Southern Praying Mantis (martial art)

Southern Praying Mantis
南派螳螂
Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into... :	nán pài tángláng
Yale Cantonese:	naam4 paai1 tong4 long4
Hakka pinjim:	nam2 pai5 tong2 long2
Literally	"southern style praying mantis"

Southern Praying Mantis (南派螳螂, which reads in Cantonese

Cantonese

Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...

as Nam (south) Pai (Clan) Tong Long, translated as Praying Mantis) is a Chinese martial art native to the Hakka people

Hakka people

The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

(客家, in Cantonese read Ha Ka or Ha Ga, a reference to descendants of the Han Dynasty who later migrated south at a time of political unrest). There is an extensive historical record of the Hakka people's migration south, where they were commonly farmers settling into territory that was inhabited by the Punti

Punti

The Punti, a rough transliteration of the Cantonese term for "original locality," refers to the Cantonese-speaking populations of Guangdong province in southern China...

communities of Southern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

; the Hakka were called 'guests' in the south, and were often considered unwelcome guests by the Punti communities. The relations between the Hakka and Punti people were strained to such a degree that it was common to have family and village disputes.

The Hakka “Praying Mantis” style of fighting is completely unrelated to the Northern Praying Mantis style. In terms of history and techniques, the Southern Praying Mantis is more closely associated with fellow Hakka styles

Hakka Kuen

Hakka Kuen is a general term describing a variety of Chinese martial arts originating from the Hakka community of Southern China and is considered to be an important style within Southern Chinese Martial Arts....

such as the Dragon

Dragon Kung Fu

The movements of the Southern Dragon style of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythical Chinese dragon....

(龍形拳)"Lung Ying Kuen or Bak Mei

Bak Mei

Bak Mei is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty imperial regime — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government...

(白眉拳) Similarities begin to become less pronounced in the Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

family of styles that includes Fujian White Crane (白鶴拳), Five Ancestors

Five Ancestors

Five Ancestors Fist is a Southern Chinese martial art that consists of techniques from five different styles:* the breathing methods and iron body of Da mo * the posture and dynamic power of Luohan...

(五祖拳), and Wing Chun

Wing Chun

Wing Chun , also romanised as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun, ; ; is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.The alternative characters 永春 "eternal spring" are also...

(詠春). These last Fujian family style exhibit traits of what is commonly seen as Punti-influenced martial methods. Well known Punti styles like Hung Gar

Hung Gar

Hung Ga 洪家, Hung Kuen 洪拳, or Hung Ga Kuen 洪家拳 is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga....

, Fut Gar

Fut Gar

Fut Ga or Buddhist Style is a relatively modern Southern Shaolin style of Kung Fu devised primarily from the combination of Hung Ga 洪家 and Choi Ga 蔡家 kung fu...

, and Black Tiger

Fu Jow Pai

Fu Jow Pai , originally named "Hark Fu Moon" , has its origins in Hoy Hong Temple. The system "was modeled after the demeanor and fighting strategy of an attacking tiger. The striking movements are lightning fast, agile and powerful...

utilized more forceful movement employing what became known as the 'one punch- one kill method' from the hard training of these arts. More familiar terminology would refer to the iron fist or iron arm/body. Although these methods are best known from the Punti arts in the modern times, the training is included in the Hakka arts also- but with less emphasis in early stages of practice. There are four main branches of Southern Praying Mantis originating from Hakka culture being practised worldwide.

Southern Praying Mantis places a heavy emphasis on close-range fighting. This system is known for its short power methods, and has aspects of both internal and external techniques. In application, the emphasis is on hand and arm techniques, and a limited use of low kicks. The application of close combat methods with an emphasis on hands and short kicking techniques makes the Southern Praying Mantis art somewhat akin to what many would call "street fighting." The hands are the most readily available for attack and defence of the upper body, and protect the stylist by employing ruthless techniques designed to inflict serious injury. The legs are moved quickly into range through footwork to protect and defend the body, and attacks are limited to short kicking actions so as to never leave the Southern Mantis combatant off-balance and vulnerable.

History

The four main branches of Southern Praying Mantis are:

Chow Gar
Chow Gar
Chow Gar Tong long is a southern Chinese martial art and is one of the four major schools in Southern Praying Mantis. It is an aggressive style with emphasis on close range fighting...

