Your Last Class

[mooyingmantis]

Tonight after teaching class and during my shower I started wondering what other praying mantis instructors had taught or were going to teach this evening.
I thought it might be interesting to share as praying mantis instructors or students what went on in our last class.

I'll start:

1. Two Hand drills on the wooden dummy 挑 挑 衝 爪 & 摟 摟 衝 爪 (tiao tiao chong zhao & lou lou chong zhao),

2. A partner drill that worked 勾 摟 採 閉 門 腿 (gou lou cai & bi men tui)

3. A partner drill that taught the the use of 揪 腿 jiu tui (seizing leg) and a counter to the technique.

3. Two partner drills that worked two of the twelve soft methods (螳 螂 柔手 táng láng róu shǒu):

直統而抅手 - zhí tǒng ér ou shǒu - Attach the Hook to Straight Attacks
開手而叠手 - kāi shǒu ér dié shǒu - Open Hands And Join Hands

4. One inch fa jing

5. The first ten moves from the Diao Fa form

So what did you teach/do in your last class? :)

Richard

[Paul T England]

Warm up

Partner drills using Dodge, Kwa and Chau toy principles/techniques

Pad work drills taken from bung bo kuen

Forms & lion Dance

Stretching

Paul
www.moifa.co.uk

[-N-]

Attacking with shin kick - jab combination.

Avoiding shin kick - jab using switch footwork and parry.

Countering shin kick - jab with mummy step - fung tung chui.

Attacking with jab - cross - shin kick.

Countering jab - cross - shin kick with parry - parry - angle change - midline punch.

Avoiding midline punch with low outside parry.

Using low/high change to follow up midline punch with highline punch.

Avoiding the low/high attack with low outside parry and tiou jeong.

Countering the low/high attack with low outside parry and grinding palm.

Countering the low/high attack with low outside parry and any technique using ou-lou-tsai theory.

Countering jab - cross - shin kick with parry - parry - angle change - low/high combination attack and grinding palm.

Method of explosively closing the distance in the low/high attack.

Method of jumping escape from the low/high attack.

Method of following the low/high attack with aerial ou-lou-tsai technique to nullify the jumping escape.

Method of hiding a kick follow-up to the aerial ou-lou-tsai using hgh/low theory.

Method of continuous running and kicking to overrun the opponent.

[seung ga faat]

Warm-up/Stretching 30 minutes

Individual Training 15 Minutes:
-Chahp Cheui Kuen
-Baht Bouh Faat
-Tong Long Sao Kuen
-Dahn Do Faat

30 Minute Partner Training:[B]
-Ngau Teui Faat (partner leg hooking) and Yui Faat ( waist method) together with:
-Lao Sao yee Lao Sao
-Lao Sao yee Gwan Sao
-Lao Sao yee Diu Sao

[B]Review of individual Training followed by student Demonstration 15 minutes
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[mantid1]

Just kinda stood there (catching as many glimpses of myself in the mirror as possible) while I counted in Japenese for the students practicing their Judo chops, karate chops and kung fu kicks.

Told them they did a good and they can "level up" to the "dwarf warror" level soon. Only 20 levels to go after that!

[yu shan]

HA! Good one Mantid1.

[Northwind]

Not a mantis teacher so can't add value here, however I just wanted to say that this is an EXCELLENT idea for a thread! Hoping to find (or create) one for our style as well :) Thanks for the inspiration.

[mooyingmantis]

Dave, Dave, Dave!

Jim, you should know better than to encourage him!

Northwind,
Thanks for the positive feedback!

Tonight's class:

1. Three hand drills on the wooden dummy,

2. Partner drills to work two of the twelve soft hand methods (螳 螂 柔手 táng láng róu shǒu),

3. A partner drill that taught the the use of 揪 腿 jiu tui (seizing leg),

4. Keyword theory 進 jìn: Footwork drill to work bursting in (advancing) without telegraphing one's intent,

5. Twelve moves from the Diao Fa form.

As you can see I don't cover a lot of material in a class. I prefer to work a small amount of material with a large number of repetitions for muscle memory. Less is more in my opinion.

