Tai Mountain Crushes Eggs 泰山壓卵

Tai Mountain Crushes Eggs
(Martial Art Culture Series)

“A mountain crushes eggs 泰山壓卵” has been used since ancient times to describe a great force utterly defeating a weak force and was later used to describe weapon techniques of martial arts. Here is an example of its usage in predicting the outcome of a battle followed by its application to specific weapons.
During the Later Zhou Dynasty (CE 951-960) after the founding Emperor passed away and the young Chai Rong acceded the throne (CE 954) he correctly surmised that the Northern Han empire would take advantage of his mourning rites performed for the recently departed Emperor.
Liu Chong, the Emperor of the Northern Han, dispatched an envoy to the Khitan, a powerful confederation of mounted warriors to the north of China, requesting troops to reconquer the Later Zhou. The Khitan committed ten thousand “Iron Horse” troops and more than five times that many tribesmen. “Commanded by Yang Gun, the force was allegedly a hundred thousand strong.”
Chai Rong anticipated Emperor Liu Chong’s plan and put forward his own strategy to take advantage of the impending attack. A court scribe recorded the conversation.

Liu [Chong] slights me for my youth, regarding my recent installation and formal mourning duties as virtual guarantee that I will not emerge for battle. Those adept at deploying armies must call the element of surprise: I should thus personally command a raid.

Should the vultures of Liu [Chong] engage my soldiers, they will be crushed like eggs under a mountain.

Chai Rong’s Chief Minister, now in his twilight years and with decades of experience in advising emperors of the previous short lived dynasties said, “And presumably Your Majesty will be the mountain that crushes them!” An angry Chai Rong rose to leave, his resolve in leading the army strengthened and he led the campaign at Gaoping to victory county in April of CE 954.

Six hundred years later general Qi Jiguang recorded a series of his spear techniques and had them published with illustrations and description of applications. One of them was called Tai Mountain Crushes the Egg.

Not sure if this is where you're going with your threads about Tai Mountain Crushes Eggs and Tongbei, but there is a common empty-hand sequence in 7 Star that's loosely translated as "Tai Mountain Crushes, Punch Straight to Face, Steal the Heart".

I can see a parallel with what I've read about Tongbei (a total coordination of loose swinging arms, expanding and contracting the chest, and synchronizing with waist to develop power) and the Tai Mountain Crushes technique.

mountain crush egg/top is a committed blow to the top of the head

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Originally Posted by MightyB

I can see a parallel with what I've read about Tongbei (a total coordination of loose swinging arms, expanding and contracting the chest, and synchronizing with waist to develop power) and the Tai Mountain Crushes technique.

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Originally Posted by bawang

mountain crush egg/top is a committed blow to the top of the head

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Sink the body weight when doing that too.

Tai San Ngaat Deng, 太山 壓頂.

Mt. Tai crushes down.

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Originally Posted by bawang

mountain crush egg/top is a committed blow to the top of the head

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Which can compress and injure (herniate) the discs between the cervical vertibrae.

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Originally Posted by mooyingmantis

Which can compress and injure (herniate) the discs between the cervical vertibrae.

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Yeah, this even hurts a lot through a strong helmet.

I always used to think this type of hammer fist (to the top of the head) a pointless technique but then I started using it only when my opponent ducks to evade. It became really useful. However it is so painful to the neck, even with light power, that we had to stop using it. The key is being able to link it suddenly on the end of another punch rather than doing it from a distance, it doesn't need any strength to hurt.

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Originally Posted by RenDaHai

Yeah, this even hurts a lot through a strong helmet.

I always used to think this type of hammer fist (to the top of the head) a pointless technique but then I started using it only when my opponent ducks to evade.

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Bridge of nose is fine.

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Originally Posted by RenDaHai

The key is being able to link it suddenly on the end of another punch rather than doing it from a distance, it doesn't need any strength to hurt.

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Mantis typically use the other hand to control while doing that attack.

The controlling hand can be from the previous punch which turns into a cross grab.

Alternatively, use same side hand control against a punch and counter with your high downward attack.

I would rarely strike the top of the head. The cranium is a hellaciously hard jigsaw puzzle of bones. However, if I were to strike to the top of the skull, I would use a hook hand grab to the back of the enemy's neck, pull him forward and strike the xinhui point, along with a combination of other strikes or a throw.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Bridge of nose is fine.

Mantis typically use the other hand to control while doing that attack.

The controlling hand can be from the previous punch which turns into a cross grab.

Alternatively, use same side hand control against a punch and counter with your high downward attack.

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Definitely nose is a good target, I will often strike forwards like a standard punch but using a hammer trajectory which can be good for the nose too. But if you had to hit the top of the head...

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Originally Posted by mooyingmantis

I would rarely strike the top of the head. The cranium is a hellaciously hard jigsaw puzzle of bones. However, if I were to strike to the top of the skull, I would use a hook hand grab to the back of the enemy's neck, pull him forward and strike the xinhui point, along with a combination of other strikes or a throw.

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Yeah, I guess the point is that the top of the head target has to be presented to you for you to use this strike. I mean, its not a standard attack, its when you manipulate them into a position to hit this point or they manipulate themselves into that position, i.e not when they're standing upright. But I think it is a very tempting target when it is presented, you feel really bad immediately after being hit here, it has a lot of stopping power.

a somewhat accurate demonstration of mountain crush egg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un8c1UV1QBI

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Originally Posted by -N-

Mantis typically use the other hand to control while doing that attack.

The controlling hand can be from the previous punch which turns into a cross grab.