(周家; Chow family)
Chu Gar (朱家; Chu family)
Kwong Sai Jook Lum (江西竹林; JiangXi ZhuLin; Bamboo Forest)
Iron Ox (鐵牛)

A common antecedent can be surmised from the same traditional region of origin, the popularity amongst the Hakka community, a reference to praying mantis, similar training forms such as Sarm Bo Jin (三步箭) and common application principles. However, despite similarities, the genealogies of these branches are not complete enough to trace them to a single common ancestor. The relationship between Chow Gar and Chu Gar can both be traced directly to Lau Shui.

The origins of Kwong Sai Jook Lum system is controversial with some Chu Gar proponents claiming a relationship also to Lau Shui; however, those claims have since been refuted.

The Iron Ox system can be traced historically to the area of Southern China where the other branches of Southern Praying Mantis first originated and to the same Hakka communities where the art was transmitted. There are many other Southern styles such as Chuka Shaolin that uses similar technique but are not identified as being part of this group of martial arts according to their respective schools. Those styles can be identified as being Hakka Kuen.

Hakka Kuen

Kwong Sai Jook Lum tradition mentions that the people of Pearl River Delta once referred to the Southern Praying Mantis style as "Hakka Kuen

Hakka Kuen

" (客家拳), a term that was initially linked to the Southern martial arts practised by the Hakka community of inland eastern Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

and later applied to the skills that are practised by oversea Hakka communities. The reason for this was the close association of this style with the Hakka community.

This region, the original home to Southern Praying Mantis, covers a wide expanse in Southern China. It begins at the very heart of Hakka territory at Xingning

Xingning

Xingning is a county-level city, under the jurisdiction of Meizhou, in Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China.- History :Xingning county was established in 331 CE.Xingning was the capital of the 10th-century Southern Han Dynasty....

, the home of Chow Gar founder Chow Ah-Nam. From Xingning, the Dongjiang (東江) flows west out of the prefecture of Meizhou

Meizhou

-Administration:The municipal government, Intermediate Court and CPC and PSB bureaux are housed in the district of Jiangnan , on the right bank of Meijiang River.A second district of Meizhou is Jiangbei , on the left bank...

(梅州) through HohYuen, the place of origin for Iron Ox founder Choi Tit-Ngau. In the prefecture of Huizhou

Huizhou

Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...

, the DongKwong forms the northern border of Huìyáng (惠陽) County, where Kwong Sai Jook Lum master Chung Yu-Chang and Chow/Chu Gar teacher Lau Shui grew up and established their martial arts reputation. From there, the Dongjiang flows into the Pearl River Delta

Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta , Zhujiang Delta or Zhusanjiao in Guangdong province, People's Republic of China is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea...

(珠江三角洲) at Bao'an County (present-day Shenzhen

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

), where Kwong Sai Jook Lum masters Wong Yook-Gong and Lum Wing-Fay originated. These masters are all members of the Hakka community and the transmission of this remained within this community until the generation of Lau Shui and Lum Wing-Fay.

Praying Mantis

The association of the term "Praying Mantis" with the style is also controversial. Each branch of the style offers a different explanation.

The traditions of the Chow Gar and Kwong Sai Jook Lum branches each maintain that their respective founders Chow Ah-Nam and Som Dot created their styles after witnessing a praying mantis fight and defeat a bird. Such inspiration is a recurring motif in the Chinese martial arts and can be found in the legends of Northern Praying Mantis, both White Crane styles, T'ai chi ch'uan, and Wing Chun.

The traditions of the Chu family branch contend that the name "Southern Praying Mantis" was chosen to conceal from Qing forces its political affiliations by pretending that this esoteric style of Ming

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

loyalists was in fact a regional variant of the popular and widespread Northern Praying Mantis style

Northern Praying Mantis (martial art)

Northern Praying Mantis is a style of Chinese martial arts, sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis after its province of origin. It was created by Wang Lang and was named after the praying mantis, an insect, the aggressiveness of which inspired the style...

from Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

.