Richard

[-N-]

One thing that can be useful is to assemble a blitz combination attack.

Then gradually give the students a single move at a time.

That way they can drill the single movements and develop some ability on those. You have a chance to give them coaching and corrections.

The ones that are ready can get the next motion and drill that etc.

During the class, beginners can continue drilling individual motions.

More advanced students can work on pieces of the combination, on up to the complete sequence.

You can give the more advanced students an explanation of the theory and principles related to that combination.

As the students are able to put together the pieces of the combinations, they pair up with other students or the teacher so they can work on a live opponent.

Then you have a chance to let them see typical counters to their attack, and you can explain all the whats and whys.

For the students that are really catching on, you can show them variations on the material.

This method works well in a class with mixed levels of students.

Everybody gets something they can work on. Advanced students still practice their basics, but also get instruction suitable to their level of understanding. Beginners have a chance to see a little bit of how their basics are put to use, and they get incentive for practicing so they can get to a higher skill level.

You can spend 3-4 hours of class working on all the details of a single combination attack and methods of countering. Which is what was going on in my previous post. Looks like a lot of stuff, but it's not.

[Codeboy]

Class last night, learned a number of new variations for the Lion Dance on "Chut Sing". Speaking of which, Gung Hay Fat Choy to all :)

Tonight, continuation of Mm Long Gwan staff form.

[EarthDragon]

45 minute warm up punching drills horse stance etc etc.

review of students levels with individual attention and corrections.

joint locking, then anatomy and philosophy
our classes are 2 hours long as well.

[mooyingmantis]

-N-,
Excellent explanation of your methodology. Sounds like a great way to teach!

Earthdragon,
Glad to see I'm not the only one that includes anatomy in their MA program!
Do you include first-aid and CPR also?

Richard

[mooyingmantis]

Tonight's class:

1. Two hand drills on the wooden dummy,

2. Partner drills to work two of the twelve soft hand methods (螳 螂 柔手 táng láng róu shǒu),

3. Three partner drills to work combinations,

4. A partner drill that taught the the use of 揪 腿 jiu tui (seizing leg),

5. Keyword theory 進 jìn drill,

6. Keyword theory 樞 shu drill,

7. Partner drill to practice side kicks for san shou and counters.

[Northwind]

Mooying - Can you share what you mean by "keyword"? Sorry, I'm also an SEO-guy, so what first comes to mind is probably something different than what you mean :P

Although not a mantis guy, thought I'd go ahead and pipe in :)

Wed., 02 - 17 - 10 (Wednesdays focus on Jibengong, or basics)
Salutations & Bow-in
Joint Rotations
Stretching - top
Stretching - Middle
Stretching - bottom
Medicine Ball Strength exercises
Twining/coiling exercises
Seated breathing

Horse - 2 mins
Bow - 2 mins
Cat - 2 mins
Bow - 2 mins
Horse - 2 mins

During stance holding, taught & drilled on various language things: 1 - 10 in Mandarin & Cantonese + number system (to make "23" simply = 2, 10, 3), basic martial terminology of "fist", "palm", "claw" & "kick".

Then I did something fairly radical for me, and taught Wu Bu Quan. I say radical for me, because it's a new form created for compulsory wushu. My teacher taught it to us, but I never wanted to teach it due to its association to modern stuff. But recently found that many traditionalists have incorporated it into their curriculum, as it's a nice quick-n-easy yet helpful lil drill for stance work + hand work & coordination, and that some of the stance progressions are fairly common in traditional forms.

So I taught that, while teaching the mandarin names for the stances.
And we did Wu Bu Quan again and again.

Then we did some form-work; wherever each person was in the system - they practiced, asked questions, corrections, etc.

Then I did some simple speed/power drills of Horse to Bow with forearm/palm block into eagle claw grab & pull then opposite hand punch. And then back to horse as grab-pull. Went from 1 punch, to 2, etc. up to 10. Everyone was dead by then :P

Then we did some Iron Pole or 3-star hit or whatever is your preferred terminology - but the thing where 2 folks are in mabu and hit forearms 3 times etc. Although we have various progressions of this including box work, etc., this night it was just the basic.

