sharp jumps onto the playing table and defeats Chow's deaf cross-dressing bodyguard with a “long lost kung fu” called “Fat Mantis”, which is the “most powerful...and kills without blood”. (Note the card sharp’s shadow cast upon the wall in the shape of an overweight mantis with a big round belly.) In the end, Stephen Chow sprays the card sharp with a can of insecticide. He falls to the ground dead with his hands and legs held into the air like a bug.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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