Principles of Taiji Meihua Mantis

它练起拳来，腿分明暗，手分阴阳，上下肢时时旋转，划弧，很具太极拳特点

上下肢时时旋转，四面环绕，出手成撮，手不单行，手的招式像

朵朵梅花，发劲时“张如驰”发劲结束我静止时“缩如球”

兼有螳螂活动之长

When you practice forms

Footwork can be clear or hidden

The hands complement each other like yin and yang

Limbs move up and down, constantly whirling

Arms draw half circles

This is the characteristics of Taiji

Limbs move up and down, constantly whirling

Attack the opponent from all sides and surround him

Combinations should flow together

The movements’ don’t just have one purpose

The hands movements represent plum flowers

Emitting power you should "open like a bow"

When the movement finishes it "contracts like a ball"

Simultaneously these hold the development of the mantis movements

练功时，讲究意集神发，根固枝摇。技击方面，有时手脚并用，马不停蹄向前追赶；有时四面八方冲打或上，下，左，右，缠绕。横冲直撞，左捆右缠，锤肘密布，连招带。

During training kung fu, you must express intent and show spirit,

Body movements must have a solid foundation.

When attacking, the hands must be in harmony with the feet,

Steps should be fast like sprinting.

Strike in all directions: coiling left, right, up and down.

Step in to hit directly, locking with left hand and coiling with right hand.

Strike continuously with the cooperation of the elbows.

Every movement must have fighting intent.

for more translations like this, visit http://monkeystealspeach.co.uk 

Song of Mantis Fist

Song of Mantis Fist

太极梅花螳螂拳歌诀：

头往上顶脖颈竖

会阴内收气沉腹

沉肩垂肘

含晚竖手

含胸拔背

形似猫扑鼠

"Tip your head, raise your neck

Hui yin point tucked in, qi in dantian

Shoulders relaxed, elbows sunken

Wrist sitting, fingers raised

Chest hollow, spine stretched

The posture's like a cat poised to catch a mouse."

This is a "song" explaining the correct body posture in mantis. Traditionally once a student mastered the basics of mantis, they were expected to memorise songs like this, to help them remember the internal principles of body posture and movement.

Tipping your head refers to tucking your chin in very slightly, this offers slight protection to your throat and helps you to focus your eyesight directly ahead. Raising your neck means to have a slight stretching feeling in the muscles in the back of your neck, also, you can imagine a string from the top of your head (bai hui point) pulling your spine straight (spine stretched).

The hui yin point is an acupoint just in front of your anus. The meaning of tucking this point in is to allow your hips to drop and tuck slightly forward. The feeling being your tailbone is curved slightly and your lower back is straight, rather than arched in. You should feel like you are perched on the edge of a chair, sitting into your stance, but only slightly, dont stick your groin forward, or it will be an easy target.

Relaxing the shoulders and sinking the elbows creates more power in the arms, while avoiding stiffness. “The elbows never leave the ribs” is another phrase often heard. This provides protection to the core of the body from attack, as the elbows are kept close to the body, following a pathway in line with the ribs as they move back and forth. “Wrists sitting and fingers raised” describes a guard position, a slight tweak of tension in the wrists, keeping them in position and developing potential energy at this point. The wrists shouldn’t be kept totally limp, but should have life, a small amount of tension holding them in place.

Hollowing the chest is a feeling of relaxing the chest. It shouldn’t be stuck out, but at the same time, hollowing means to relax, not to force it in. This allows your Qi to sink to your dantian (mentioned in the beginning), which means to allow your breathing to become deeper using your abdomen. This increases your power, by using this to point to breathe out sharply as you emit power.

Understanding and applying these points to your posture, as well as understanding the correct use of tension and relaxation, will allow you to use your body to its maximum potential in combat, allowing you to use a greater percentage of your bodies natural power and speed. Also, you will feel more powerful, and so will be more confident.

