Arizona Mantis

[djcetra]

I've asked this question before and then didn't have access to a computer for a while, I guess the post got cleaned off. Does anyone know where to find a good teacher/school for 7-Star Praying Mantis or another Mantis style in the Phoenix/Tempe area? If not, perhaps some advice how how I can start to learn on my own a little? Are videos garbage etc? Thanks!

[Three Harmonies]

Find a good teacher, do not worry about style or system. You will waste your time and money on trying to learn from a video.
Jake

[osprey3883]

Hello,
Mantis is pretty hard to pin down in the Valley, not many teachers.
Here is one school in the east valley-
http://martialarts.mysite.com/

If you decide to check out another style Wing Chun is worthwhile as well-
http://www.mengsofaz.com/

Good luck on your search,
Matt

[djcetra]

Hello,
Mantis is pretty hard to pin down in the Valley, not many teachers.
Here is one school in the east valley-
http://martialarts.mysite.com/

If you decide to check out another style Wing Chun is worthwhile as well-
http://www.mengsofaz.com/

Good luck on yuor search,
Matt

How similar is Wing Chun to Mantis? I've always been curious of it but mantis has always been my preference.

[Eric_H]

Hey djcetra,

I only know of one man who teaches Mantis in Arizona, and he does it as a closed door system (ie: you have to train with him for years before he'll let you do it).

As for wing chun, it's a mixed bag, there's a lot of different types of it out there. I train at the Wing Chun school osprey posted about, and we have a lot of kiu sao (bridge arm) drills and rib bone (Dip Gwat) training that are similar to some southern Mantis stuff I've seen. I'm also good friends with a teacher of a Hakka system here in town that has similarities to SPM. If you want his contact info or more info about any of the places I've mentioned please send me a pm.

[djcetra]

Hey djcetra,

I only know of one man who teaches Mantis in Arizona, and he does it as a closed door system (ie: you have to train with him for years before he'll let you do it).

What's the purpose of this

[Eric_H]

What's the purpose of this

Most teachers want some time to test you out before they show you what they really have, it's just a part of traditional kung fu culture.

Think about it this way: why would I give someone I don't know very well access to my best weapons?

However, if you are sincere about it, some teachers might let you start with some of their indoor stuff, it's all up to the teacher themselves. It never hurts to introduce yourself and ask. Unless they punch you

[Three Harmonies]

So who is the mystery teacher Eric?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this attitude is exaclty the reason CMA are dying today! People are sooooo turned off by this BS attitude that they either quit martial arts all together, or head to a MMA/BJJ/Muay Thai gym to train. CMA teachers need to re-evaluate their stance on this issue if they want their arts to thrive, let alone survive IMO!

Jake

[EarthDragon]

In my opinon, not that anyones asking but bored at work so here it goes.

It took 5 years of asking yearly and learning from his student before I personally was accepted as a student from my teacher.... old fasion way of thinking??? perhaps not.

On one hand greed will be the downfall of CMA alot of us seem to think so...

however thier is a jewel there, a worthy lifelong goal to master these precious things handed down for centureis, so should we, you or them just give it away to the undeserving who might then tarnish this jewel????

You have to work hard be loyal and deserving to get a promotion or a raise, so why not deserving of knowledge?

Or shoudl it just be taught to any random attitude who can fork over a hundred bucks? there are losts of students I turn away and will not teach, but I will teach everthing I know to my long time students. is this wrong?

[djcetra]

While I understand that not every jerk who wants to beat people up on the street should be passed on any of this knowledge, I look at the reflection of myself and realize that I'm 28 years old and waiting 5 years for permission to learn digs right into my prime

[shaolin_allan]

No one has mentioned this yet but the school mentioned earlier named Green Mantis
Kung Fu teaches Southern style. There are two schools in Phoenix one being downtown that teach 7 Star Mantis, the other in Tempe which is the Chinese Shao-lin center http://www.shaolinarizona.com/ . The school I can vouch for is Eagar's Wushu Academy. Sifu Eagar is an advanced level instructor and teaches many different styles. Check out my profile for the web address to get his contact info, he is located in central Phoenix.

[Three Harmonies]

Eager is wushu, not traditional Mantis.

As for "giving stuff" away vs. "earning".......... the secret is in hard work (ED you should know that)! I can teach you many "secrets" but in the end you will not develope ****e' without hard, consistent training. Period. There are no secrets.

Jake

[shaolin_allan]

Eagar teaches wushu as well as traditional 7 star mantis.

[EarthDragon]

Three Harmonies,
true true that practice and hard work hence the word (gongfu) will get you to where you need to be, however an important part is WHAT you practice.
And this can only be taught from others whom are more experienced and knowledgeable than ourselves.

This is my point........... unfortunatly alot of the time these individulas are old schoolers, with old fashion chinese mentalities. So we are at thier mercy for knowledge and they dont just give it away we must earn it. While some people in todays society might think otherwise, this is still the case.

Hell microwaves cook food horribly, however it is the todays mentaltiy of quick results and gotta have it right away that keep making us cook dinners in 2 minutes even though we know the food tastes better cooked traditionally, but none will ever stop making ovens.............

PS one of the secrets in our system is the counters to the applications. But i can assure you my teacher as well as other teachers will be slow in showing me the counters to the counters, but hey i got a life long bank of information now that i havent mastered so i am not full pressed to get more........... just a couple pennies for ya all

[Three Harmonies]

Number one Eager is wushu. Period. Unless he has trained traditional stuff in the last 6 or so years since I have seen him. Sorry to burst any bubbles.

ED-
I guess I am just blessed with lucky juju to have found the exceptions to rules in this case. I tried to play the "oh master, I will prove my worthy-ness" game for many years, and the only thing I got was frustration, and wasting of time. To each their own.

Cheers
Jake