Weakest / Strongest aspects of Mantis

[Reggie1]

I'm learning 7* mantis, and I was wondering what some of the longtime practicioners thought about the weakest and strongest aspects of the system in general. What is the weakest aspect of 7*? Is there something outside of 7* you would study that can help address this? What are the general strengths of 7*?

[holymantis]

i myself have only trained 7* mantis and what i have seen about the system can and would only do 7* mantis .
and that's because there is so much of the system
that you should not have that much time to think of any other art .
plus all it will do is water the system down .


holymantis

[bung bo]

Reggie1--pong lai martial arts is a compendium of taiji, plum blossom, secret door, 7*, with a bit of 8 step. i know a few 7* sets and i think a big advantage is the relentless attacking. doing these sets over and over and over teaches one how to link these attacks all together quickly. very POW-POW-POW-POW-POW. this sect of mantis is relatively new and considered easier than the others.

study anything else to help your mantis? i think taijichuan is an excellent compliment to any MA. especially since you practice an external style.

[sayloc]

If you are concerned with fighting I you may want to look into a systemized tyle of grappleing (for a suppliment to tohe mantis). Many people say they pull the grappling out of the forms, but that may not be the most effective way. You can do a search of this forum for a previous thread on grappling in mantis.


Most mantis systems are great when it comes to two person drills and forms. You will actually learn what the techniques are for and be able to apply them up to speed in hudreds of differnt combinations. Which will allow you to use the mantis techniques in actual combat and not rely on kick boxing or boxing skills. I feel there are many more strong points about mantis, there is just not eough time.

Have a good day.

[shirkers1]

Praying mantis in general has the core character principles that make it strong. The tactics themselves are great, but if the tactics aren’t trained or learned properly then these strengths become a weakness. The character principles along with SPEED, ADVANCED TRAPPING (legs and hands), MOBILE FOOTWORK, SHORT POWER, COVERING ALL FIGHTING RANGES, THE ABILITY TO SIZE UP THE OPPONENT, AMBIDEXTROUS, RELENTLESS IN ATTACK, ABILITY TO ADAPT, STREET ORIENTATED, MULTIPLE TACTICS AT THE SAME TIME.

All of these “strengths” applied to the proper tactics makes praying mantis kung fu very effective.

We can talk about tactics all day, breaks, throws, individual traps, etc. All of which are effective. But all styles have tactics that can be effective, the important thing is that the tactics are learned properly and the student is able to apply them in real combat.

As for a weakness, I find it hard to answer this one. The tactics as a whole are great. Each student will excel in one tactic more than the other, making some tactics a weakness for that individual student. Just because praying mantis doesn’t have a modern ground fighting look to it doesn’t mean that this is a weakness. One of the strengths of mantis is the ability to adapt and think about dealing with a modern ground fighter, therefore using mantis tactics to overcome the modern ground fighter. This example can be applied to all styles, boxing, kicking, grappling, etc. For most other styles this is their weakness. The inability to adapt to another style fighter, they must get their opponent into their element to succeed. Because they can’t switch it up and overcome their opponent with the tactics they have.

So technically I find that the improper training of the tactics will be the weakness, not the style itself.



mark

[EarthDragon]

Reggie you pose a good question. In my experience it is the ability to destroy your oppenets balance while ripping, pulling and tearing at the joints ligaments and tendons.
In most systems that I have seen this is unique to praying mantis, in this combination.

I would have to say as I weakness what I have found in my older years is not being able to perform the actions and cause the same effect in a softer more realxed method. This is why personally I find Tai Chi to be a great compliment. I have found as I get older I would much rather shift my weight and avoid a punch then to block or redirect it.

[ekaltenborn]

very good description!

[yu shan]

Don`t really know any weak points in 7*at all! Good for you taking this venture up. You will be the better for it. Strong points... I like the aggressiveness of the Mantis crashing thru there attaker. Does it get any better?