For more translations like this, visit http://www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk

One night in Yantai

Before coming to Yantai, I expected to find mantis schools everywhere, it being the hometown of the kung fu style and all. This not being the case, I at least expected the university Im studying at to have a kung fu culture, but after looking around, I just found some modern Wushu and old people doing taiji.

Through the introduction of a friend, I finally found a little pocket of the kung fu atmosphere I was expecting to find here. Walking down a little back alley at dusk we came to a small courtyard with some little kids stretching their legs on a wall. There was a very old man sitting on a tiny stool smoking, who got up to greet me. This was Grandmaster Qu Zi Jun. He didn’t have the powerful, overbearing master attitude I often see in China, instead he was welcoming and humble. He invited me in to an apartment on the side of the courtyard, he said he didn’t live there, it seemed to just be full of swords, trophies and calligraphy, with boxes laying around everywhere. We sat down and I handed him a small gift of some tea and a box of milk, which is customary in China when meeting a master or person of respect. In return, he gave me a T-shirt with a mantis logo and Chinese characters on it.

After chatting for a bit, we went outside and I sat and watched the class. It was mostly kids, with 2 adults; my Chinese friend and another older guy who was helping teach. Master Qu would sit and watch quietly, chatting to me and occasionally telling the kids to stop talking and giving some corrections. I didn’t want to ask too many questions on the first meeting, I was quite happy to watch and soak up the atmosphere. From watching the better kids and the adults, I could see that even as our lineages are the same: Taiji Plum Blossom Mantis, there were obvious differences in the forms and body mechanics. They seem to be more obviously “mantis-like” in their movements, and I found it a bit more appealing to the eye.

They asked me to perform Luan Jie, which I was a bit reluctant about, I rarely review old forms, but I felt surprisingly powerful and clear in my movements and they seemed to like it. At first, the older student thought I did Seven Star mantis, but I explained it was the same lineage, just from Zhang Bing Dou of Qingdao (my master’s master). I was hoping to see some applications and more partner training, but it was mostly a kids class, I guess that’s kept for the older students, who need to prove themselves.

I guess I need to get out more and get looking for these kinds of experiences; the masters won’t come looking for me. My master is my master, but I want to gain a larger insight into mantis, and with my masters blessing, take a look at what others are doing and get more involved in the kung fu community here. Master Qu welcomed me to come back and visit again, although as he knows I already have a master, I’m not too sure what that means.

Interview with Master Qu

Master Qu Hai is a native of Yantai, birthplace of Praying Mantis kung fu. He is a 9th generation master of Taiji-Meihua Mantis, and a disciple of Li Kun Shan’s grandson, Zhang Bing Dou. He has practiced mantis since his early teens and is also a qualified Tui Na massage therapist and acupuncturist.




Shifu, could you please talk about your experience learning kung fu:



Well, when I was young, I was always interested in kung fu, and Shandong being the home of mantis, it was only natural that I chose it. I began training in basics and forms with a local master, but he was very busy and so recommended I follow a master in Qingdao, Zhang Bing Dou.



We would train in the evenings in Masters house, training was very slow and repetitive, we would get one move and just work that until Master was happy, then he would give us another one. Sometimes he would just send us home to work on one move and tell us to come back next month, then he would look at it and say its not good enough, go back and practice! Also, my master wanted to test you, to see what kind of person you are. You have to have a good character, and strong resolve. He won’ tell you anything for a long time, just make you repeat. Maybe after a period of time he will tell you what you’re doing wrong. You see, in kung fu, you must think for yourself, its not just about asking your master all the time.



For the first year, I just worked on basics, then forms. Later, I learnt paired practice, weapons and qigong. Forms are very important; they must be done with intent. It’s this intent that separates kung fu from mere wu shu. We would take single moves from forms and repeat them over and over again. If we didn’t understand an application, Master would make us spar, just using this one move. We never had mats on the ground or gloves like you guys. You can’t be afraid of being hit. Forms and sparring are interconnected, there is a saying: “spar like you’re doing a form, do a form like you’re sparring.” This is very important.



