The dragon and the mantis
True, there are different forms of hong quan - my observation was based on the Songshan version. I've seen the version that the Lau sisters taught when I worked on their videos for WLE, and it's quite different. Was that a Jingwu version? Was that closer to yours, r.(shaolin)?
As for Cai Yunlong, check out our Sep/Oct 2004 issue. The 'big dragon with the magic fists' posed for our got qi? subsription ad. Our publisher Gigi met with him informally on her last trip to China. More to come there... ;)
As for the mantis form, the most common mantis form at Shaolin is the modern Yu Hai form. Yu Hai was a noted first gen traditional-to-wushu master from Shandong. He played the big monk in the film Shaolin temple. That form was left at Shaolin after he made the movies. It's very recognizable. FWIW, my own Shaolin teacher, Shi Decheng practices a more traditional 8-step mantis. I think it's something he learned prior to his study at Shaolin, and it's not a regular part of the Shaolin curriculam, unless you've studied under him or his school.