Hey, Kevin, Rich, and Electric Mantis....
Onyami
I just read your post and I will get the telephone number of Master Zhuo Xienfu's Eight Step Mantis school there in Taiwan. I should be able to round that up for you from my Sifu John Chang later and I will send it off to you in a pm. I think that it will be interesting for you to see the form done in person if you stop by there, since Eight Step Mantis is really a different look from other mantis styles. I have never met Master Zhuo, but I can say from what his peers and my sifu tell me, he is a true gentleman and excellent martial artist. It should be a pleasant visit for you.
As far as the Li Pi form, it is an excellent beginning form, since it is filled with apps that can be used immediately in defense by a beginning student (as well as advanced artists). I think that this is why the form is seen being used in so many styles of mantis and why you will really see a lot of variations in it. It is not as simple as it looks if you break it down to understand what everything is, which is typical of gong fu. Of course this all depends on what depth you want to look... surface of the water or below where the fish live, you know.
Regards,
Bokfu
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin