praying Mantis set.

[Chowmein]

Merry Christmas to you all.

Can anybody tell me anything about the 'twenty-five fist form', I can not find out any information on this form anywhere. It is supposed to be a basic Praying Mantis form, does anybody know of it ?

Thanks in advance.

Robert.

[Tainan Mantis]

I have never heard of it.
Where did you hear of it?

[Chowmein]

Hi,
A friend of mine is learning it, the next form is 'mantis takes first step'. He asked me if I knew of it but I don't study PM, so I thought I'd ask here. It is definately a long fist form. Thats all I know.

Regards

Robert

[yingching]

Try to find out what style mantis it is suppose to be... What lineage.
There are quite a few schools out there that have there own sets that they use to introduce mantis techniques to new students, rather than start them on the classical sets first.
There is nothing really wrong with doing that, as long as the students know exactly what they are learning.

[mantis_seeker]

Hi,

I am not sure about 25 fist form but I am pretty sure the form "mantis takes first step" is a form taught by sifu Raul Ortiz in NY. It is a form particular to his lineage before his inclusion as a student of Lee Kam Wing. It is IMHO a great introduction form to mantis for a begining student.

mantis_seeker

[Chowmein]

Thanks for the information.
Have a happy New Year.

Robert.

[word]

if that is a mantis set by raul ortize it is a made up set, just like how he performs some mantis set that is an exact replica of hung gar's tiger crane, BUT BUT EXCEPT he ueses a mantis hand for all the movements, what a joke.

[carly]

just get it over with and learn actual mantis if that is what they want to teach? *sigh*

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

I saw an article on 25 Fists in a Kung Fu mag recently but don't remember which one. I'll post the info as soon as I track it down but maybe someone else with a monthly subscription to some of the mags can check recent issues for the article.

[ursa major]

Originally posted by word
if that is a mantis set by raul ortize it is a made up set, just like how he performs some mantis set that is an exact replica of hung gar's tiger crane, BUT BUT EXCEPT he ueses a mantis hand for all the movements, what a joke.

How curious -- has Mr. Ortize ever stated why he did this ? I have been practicing Tiger & Crane for most of my adult life. When I do this form I have to make a 'mental shift' away from PM in terms of positioning, movement, technique, etc. Hung-Gar and PM are very different systems my preference has been to draw clear lines between the two (with regard to my MA training) for fear of the one negatively effecting the other.

Of course now that you've brought it up and just to satisfy my curiousity... I'll have to try it too !

have a nice day,
UM.

[mantisben]

Originally posted by Chowmein
Merry Christmas to you all.

Can anybody tell me anything about the 'twenty-five fist form', I can not find out any information on this form anywhere. It is supposed to be a basic Praying Mantis form, does anybody know of it ?

Thanks in advance.

Robert.

In GrandMaster Lee Kam Wing's book "The Secret of Seven-Star Mantis Style" there is a chapter called "The Twenty-Five Fist-Fighting Technique". This is NOT a PM form, and isn't presented as one. It is an extraction of 25 different fist techniques. He also has a chapter called "The Eighteen Palm Technique". Again, this is only an extraction of 18 different palming techniques, and NOT a PM form.

Maybe you (or someone else) misunderstood "twenty-five fist" form for "twenty-five fist" fighting techniques.

Then again, maybe the form does exist...

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

Oops. That's where I saw it. Not in a magazine. I was looking through that book recently which explains why I can't find it in the last magazine issues I've read. Thank mantisben for the info.

[Chowmein]

Thanks for all the information. It is definately a form, or at least a made up one. It could be the 25 techniques stringed together has a form.
Thankyou.

Robert.