Possibly a stupid question.

[MightyB]

I'm a little isolated from a lot of Chinese styles because of where I live.

I was wondering, does TJPM emphasize internal energy development and is it performed slowly like other forms of Tai Chi Chuan.?

[MonkSanTe]

I think I know what you mean here. When I first heard about Taiji mantis, I thought it would be like tai chi (Taiji Quan). It isn't at all, it is just the similar name. From what I understand, Taiji translates into grand ultimate (ie.grand ultimate praying mantis boxing). I think (I'm not really too sure about this) that Taiji mantis is the same or very close to Plum Blossom Praying Mantis boxing (mei hua tang lang quan). Hopefully someone with a better understanding can elaborate on this. I think it may be the Mantis style closest to the original created by Wang Lang? Thanks

[mantis108]

You question is one of the most frequently asked and usually misunderstood point about TJPM. I have posted this before, but I am not sure if it survived the forum change. So I repost this again. Enjoy...

Dynamics of Taiji Praying Mantis
By Robert HUI
October 10, 2000

About 350 years ago, in Shantung province, Northeast of China, Master Wong Long, through his observations of nature, combined the predatory skills of the Praying Mantis from which he developed the Twelve Characters principle, and the agile footwork of the monkeys of which he refined into the Eight Basic Stances, found the Praying Mantis Kung Fu style during his quest for excellence in his combat skill. Since Shantung is a northern province, Praying Mantis Kung Fu is often categorized as a northern style. It is believed that Master Wong was proficient in 17 various styles, which were all northern styles, prior to the creation of his own style. There are as many versions of the birth of various Mantis styles as there are the numbers of the Mantis branches. Major branches of Praying Mantis include Northern, Seven Stars, Taiji, Plum Flower, and Six Harmonies are practiced worldwide. There are also many other hybrids of Praying Mantis styles. Taiji Praying Mantis documentation (Taiji Praying Mantis Wooden Dummy form Book) indicates that Master Sun Yuen Cheung (5th Generation) officially named his branch Taiji Praying Mantis, which at that time had no affiliation with Taijiquan (renowned internal style) at all. It was until Master Chiu Chuk Kai (7th Generation), who was deeply impressed by the ability of the Taijiquan practitioners, whose six internal disciplines allow them to manipulate energy to defeat their opponent with much ease, that he sought after Chen style Taijiquan (small circles) as well as a Taoist monastery Taiji system. He incorporated them into the Taiji Praying Mantis curriculum. Thanks to his effort, all practitioners of this style now enjoy both the external and internal aspects of Kung Fu.

As a style that is evolved from the north, Taiji Praying Mantis (Mantis for short) has all the characteristics of northern styles. It is not only an agile long-range style, but also one that is comfortable with close-range combat. It is imperative to remember that Mantis is primarily a striking art with a highly developed progressive indirect attack approach. In hand strikes, power is generated from the balls of the feet, through the lower limbs to the spine, and delivered through the upper limbs. Most hand strikes in this style has “crack of the whip” type of power not unlike those found in Taijiquan. Kicks are delivered low to medium height as part of the offence or defense rather than an independent act in order not to sacrifice balance and mobility. They are often blended with footwork as an obstructive or destructive measure to deny the opponent of an operational base of support. Takedowns, which require extensive knowledge of balance and leverage, are usually the third act of combat. They are executed with decisive actions that are designed to maim and inflict damage. Acupoints and leverage are utilized to maximize the effects of joint manipulations and other grappling moves. Although the elements mentioned are quite powerful individually, combining them as Sau Fa (combinations) in different sequences really made them most formidable. Despite of the myriad combinations, they all adhere to the Twelve Characters Principles and utilize the Eight Basic Stances. Just as every problem has a solution, it is also true that every combination can either be neutralized or even capitalized by a counter. The Sau Fa platform in Mantis is as significant as Chi Sau (sticky hand) in Wing Chun to transmit the essence of the Mantis combat skills. However, the main objective in Mantis Sau Fa is to train the free flow of combat elements. “Combinations are pronged to be countered, only combinations with tremendous velocity can not be countered,” is a significant Mantis adage. Mantis recognizes that attribute development (qualities) such as speed is paramount to the appreciation of its highly refined techniques; therefore, conditioning is of utmost importance, and is always at the core of very practice session. Taiji systems’ training methodologies help the practitioners to acquire the six disciplines (listen, run, adhere, neutralize, explode, and capture) to manipulate energy in conjunction with the Mantis techniques. The harmonious balance of lightening power and fluid grace in techniques is the reason for Taiji Praying Mantis to be recognized as both a hard and soft style.

Mantis108