Shifu, how did you come to learn Ba Gua?



After studying mantis for a long time and having a high level, I felt like I wanted to broaden my horizons. I began to meet with people from other styles to exchange ideas with them. I took an interest in Wuxing Tongbei and Da Cheng Quan (Yi Quan). Later, I began to read about Ba Gua Zhang. After contacting a master named Wang Shang Zhi on the internet, I travelled to Beijing to meet him. We met in a park and discussed kung fu. I felt that he had a very high level and deep understanding, and I really liked his kung fu. So I spent three years living in his home studying Yin style Ba Gua. Master Wang made and sold redwood furniture, sometimes I would help him with his work. When we trained, I was often paired up with a huge guy, who was very strong. I had to use my brain to be clever. I couldn’t defeat him with brute force. Our master focused a lot on paried practice, and feeling the opponent. We learnt through doing and feeling, rather than explanations. The point was that if you got hit, you learnt something. Maybe your guard was down, maybe you left yourself open. So you wouldn’t do that again. Slowly you would learn and improve.



There is much talk about the differences between internal and external kung fu, what are your thoughts?



Actually there is no difference really. The names “internal” and “external” came about after the twentieth century. You must have internal and external together, internal power comes from correct body mechanics, and from intent. When you practice forms, you must have the intent of fighting. Don’t just do the movements, imagine there is an opponent, make your movements fast and flow together. In a fight you don’t stop after each punch, the same in forms. You can do three or four movements within one body movement. This is real kung fu, its not step 1, step 2, step 3 like you see in a magazine. That is just a beginner’s level. Also, you must use muscular power together with intent; you need to train power. Take Taiji for instance, most people think its all soft and powerless, in fact real Taiji training is tough and has high demands for power training. All kung fu is the same, you need a strong body to generate power, and you need intent to use your power.



Shifu, I find it difficult to explain mantis to people, it’s quite an eclectic style:



Well, basically, mantis takes the principles of how a praying mantis will catch it’s pray as a foundation. As mantis was created quite late, it was able to further absorb the strong points of other styles to add to this foundation. It is heavily influenced by Chang Quan, Tongbei Quan, Taiji Quan as well as others. The body must move as a whole unit, using circular movements, half circles and spirals, as well as the unity of opposites, such as forward and backwards, opening and closing etc.



And what about the differences between the different branches:



In fact, in the beginning, there was no separation of different branches. Liu He (6 harmonies) mantis was created fairly early, it has a different syllabus and principles to the other branches. Qi Xing (7 stars) and Taiji separated much later, and in fact the similarities are greater than the differences. Taiji and Meihua is pretty much the same thing, its only personal preferences as to the name used. Qi Xing uses the principle of body parts relating the 7 stars (the big dipper), and that these 7 parts should move in union. Taiji uses the principles of Yin and Yang, or opposites, like left and right, forward and backward, so that the body moves harmoniously and generates the most power. Meihua refers the footwork and hand methods; that they move in a plum blossom shape, attacking the opponent from different sides. All the styles have long and short, hard and soft, the principles are the same. It’s just like if I teach 5 of you, you will have Will mantis, Eric mantis, etc, you all have your own characteristics.



Shifu, how did you come to learn Chinese medicine?



In fact, my first master suffered from a bad lower back, so I wanted to learn massage to help him. Later, my interest grew and I saw how deep it is. I went to Jinan and later to Beijing, to gain my qualifications in Chinese medicine.



Finally, Shifu, can you tell me what you think the benefits of Mantis are:



Well, it can harmonise your body, kung fu exercises your body as a whole. Not only that but it is good for self defence, health preservation and making yourself stronger in body and mind. It can help you to become a better person, improve your heart and mind. You will be able to face whatever challenges life throws at you with a very peaceful and calm mind. You won’t be so stressed and worried, and will have more confidence in yourself.



Shifu, thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with us!

