Calling Mantis People !!!

[stuartm]

Hi Does anyone know this guy in the link from my website. He started teaching me a bit of Mantis at the opening of the Ip Man Tong and is a Committe member at the Foshan Jing Wu.

He was a real character and id love to know who he is!!!!

http://www.swanseavingtsun.com/gALLERY17.htm

Thanks, Stuart:confused:

[CFT]

Stuart's trying to identify the guy on the left by the way.

[X-Warrior]

Hmmmmm, sorry to disappoint you but this does not look mantis to me at at any level. His style more resembles Choy Lee Fut or Crane for you will never see a mantis practitioner holding out his hand in the back, neither will you find anyone get into a low and wide stance - these are also unlikely characteristics of the preying mantis insect. Mantis emphesizes close range combat with tight forms and stances (more like Wing Tsun) and as short and direct moves as possible - in order to conserv energy. Legitimate schools can be found at the right places, let me know where you are and I can try to refer some schools to you.

Anyone else?

-X-

[X-Warrior]

Oh, I just reread your post, if he is a rep from the Jing Wu, it makes more sense. If I am correct Jing Wu teaches Hung Gar, which is more what I can see on this picture instead of mantis hands. Did he tell you where and whom he learned his 'mantis' from?

-X-

[David]

Ask in the Northern mantis forum, though I agree with X that it doesn't look like any typical mantis and more like hung gar or clf.

Got any more info/background?

Rgds,
David

[Ben Gash]

Not CLF.

[stuartm]

Hi,

Thanks for all the contributions.

Ive had an email saying that this guy is a northern mantis stylist and he may be connected either with the Pan Nam wing chun family.

This gets more and more interesting.......!!!

Stu

[X-Warrior]

YW Stu, good luck! Still if he claims what we see on the photo to be mantis, I would use extra caution, I have several years of intense study in Southern mantis as well as consulting with other Southern/Northern mantis schools and none of them even resebles what the picture shows. If he is not demonstrating manitis to you at the time the photo was taken, please ignore my warning to you but if it is, I would certainly be most careful. Unfortunately there are MANY pretenders in the martial arts and again, what you see on the picture is none of any mantis styles I know of or have ever seen. This is also not the characteristics of the real (mantis) insect therefore the style does not consist postures such as the one seen on the picture. Mantis is a lot more like Wing Tsun with closed stances, Nothern does uses lower and wider stances but the hands kept in front of the body most times protecting the center line. We do use wider angles with the arms sometimes but no mantis styles ever puts the arm opposite sides from one another.

Any more questions, please feel free to ask me.

-X-

[X-Warrior]

David, I got a great kick out of your (?) website. Which one on the picture is you? This is some VERY funny stuff!! LOL.

-X-

[stuartm]

This is a really interesting thread !!!

Ive also got a picture of him doin the splits which i'll post - are you mantis guys known for your suppleness / flexibility ???

The mystery continues, but he was definitely not a wing chun man, although I know very little of the other styles of mainland wing chun.

Keep the ideas coming guys!!!;)

Peace, Stu

[X-Warrior]

Stu, I think he is a 'Hung Garist'. The old famous Jing Wu school taught Hung Gar and I think that is what we see he is doing (pull out your old dusty Bruce Lee movie: The Chinese connection where Lee plays a student of this school). Most certainly not mantis of any kind I know of. Search the web for any mantis schools and view the pictures closely, you will see the hands held in front of the body, rarely wider than 90 degrees and if even so, it is to grab and pull the opponent's arm so you would see some kind of grabbing with at least one hand. Mantis tend to make a use of both arms and legs at the same time and do not put the arm behind the body to create more power in the leading hand.

Flexibility? High kicks are not used in mantis, we do them to practice defense against them, but the style itself does not contain high kicks. Again, the best comparision here is Wing Tsun, low kicks and low leg blocks. Remember the mantis style was created by immitating the insect itself and if you study this little creature, you sill see why the person on the picture is NOT doing mantis style, the insect is not capable for spreading it's 'arms' to a 180 degree angle.

-X-

[Shaolin Dude]

I thought jing wu teaches mi zhong chuan

[Simhanada]

Why not just e-mail the guy off his website and ask him?

If he's mistaken, it'll soon become apparent, if his critics are, then they'll have an oportunity to revise their views.

[Simhanada]

Shaolin Dude,

The original Chin Woo did indeed teach that system, along with others, including Northern Mantis. Hung-Gar was not a part of the original Chin Woo system. Since Chin Woo has branched all over the world, Hung-Gar has of course been taught under its auspicies, but it was not one of the original contributing systems to Chin Woo in Shanghai.

[David]

Originally posted by X-Warrior
David, I got a great kick out of your (?) website. Which one on the picture is you? This is some VERY funny stuff!! LOL.

-X-

Thanks but I don't think I have a website at the moment :D Where are you looking?

Rgds,
David

[askinghands]

According to the book of HB Un, Gung lik kun:
After joining the Chin woo athletic association a teacher had to teach ten fundamental forms from the association before he could teach his own style.

To my understanding Chin woo teachers can be of any style. Not just Hung gar.

[X-Warrior]

David: I am referring to the link in your post that directed me to this 'NAMAT' system website. The link is on the bottom of every one of your posts.

-X-

[Rhat]

Originally posted by askinghands
To my understanding Chin woo teachers can be of any style. Not just Hung gar.

Yes, you are correct.

My CLF Sifu was from Chin Woo.:cool:

[David]

Originally posted by X-Warrior
David: I am referring to the link in your post that directed me to this 'NAMAT' system website. The link is on the bottom of every one of your posts.

-X-
Ah, no that site is connected with board user "Unstoppable" who is a complete idiot. His posts were hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

Rgds,
David

[Ben Gash]

You mean you don't have the one with the cats on it anymore?
I'd forgotten about NAMAT :)

[David]

Originally posted by Ben Gash
You mean you don't have the one with the cats on it anymore?
I'd forgotten about NAMAT :)

You remember the cats! That was back on my "David Antwis' Modest Website" website. I just went to the wayback machine to look at those purple pages again. :D