Rub the Jiao.
Salutations and bow-out.

Go to the pub.
Did I say that out loud?

[-N-]

-N-,
Excellent explanation of your methodology. Sounds like a great way to teach!


Maybe. At least it makes it fun for the teacher :)

[mooyingmantis]

Northwind,

A "keyword" is a Chinese word that brings to mind an important theory applied within a style. In our style of Mantis we use 12 words that represent fighting theories. The twelve words are divided into four sets of three words. The three words represent three ideas or strategies that are interrelated.

For example, our second set of three words are:

進 jìn advance - Rush in on the Opponent
貼 tiē keep close - Maintain a Close Torso Distance
開 kāi open - Open up and pass through the Defenses

Though each word refers to a strategy that can be drilled separately, in practice they form the building blocks of how:
1. we bridge the distance between our self and the opponent,
2. prevent the opponent from retreating,
3. and break through the opponents defenses.

Many Chinese styles use keywords in this way. In the past these words were considered a part of the "secrets" of a style. In fact the phrase used in some styles of Mantis is:

十 二 字 訣

shí èr zì jué

Twelve Word Secrets

I hope I explained this clearly. :)

BTW, nice to see you add Mandarin into your lessons. My beginning students always give me a funny look when I tell them that all instructions will be given in Mandarin. :O

Richard

[Northwind]

Mooying,

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. We have poems/phrases that use a similar ideology. Thanks for sharing! :)

[EarthDragon]

yes mooying. I teach the entire medical side of kung fu along with philosophy and buddism if one so chooses.

[mooyingmantis]

yes mooying. I teach the entire medical side of kung fu along with philosophy and buddism if one so chooses.

sweet!

Richard

[-N-]

My si-hing, who teaches the class with me, suggested another post to this thread, so...

Sunday was cold and rainy at the park so we started out slow.

Stretching.
Jogging with the 8 basic boxing punches - individually, left/right.
Jogging with the 8 basic boxing punches - all 8 in series.
Backwards footwork with the 8 basic boxing parries - individually, right/left.
Backwards footwork with the 8 basic boxing parries - all 8 in series.
Backwards footwork with single outside high line diou intercept.
Backwards footwork with double outside high line diou intercept in 1-2 timing.
Backwards footwork with double inside high line diou intercept in 1-2 timing.
Retreating footwork, 1-2 outside diou, front heel kick.
- detail for body mechanics in the retreat
- detail for setting up counter-attack within retreating motion
- detail for timing of the counter-attack
- detail for lead leg front heel kick
- detail for rear leg front heel kick
- detail for recovery to guard from the front heel kick
- detail for momentum and center of mass during recovery to guard
- detail for step transition from retreating footwork to kick
- detail for shift transition from retreating footwork to kick
- detail for jump transition from retreating footwork to kick
- adding midline horse punch followup
- stance variation for midline punch followup
- detail for momentum coordination on midline punch followup
Offensive variation of previous combination, opening with 1-2 punch
- detail for covering range aggressively in the kick midline punch sequence
- detail on jump kick variation
- detail on switch kick variation
Partner practice of the previous offensive combination
- detail on pressuring and closing on the opponent
- detail on defensive methods against the combination
- detail on angle change variations in the offense
- detail on angle change in defense against the combination
- detail on escape and counterattack variations against the offensive combination
- detail on leg takedown method against the kick in the offensive combination
- detail on neutralizing the leg take down

[mooyingmantis]

1. Two hand drills on the wooden dummy,

2. Two partner drills to work combinations,

3. Partner drills to work two of the twelve soft hand methods (螳 螂 柔手 táng láng róu shǒu),

4. A partner drill that taught the the use of 揪 腿 jiu tui (seizing leg),

5. Keyword theories:

進 jìn - advance
貼 tiē - keep close
開 kāi - open
粘 zhān - stick
黏 nián - cling
聽 tīng - listen

