Why is it that Praying Mantis is so effective for fighting?

PONG LI

How do most fighters react to a jab? This can be said to be the "fastest" punch out there. A good jab, you don't have time to catch it out of mid air with a mantis hook, not quick enough to parry (stick) close his forearm as he jabs, what do most of the mantis fighters do to defend/attack? Eliminating kicks.

How do you get to san fran? Good ? Depends on where you start from. my point is position is evrything . Shan fa or body movement is not only reactive . we all have been taking a very reactive point of view on this . on the proactive side, positioning your self , useing good lines along with ting jin will always lessen an attackers options.
from my point of view let him or her I won't be sexist worry about dealing w/ the attacks, mine.
Iwas talking to a friend today and he said something very intresting I'd like to share " If it's going to go down , then lets get over w/. He is a golf pro , sounds like mantis golf to me.

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Originally posted by Pong Lai
YG: We might have better luck meeting in China?

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Yes, I think you're right about that. Works for me. You in Shang Hai often?

On the subject of action reaction I was doing some electrical work for a friend recently, which was a big favor since I had to spend four hours under a house crawling around and working on my back. This can be good training, for the first hour. Anyway, I was nailing a junction box right above my face and dropped it. There was not much that I could do at this point since the box was beyond my hands so no chance to block. I did not have much time with the box accelerating toward my face at 9.8 m/s sq. from a distance of less then 18”. Of course I did not think about it I just moved my head and avoided a box in the eye. If there were more then one box coming at me I most likely would have eaten one, laying on my back in a crawl space I did not have much maneuverability, even as a frog. I would like to add that I feel good KF sense can be used for more then just defending an attack from another person it is also good for defending against a box in the eye, or a door in the face, a heavy weight on the foot, and drop but catch so not to have to bend. All these things are more likely to happen to me daily, but that is another subject altogether.:)

RibHit
fm
PS. Sorry I have no recent fighting experiences to talk about other then some light sparring, atleast none I'm willing to talk about. ;)

Wow, close call FM! Alot to be said about reaction time.

Yes, Yu Shan it was close.

It is good to be on one’s toes, even when one’s on their back.
:D

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Originally posted by Art D
PONG LI

How do most fighters react to a jab? This can be said to be the "fastest" punch out there. A good jab, you don't have time to catch it out of mid air with a mantis hook, not quick enough to parry (stick) close his forearm as he jabs, what do most of the mantis fighters do to defend/attack? Eliminating kicks.

How do you get to san fran? Good ? Depends on where you start from. my point is position is evrything . Shan fa or body movement is not only reactive . we all have been taking a very reactive point of view on this . on the proactive side, positioning your self , useing good lines along with ting jin will always lessen an attackers options.
from my point of view let him or her I won't be sexist worry about dealing w/ the attacks, mine.
Iwas talking to a friend today and he said something very intresting I'd like to share " If it's going to go down , then lets get over w/. He is a golf pro , sounds like mantis golf to me.

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For the fastest punch--jab, you can use bung + pi and followed either by tiao-tung-chuan when not too close, if too close, use the big-waterwheel-throw. Another one is the chuan-chuai follow by bung-chuai or throw. The main reason for that is I don't have to wait till my opponenet to start jab, these 2 combos are design to walk in and finish off with or without your opponent's attack. As long as your opponent are in your reatch, you can start it before your opponent reatch out for a jab.

paullin,

so why practice anything else?

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Originally posted by flem
paullin,

so why practice anything else?

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To conter it (these hard techniques that I metioned above) is possible with soft/sticky techniques to begin with, and that is availible in many styles, not just in 8 step mantis. And each style would have different advantages in the aspect of different body types, personality.

Frogman ,
I guess your quick reaction doesn't have much to do with your Martial Art training!!! I've learned that human has ,so called "protection-reactions". For example when you move something to your eyes quickly ,your eye will close by sure. The difference to normal reactions is the neurotic control: In the regular case, the stimulus which you receive will go through your vertebral column to your brain first and then back to the reactor (muscle). When you do a protection-reaction ,the stimulus will go to the vertebral column and then straight back to the muscle. So you don't need your brain for this reaction.
I am not sure about that you are able to make this reaction faster. I think ,what you learn in Martial Arts is to CONTROL these reactions. I mean when you punch a NON- M - artist right into his face he will also try to protect his head with his arms. But a M-artist will do what he did a hundred times in training. And in this case it won't be such a "protection-reaction" ,because he controls his movement!!!

paullin,

but if this tech- which i do not know by the way- overwhelms the fastest punch available, it would seem to be the ultimate tech. especially if it can be applied w/out the opponent even striking.
i don't think there is such a grand technique, that is just what i am understanding you to say

TaiChiStorm,
I agree that it is natural to cover up, flinch or even freeze when something is coming right at your face. It was not my first time under a house and I have trained in ground fighting. I believe my movement was as much controlled as it was natural. The average person may have had the same reaction but as you put it the thought pattern would not have been the same. Not to say I’m some sort of super KF guy, truth is I have been hit in the face under a house before. I definitely believe that my MA training and prior experience severed me that day. Any kind of training should improve reaction time through alertness. If nothing else that is what I believe and if helps me avoid getting hit in any way, well…..

To add I enjoy the Mantis Hooks I like pulling strikes out of the way then stepping in, RibHit.


fm