Most schools of Mantis pay homage to the list of Eighteen Masters that make up our style.
At the beginning of the Eighteen founders of Mantis (Which we should really be calling Luohan), a list of 18 masters and their specialty,is Song Taizu, founding Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

太祖的長拳起首， Taizu's Longfist Comes First.

If his Longfist comes first it must be pretty important.
So, if we really understand our style, or if masters understand this style, then what does Taizu's Longfist actually mean?

Looking at Longfist today is a maze of confusion. A never ending list of forms.
Even within a single style or school of Longfist will likely have many many forms of longfist.

Or, you may say that within our 18 masters list Taizu's Longfist refers to a Longfist form as taught to the military during the Ming, famously known as Taizu's Longfist.

But, I say that it is neither of those. Instead it means a technique, not a form, or a style. It means Taizu's single technique that he passed down for posterity. So, if Taizu has but a single technique and our list of creators of the style is only eighteen, then how many techniques does the style have?

Eighteen techniques? Thirty-six techniques? Hardly enough to make up so many forms that exist today.

Eighteen Masters
太祖的長拳起首，韓通的通背為母；
鄭恩的纏封尤妙，溫元的短拳更奇；
馬籍的短打最甚，孫恆的猴拳且盛；
黃祐的靠身難近，綿盛的面掌飛疾；
金相的磕手通拳，懷德的摔捋硬崩；
劉興的勾摟採手，譚方的滾漏貫耳；
燕青的拈拿跌法，林沖的鴛鴦腳強；
孟甦的七勢連拳，崔連的窩裡剖捶；
楊滾的棍採直入，王朗的螳螂總敵。