6. First twenty-four movements of Diao Fa form.

7. 九 節 鞭 jiujiebian - nine section whip drills

Richard

[Michael Dasargo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw3KRC1Lkzo
1. Snake Gate - Dragon Gate Attack
2. Snake Gate - Tiger Gate Attack using Twirling Around the Blocking Arm
3. Snake Gate - Snake Gate Attack w/Feng Shou (Sealing Hand)
4. Snake Gate - Tiger Gate - Snake Gate using Mantis Hook Hand - Mantis Circle Hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk-7UvG93Q4
Red
1. Jab
2. Jab - wing/dragging arm, stealing hand straight punch
3. jab - wing/dragging arm, stealing hand straight punch- mantis elbow block

Yellow
1. Grapple Hand Uppercut
2. Grapple Hand Uppercut - Angle Off - Heaven Uplifting Canon
3. Grapple Hand Uppercut - Angle Off - Heaven Uplifting Canon - Dragon Gate Twirling Arm Hook Punch

[mooyingmantis]

Resurrecting this old thread from two years ago.

During Thursday's class at Mantis Masters Academy I taught:

1. The Five Linked Strikes of Zhai Yao Yi Lu (Haojia Tanglangquan). We practiced them as line drills and two man drills on both sides. Then we pulled out BOB and practiced the drill using full contact strikes.

2. The Locked Mouth strike of Zhai Yao Yi Lu (Haojia Tanglangquan). This is basically the gou lou chui combination that ends with a flat fisted strike to the throat. We practiced this as a two man drill and with full contact strikes on BOB.

3. Basic kicking (front kick, closed door kick, reverse point kick and side kick) on BOB.

During class at Ohio Wu Tang on Wednesday we practiced:

1. Jibengong
2. Forms & Applications: Beng Bu (Taiwan flavor) and Zhai Kui

During class at Ohio Wu Tang on Saturday we practiced:

1. Basic Jian drills
2. Shuangshou Jian form

[EarthDragon]

last tuesday we worked side block mantis back fist to opponents face and drilled it many many times.... then we added if the back fist is blocked we then imedialty strike low with hammer fist to groin strike then touch knee "sobei" #10 of our 40 throws from shuai jiao. warm up was rocking push up and frog jumps.

thursday we are working 2 person body cordinations, form review for mid level students, anatomy, and for warm up tractor tire flipping from one of end of the school to another everyone's least favorite as they weigh 300-500 lbs

[YouKnowWho]

So what did you teach/do in your last class?
I like to train the following 4 drills 20 times each daily. I like to train drills. I don't like to train the entire form. Since the mantis combos are so long, mantis combo is almost like "form".

1. wrist grab, foot sweep, hook punch, back fist, upper cut, hammer fist, straight punch.
2. back fist, hook, hook, back fist, 3 straight punches to the head, one straight punch to the body.
3. back right palm, right Gou, left chong zhao, right palm, left Diao, right palm.
4. Mo Pan Shou, left Diao, right palm, righ Gou, left Gou, right chong zhao.

[-N-]

It was raining in the Bay Area this weekend. Students wimped out on both days and didn't show up.

My Sihing and I hung up the heavy bag and worked out in the rain for a couple hours.

Stretched, did some footwork. Kicked the sand part of the bag for shin conditioning.

Currently have a shoulder impingement injury on the right side, so worked on all left side punches and strikes.

Worked on various explosive kao da on the bag.

More kicking on the bag.

Ground was wet and slippery, so when the rain got heavier, used that as an opportunity to train stability on the spinning and turning kick combinations in the air, between rounds on the bag.

Finished with focus on cleaning up relaxed exploding core motions and connection to ground. Left and right sides, lead and rear on both sides.

[mooyingmantis]

Tuesday 12/4/2012 Mantis Masters Academy


Form & Applications

Fighting Combinations from Zhai Yao Yi Lu in pairs, on focus mitts, on BOB:

Hook, Grab, Throat Punch
Lead, Cross, Bladder punch
Lead, Cross, Hook, Front Kick, Searching Punch

Combination emphasis was on relaxation and speed.