For more interviews like this, visit http://monkeystealspeach.co.uk

Jin Gang Li Gong, Iron Strength Qigong

The style of Qigong I practice is called Jin Gang Li. It is a martial art Qigong, which means there is a large focus on building up and developing internal power.

The main method of practice is standing posture, where you hold your hands in front of your chest as if holding a ball and a bent knee stance with the toes turned in slightly. This strengthens the leg muscles and after years of practice condenses the bones. While standing, we focus on building and strengthening the Dan Tian, which is the area of the lower belly, beneath the navel. There are actually three Dan Tians, but the lower one is the foundation, the part of your body where Qi is stored. The lower Dan Tian is strengthened through concentration on that area and deep breathing. You must breathe all the way down into your lower belly, expanding it. After a while of dedicated practice, you will begin to feel warm, numb or inflated feelings in your lower belly. This means Qi is beginning to accumulate here. It is recommended you stand for a bare minimum of 30 minutes, but 1-2 hours will give you greater benefits. It also requires long term persistence, you wont get any benefit just doing it on and off, it must be done daily.

There are also supplementary moving forms and sitting meditation. The sitting meditation focuses on using the mind to guide the Qi through different channels in the body. The moving forms help to strengthen the body, open meridians and release power. The first moving form is a collection of six basic movements which do all of the above. Then, there is the Sun form, which opens the meridians between the hands and the lower Dan Tian and increases the Qi flow there. The next form is the Moon form, which is taught once the middle Dan Tian, located at the solar plexus is opened. The middle Dan Tian acts as a kind of pump, it helps send your Qi from your lower Dan Tian to different arts of your body. The Moon form helps to open and strengthen the middle Dan Tian and the chest. The next step is the Heaven form, which focusses on releasing power. A a higher level, once your lower and middle Dan Tians are both full, you can work on the upper Dan Tian, orthird eye. This is located between the eyes, and is said to be the gateway into developing more esoteric powers, such as being able to send you Qi out of your body and other skills. I have been fortunate enough to feel this, when I had lower back trouble, while standing in Qigong, Master Guo would come over and press his thumbs into my back every day for a week. I got a feeling of intense heat coming from his thumbs into my back and my whole got a hot flush and I started sweating intensely.

Another important part of Jin Gang Li is Iron Shirt training, which is conditioning the body to withstand blows. Any part of the body can be conditioned, such as the back, ribs, stomach, arms, palm, fingers, even the head. Advanced practitioners can take full power kicks to the stomach or ribs, have sticks broken over their back, break metal bars over their heads and more.

Jin Gang Li is an art which is being practiced less and less. Master Guo told me that nowadays, young martial artists want to do acrobatics and kickboxing, nobody wants to stand on one spot for long periods of time, so the art is not spreading. There are many westerners who come to our academy and they learn Qigong from Master Guo, but few will be around long enough to get a high level in the system. In 8 months I have got to focussing on the middle Dan Tian and the Moon form, but with my main focus being Mantis Kung Fu, I dont have the time to really focus on Qigong. Perhaps in the future, when my Kung Fu is much better, I can spend some time to focus more on this interesting art.

Some books I recommend on martial arts

Sword Polishers Record-Way of Kung Fu: This is on of my favourite books on Kung Fu. It is written by a master named Adam Hsu, who teaches a number of traditional northenr styles, such as Baji, Xing Yi and Chen Style Taiji in America. This is a compilation of years of articles hes written on Kung Fu, such as principles, philosophy, purpose of forms, role of a teacher and senior students, culture etc. I really like this book as it relates to any style of Kung Fu and is a treasure chest of knowledge about real, traditional Kung Fu. He dispels a lot of historical myths, explains the misunderstandings about what constitutes internal and external, northern and southern, describes principles common to all Chinese martial arts as well as so much more. If you read one book on Kung Fu it should be this one.



