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chyisan
04-23-2000, 01:00 AM
Just a question to you fellow bugs out there. How do you train your mantis grip? You know, the three fingers that's suppose to cause terrible pain once in contact w/ your opponents' limb.

Lost_Disciple
04-23-2000, 08:20 PM
Not 100% sure this is related, but I had an interesting experience with my "grip" this weekend. Grandmaster Lily Lau visits my school at least once a year and gives a seminar, so we do some eagle claw training. The main focus of my school is 7 Star Preying mantis. Well, I guess we do a lot of grip, hand-strength training. Typically we do finger pushups (5,3,2), jug lifting/catching (with fingertips), tossing a mung bean bag around w/other members of the class, staff raises, wrist rolling wheel, and lifting a stick with a weight dangling from a rope that's tied to the end of it. Also, in privates, one of the training exercises my sifu's had me do is to carry around 12 pound shot puts with my fingertips (arms hanging straight down, palms down, not curled under) while I walk back and forth across his back yard 10 times.

Well my story goes like this: this weekend I was visiting my family, and we went to church. In church, my little brother was joking around and he squeezed my girlfriend's hand so hard she said "ow" pretty loud. I reached over, and grabbed my bro's right hand with my left hand (we're both right handed). I was a little angry that he was trying to bully my gf, so I applied a bit of pressure. He just about collapsed and let out a similar "ow" to the one my gf made. My ego swelled a bit, until I looked at his hand. The entire back of his middle finger was red. It looked like he'd gotten a rash, a scrape, or road burn. I looked at it closely and it was all broken blood vessels. I felt really bad about it and was nice to him the rest of the day. I was a bit scared too, because I know it wasn't 100%; it was somewhere between 80 and 90%. There's nothing like a little reminder to take you out of "action-movie, kill-em-all" mode and bring you to the reality that a lot of what we train to do is not very nice to whoever we're fighting.

Red Masque
04-24-2000, 06:26 PM
IMHO, the best thing you can do is just ask your Sifu. Even though many things in mantis are the same, many styles do things differently, & with reason.
Best of luck,
-RM

Qi Xing Tong Long
04-25-2000, 04:19 AM
Even though there are many methods out there on how to train your 3 finger grab, one of the best tools that I have found to work very well for me and my students is a simple spalding ball, and practice squeezing it with your last 3 fingers. You will notice great results and whats good about the spalding ball is that you can carry it with you anywhere.

Peace

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Ortiz Northern Shaolin Temple 7-Star Praying Mantis Chinese Boxing Academy

Qi Xing Tong Long
04-25-2000, 04:22 AM
Lost Disciple, please give my regards to your Sifu Jeff Hughes, he has been at my kwoon twice in the past while I had Sifu Fogg and Sifu Lee Kam Wing. He is a great Sifu and person, you are lucky to be training with him.

Peace

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Ortiz Northern Shaolin Temple 7-Star Praying Mantis Chinese Boxing Academy

Very Ignorant Mantis
04-25-2000, 09:54 AM
Qi Xing Tong Long,

When you say Spalding Ball, you mean like a tennis ball or raquetball ball?

Humbly / IM

GLW
04-25-2000, 08:51 PM
Either that or he meant a guy named Spalding....and you should hear how high his voice is these days.

Lost_Disciple
04-25-2000, 11:23 PM
Thank you Sifu Ortiz!
I agree with you, I'm lucky to have found a great sifu in Sifu Hughes. Sifu Hughes has told us some great things about you. All of us in Texas have a great deal of respect for yourself and the other great sifus back east (Sifu Albright, Sifu Laurette, Sifu Chukueke, Sifu Ho Ji Yiu, and of course Sifu Chiu Luen).
I'd also like to thank you for that training drill. I'm only an entry-level beginner, but I have noticed some improvement in my coordination.
I will try using the Spalding ball in the future, especially at work.

Qi Xing Tong Long
04-26-2000, 06:51 AM
The raquetball kind. It's not to strainous on the fingers and you get great results.

Peace

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Ortiz Northern Shaolin Temple 7-Star Praying Mantis Chinese Boxing Academy