Theories:

The link between relaxation and speed.
Linking the speed of the hands with the power of the waist.

[EarthDragon]

last nights class. 800 of each punch (6400 total) 50 rocking push ups, 2 person stretching, shuai jiao solo drills, as our warm up.

Then we worked (tui dung) and (sobei), followed up with throwing concepts and understanding of balance and center of gravity. great class nice and sweaty a few lumps and brusies. always a sign of a good class.

[MightyB]

Didn't work on any mantis or striking formerly in class, just worked on a new entering method to make it easier to load throws like Uchi Mata and Harai Goshi. Also worked on escapes from common holds - trying to get away from muscling out and focusing on using more technique.

At home did some gong/dynamic tension stuff that i learned a long time ago. Also, knocked the dust off of one of my favorite forms Tong Long Chit Don so I don't forget it over time. I always try do a couple of minutes of Kettle Bell. Mine aren't that heavy - just 35 pounders, but they feel heavy after a bunch of reps.

[md1]

I am also not a Mantis player but here goes my last class…

10 mins of basics for warm up followed by 4 rounds of 3 mins work and 20 sec rest of holding our horse stance against the wall below parallel, heavy bag punching, holding the plank in the push up position and then clinch work, each set of 4 ex making up 1 round.

5 min rest

Then moving on to
Air squat. Lying floor press with a 45lb plate and ball slams (15lb)
In the tabata format 20 sec work 10 sec rest.
Finishing off the class with our Tai chi form

[EarthDragon]

nothing like working the basics to death.... good for you Andy. keep up the good work.

[mooyingmantis]

Tonight was drills and sparring. Sparring is done on a six foot circular rug to force close quarter fighting. No place to run, no time to rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1-wRsdUbrc&feature=youtu.be

[EarthDragon]

LOL tonight was full contact sparring, man do my guys need work and pratice to not looking like kickboxers when they spar. and look more like mantides

[18elders]

we would spar and our shrfu would give each one of us different techniques
, that was all we were allowed to use so you had to implement your mantis techniques.

[MightyB]

LOL tonight was full contact sparring, man do my guys need work and pratice to not looking like kickboxers when they spar. and look more like mantides

On a side note:

I'm thinking of trying a different strategy where we embrace kickboxing / San Da and slowly introduce mantis techniques like diu sau and ou lou choi after gaining proficiency in sanda.

I think about the Wong Long story. The guy liked to spar, started losing, then had a moment of inspiration and created the mantis techniques. So my rationale is that instead of introducing the idea of mantis sparring - just introduce good sparring using sound technique. Once the person starts to have skill in timing and is comfortable with sparring - then start introducing mantis stuff.

[18elders]

to me it makes more sense to start off learning to apply basic mantis techniques and as they improve, add more advanced techniques than to get them used to sparring one way and then say okay, now we do it this way. i would rather start out understanding mantis and the theory and learn to apply it than the way you mentioned.
just my personal feelings.

[MightyB]

to me it makes more sense to start off learning to apply basic mantis techniques and as they improve, add more advanced techniques than to get them used to sparring one way and then say okay, now we do it this way. i would rather start out understanding mantis and the theory and learn to apply it than the way you mentioned.
just my personal feelings.

I used to think that, but pretty much everyone I know myself included devolves into some type kickboxing in hard sparring. So my thought is might as well go with it and get good at the basics of san da and spar as much as possible. I figure as people get comfortable sparring, it gets easier to ad some of the traps and techniques from mantis.

[EarthDragon]

thanks for the feed back, I actually its sensable both ways depending on the approach. I have tried to come from both angles but with almost the same result, we use mantis in our sparring break down combos etc etc work the basics but seems when students go at it it it looks more like (punch kick) then (mantis hook) if you get my drift.
When i break it down slow step by step it they understand and they try but with gloves mouth guard head gear its like a slug fest.
I even have 1 attacker and 1 defender so they arent afriad to try something that might otherwise be countered and get them punched in the face to make them feel comfotable about going anf thinking techniques outside the box.