A Tooth from the Tigers Mouth: This book is a good supplement for martial arts training. It deals with treatment of sports injuries using Traditional Chinese Medicine. Firstly it introduces the principles of TCM and the common practices, then the later sections deal with treatments for common injuries, using pressure points, herbal medicines, ointments, massage and more.








The Tao of Gung Fu: A compilation of Bruce Lees earlier writings, this book is packed full of Bruces thoughts on martial arts, styles, famous masters of the past as well as techniques he used in Jun Fan Gung Fu before he created JKD. It is packed full of philosophy and theory for martial arts and is good for all Kung Fu practitioners.







      

Xing Yi Nei Gong: This book advertises itself as presenting a set of supplementary internal strengthening excercises for internal martial arts. However, it does much more than that, containing translations of all the Xing Yi classes, which I have found very helpful, as a lot of the internal concepts relate to any style, I think practicioners of any style will find this book interesting and useful, especially for internal arts.






Whirling Circles of Ba Gua: Although this presents Cheng style Ba Gua and I practice Yin style, I still found this book interesting. It had a good section on the history and central philosophies of Ba Gua, demonstrates the 8 Mother Palms, 8 Palm Changes as well as some applications and weapons. The theory/philosophy is excellent and the end portion of the book has translations of the Ba Gua classics, which have been indispensable to training.
   





                                                                                                                               

A Look into Mantis Fist

I feel that now Ive been learning mantis for more or less 7 months, Im beginning to get a bit of an idea what it is all about. To an outsider, 7 months may sound like a long time, but anyone who has studied Kung Fu will know that it just the beginning of a very long journey.

Master Qu teaches slowly and thoroughly, and he doesnt always tell you things at first. Before, I thought that a teacher should tell you everything, but now I see that its not good to know things too early, you probably wont appreciate or understand them. When I practice forms, he is very thorough, I get one move at a time, and I need to practice that one move until its right, then I get the next one. In some cases, I have spent 2-3 weeks with no new move to my form. While this is frustrating, repetition is very important, to develop good body mechanics, good posture and correct use of power. It also develops patience and determination, as you have to earn the next move.

Mantis uses a lot of trapping and controlling techniques, it has some similarities to Wing Chun in this respect, although Wing Chun is very linear, Mantis is more circular. While to an outsider, the application of the two arts may look similar, the ideas behind it are very different. Wing Chun is based on the principle of economy of motion, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, which is the same idea as Xing Yi Quan. Mantis on the other hand uses the idea that circular movements generate more power, akin to Taiji. Every movement uses the whole body in a twisting motion, starting from the feet and twisting from the waist. Each movement sets you up for the next one, like a swinging door. This also uses the centreline principle, except slightly differently from Wing Chun. In Mantis, the centreline is the core of the body, which is the axis for any rotation of the body.

Mantis footwork is very powerful, but agile. Every step is light, yet strong, and provides power for the attacking arms.. The weight is not fixed on any particular leg, but is free to move between the two depending on the situation. For example if I straight punch from my front arm, the weight comes slightly forward, a hook punch from the back arm would bring the weight back again as the body twists. It has similarities in this aspect to the footwork of Ba Gua Zhang, which is why Master Qu teaches these arts together, as they are complementary.

Another interesting thing in Mantis is that despite the fact that on the surface it is vicious, fast and powerful, it is most definitely an internal art. Qigong is an important part of Mantis, standing postures provide the base for this, and then later on there are many movements, designed to strengthen the tendons of the body, open up the channels and meridians and develops deep, abdominal breathing, which strengthens the diaphragm and internal organs. Qigong not only develops these, but quietens the mind, giving clarity of thought and teaches you how to use your intent to generate much greater power than just the muscles.

The thing I like most about Mantis is that it is a very complete system. It contains elements of everything I want from martial arts, harmonizes the internal and external, develops powerful internal energy, is practical for fighting, good excercise for the body, is incredibly effective and vicious and looks stunning when performed well. It is a very complex art, not just the surface movements, but inside too. There is much more going on that what you see when being performed.