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In the Hao family mantis form, Zhai Yao San Lu (Essentials #3), we use this set up. I throw a right punch at my attacker's throat. If he blocks with either arm, I leak my right arm around his blocking arm and quickly grab his neck with my right hand. Then I can pull him in to strike or throw him.

This method uses two important mantis principles: 1. Take before leaving (the attacking hand becomes the grabbing hand) and 2. Control the General to Command his Troops (controlling the attackers head puts his body at risk).

I'm not a mantis guy but the hop gar cup choi in our family comes straight down and I hit a friend of mine on the top of the head with his head gear on and we had to stop. It was a light strike but when you start compressing the spine, it gets dangerous haha he made me promise to never use that move in sparring again haha

I'm totally hijacking this xmas thread.

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Fact Checks
Critter Country
Are Praying Mantis Eggs Commonly Found on Christmas Trees?
We'll say this: The praying mantis is not preying on humans in any way.
DAN EVON
PUBLISHED 11 DECEMBER 2019

https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2019/...630&quality=65
Image via Getty Images/Stock photo

Claim
Praying mantis eggs are commonly found on Christmas trees.

Rating
Mixture
About this rating

What's True
Praying mantis egg cases have been found on occasion on Christmas trees.

What's False
However, this is not a common or dangerous problem. Christmas tree farms take precautions to prevent "harmless hitchhikers." By one estimate, only 1 in 100,000 Christmas trees has a post-harvest pest.

Origin
A photograph supposedly showing a praying mantis egg case on the limb of a Christmas tree is frequently shared on social media during the holiday season:

https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2019/...resize=768,768

While this picture truly shows a praying mantis egg case on a Christmas tree (it was originally posted to Facebook in December 2017), social media posts and news articles about this potential pest problem may have given readers the false impression that this was a common or dangerous occurrence.

Chris Enroth, a horticulture educator at the University of Illinois Extension, writes that “these Christmas tree post-harvest pests (a reference to any insect, not just praying mantis eggs) are rare, occurring in 1 out of 100,000 cut trees.” Doug Hundley, a seasonal spokesperson for the National Christmas Tree Association, also told us that it is “very rare” to find a mantis egg case on a Christmas tree.

Hundley said that Christmas Tree Farms take precautions to reduce the chances of an insect (or “harmless hitchhiker”) from making its way from the farm to the home:

Most of these tree growers practice or utilize a pest management system called Integrated Pest Management or IPM.

IPM is utilized in most crops now. Christmas tree production began using it about 25 years ago. IPM practices are developed by University research and taught by Extension programs so the growers can successfully manage pest populations in a smart and environmentally friendly way.

Using IPM (farmers) scout their Christmas tree plantings regularly for pests that are interfering with the health of the trees and to prevent what we call post-harvest pests or harmless hitchhikers.

Although we’ve found a few old anecdotes about mantis eggs being found on Christmas trees (musician Taylor Swift was tasked with finding mantis eggs at her family Christmas tree farm in her childhood), this potential pest problem really started gaining news coverage in 2017. At the time, the pest control company Safer Brand was causing a stir by claiming that “as many as 25,000 bugs can live in one tree.”

Entomologists quickly shot down this claim. Adam Dale, assistant professor for entomology at University of Florida (UF), told MyNews13: “You are not going to have thousands of bugs in your Christmas trees.”

Susan Haddock, an agent in pest management for the UF Agricultural Extension, added:

“In over nine years of experience with [the UF Agricultural] Extension, I have never had a client inquiry or problem brought to my attention regarding a serious problem, or even a minor problem, related to insects on Christmas trees.”

While there have been a few incidents over the years of people finding mantis eggs on their Christmas trees, this is not a widespread or dangerous problem.

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There's a vid. Maybe one of these is fake news. :confused:

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Office Christmas tree leads to praying mantis infestation
POSTED 11:28 AM, DECEMBER 27, 2019, BY WGNO WEB DESK, UPDATED AT 11:34AM, DECEMBER 27, 2019

NEW ORLEANS - George Bevan just wanted to add a little holiday cheer to his office, but he ended up with a praying mantis infestation courtesy of his Christmas tree.

Bevan set up the tiny tree, which stood about three feet tall, on a counter in his office at the Audubon Nature Institute, where he works as an EMT.

On December 26, Bevan was in his office when he started to notice small insects crawling around.

“I was heating up some food and noticed several of these critters crawling around on our call log sheet,” Bevan said. “I asked my supervisor to come take a look at it and that’s when we realized hundreds were crawling all over the tree and the walls.”

Praying mantises are known to lay eggs in a variety of trees, some of which are commonly used for Christmas trees.

Under the right conditions, praying mantis babies will hatch and emerge from their egg sacs just in time for the holidays.

“I had no idea that this was a thing since I’ve always had an artificial tree in my house,” Bevan said.

Fortunately for the little critters, Bevan works for the Audubon Nature Institute, so he knew exactly who to call to safely remove the infestation without having to resort to insecticide.

“After calling around to figure out the best way to remove them, we were able to get some animal staff employees to come and help,” he said.

Two Audubon Zoo employees who work in the Louisiana Swamp exhibit soon arrived and painstakingly began collecting the bugs in jars.

“There were unfortunately a handful that did not make it, but most of the mantises were relocated,” Bevans said.

The baby praying mantises were sent to the Audubon Insectarium, a happy ending to one of the most unlikely stories to come out of this Christmas season.

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All I know is that I'm super tempted to get one of those mantis egg sacks at the local plant nursery and release it here at the office. ;)