I also saw littel to no footwork which is promary to 8 step and they reserved to move back and forth on the straiight line which is a complete no no.

its just interesting to see beginner to mid level students apply what they can do solo. its all in the application I dont care how good your fromes look or how well you resemble the bug when your doing your applications, if you cant fight with it whats the point?

[mooyingmantis]

Ohio Wu Tang Center for Martial Arts - Tony Yang - Wednesday 12/12/2012

Jibengong

Forms practice: Beng Bu & Zhai Kui

Weapons: Double Broadswords & Whip Chain

Videotaped Shifu Zhang Maochang performing Zhai Yao Yi Lu from various angles.

Master Yang reported on his seminar at the Wu Tang Center in Alabama last weekend.

[mooyingmantis]

Mantis Masters Academy - Richard A. Tolson - Thursday 12/13/2012

Zhai Yao Yi Lu Two Man Drills:

1. Lock Mouth Strike
2. Immortal Takes the Hair
3. White Ape Steals the Peach

Knee Striking Drills on BOB

Lecture:

The hidden meaning behind the Zhai Yao Yi Lu term, "Wind Scatters the Leaves".

[mooyingmantis]

Ohio Wu Tang Center for Martial Arts - Tony Yang - Saturday 12/15/2012

Jian Basic Exercises

Shuangshoujian form

Lectures by Master Yang:

掉 知 覺 - diào zhī jué - "turning the perception" or Misdirection in Fighting

The Five Element Theory as it relates to Health, Training and Fighting

[YouKnowWho]

Not a praying mantis class. This is what we worked on this morning:

1. Wrists grabs, mantis arms.
2. Shin bite, scoop, leg seize.
3. Reverse shin bite, reverse scoop, reverse leg seize.
4. Groin kick, downward block, comb hair, punch, neck push, arm wrap, front cut.
5. Groin kick, upward separate hands, head lock, front cut.
6. Groin kick, foot sweep, sideway head lock, hip push.
7. Break neck tie by elbow joint lock.
8. Break neck tie by wrist joint lock.
9. Neck tie, head lock.
10. Break MT clinch by peircing.
11. Wheeling, inner hook.
12. Wheeling, leg lift.
13. Wheeling, leg twist.

[mooyingmantis]

Mantis Masters Academy - Richard A. Tolson - 12/18/2012

Four combination drills from Zhai Yao Yi Lu (three old & one new).

Sparring (one person attacks & one person defends).

Sparring with hand techniques only.

Lecture: Entering & tieing up the enemy's hands.

[mooyingmantis]

Akron Kung Fu Academy - Mike Biggie - Saturday 12/29/2012

Jibengong

Forms:

Black Tiger Criss-Cross

Double Insert Flowers

[MightyB]

Lately Siu Fan Che and conditioning. Probably more Siu Fan Che tonight.

I like the way that form moves alternating between short and long attacks, and the applications fit my nature. I like how in that form it doesn't seem to matter how the opponent reacts in regards to the combinations it uses... meaning he can block with his left or right, it can be a gua or pak, heck - it doesn't matter just do what you do and he'll go down eventually.

[MightyB]

Started a review of what I'm supposed to know starting with our most basic form Sub e Lo Tom Toi (spelling phonetically). Mostly remembered it, had a couple of points that needed clarification. Classes will probably go on like this until I get to where I left off.

Also did some Free flow fighting with one of the advanced students with my Sifu breaking down some areas where we could apply some difficult concepts like Tip Moon Kau Bei. Then my Sifu worked with me on some of his favorite "opening" moves - things to "break the ice" so to speak for when you're fighting/sparring an overly defensive person. Again that was a lot of fun seeing and using some of the concepts in action.

[Codeboy]

Dang, I guess I really missed out not being in class last night! :mad:

[MightyB]

Dang, I guess I really missed out not being in class last night! :mad:

It was a good one.