The use of the term "Praying Mantis" seems appropriate when one considers the postures of well known practitioners of this style. The emphasis on the techniques of sticky hands, the use of the forearm with the elbows tucked into the chest, claw like fingers and quick explosive actions creates an image that are visually similar to a praying mantis preparing to strike its prey. However, other martial artists argue that those techniques are more similar to the actions of the Five Ancestors style or the White Crane style than a praying mantis. Unlike the Northern Praying Mantis, which have a special hand technique that is directly attributed to a Praying Mantis strike, for example, the tángláng gōu, the Southern Praying Mantis do not have similar special hand techniques named after the mantis. The legacy of Lau Soei that is related to the praying mantis name was his famous staff form- the Tong Long Bo Sim Staff (螳螂捕蟬棍).

Lau Soei

Lau Soei (1866–1942; 劉瑞; 劉水﹞ was a Hakka who established a reputation as a martial artist during the turn of the century in Southern China and later as a martial arts teacher in Hong Kong.
Lau Soei was also known as the tiger of Dong Jian (東江老虎). His signature techniques include the "Chaujia-Tanglang-Sanjian" (the three arrows of Chaujia praying mantis, 周家螳螂三箭拳) and the staff form “Tanglang-puchangun” (螳螂捕蟬棍尤). Like many martial artists of his generation, he resettled in Hong Kong after the Chinese Civil war

Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

. He continued to teach the Southern Praying Mantis Style and many of his students eventually became teachers of this style. He was acknowledged by both the Chow Gar and the Chu Gar practitioners as the founding teacher of the system in the modern era.

Chow Gar

The Chow family (周家) branch traces its art to c. 1800 to Chow Ah-Nam (周亞南), a Hakka who as a boy left his home in Guangdong Province for medical treatment at the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian Province where, in addition to being treated for his stomach ailment, he was trained in the martial arts and eventually created Southern Praying Mantis. His student was Wong Fook Go (黃福高) who was one of the teacher of Lau Soei.

The continued popularity of modern Chow Gar is due to the work of Ip Shui (葉瑞), a student of Lau Soei. He promoted the style within Hong Kong and later, to England and Australia.

Chu Gar

The Chu family (朱家) branch attributes its art to 'Chu' Ah Nam, also Chu Fook-To, who created Southern Praying Mantis as a fighting style for opponents of the Manchu

Manchu

The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

(1644–1912) that overthrew the Han Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

Ming

Ming Dynasty

royal family (1368–1644). According to the Chu family branch, Chu was a member of the Ming Royal family who took refuge at Shaolin Monastery in Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

. After the destruction of the Northern Shaolin Monastery, Chu escaped to the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian

Fujian

. He then promoted his art in the surrounding regions.

Current students of Chu Gar are related to the students of Lau Shui. Those students continued the tradition of his school in Hong Kong after he died in 1942. Chu Gar can be found in China, Hong Kong, Australia, and United States.

Kwong Sai Jook Lum

According to oral traditions, the Kwong Sai Jook Lum (江西竹林) style traces its origins to the temple Jook Lum Gee (竹林寺), Wu Tai Shan (五台山) in Shanxi

Shanxi

' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

province and on Mt. Longhu

Mount Longhu

Mount Longhu , is located in Jiangxi, China. It is famous for being one of the birthplaces of Taoism, with many Taoist temples built upon the mountainside...

(龍虎山) in Jiangxi

Jiangxi

' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

(江西) province. The monk, Som Dot (三達祖師), created this new martial art system in the 18th century. He passed the art on to Lee Kun Ching (李官清), later known as Lee Siem See (李禪師; a name that can be translated as "Zen master Lee"). Lee Siem See would travel to Southern China and spread the art amongst the general population. In Guangdong, his student, Cheung Yiu Chung (張耀宗), would later return with him to Kwong Sai to complete his training at Jook Lum Gee.

In 1919, Cheung returned to reside in Wei Yang Xian (Wei Yang County) Dan Shui in Guangdong Province. During the winter of 1929, Cheung opened his first martial arts school and a traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...

clinic in Bao'an County in Píngshān (坪山) Town and continued to promote the Jook Lum system. Wong Yook-Kong (黃(公)毓光) and Lum Wing-Fay (林榮輝; 1910–1992; also known as Lum Sang (林生; Lum Sang can be translated as Mr. Lum ) and Lee Shen Sheng (李腎勝) are some of his students from that period.

Cheung eventually moved to Hong Kong. He opened a martial arts studio and became the head teacher to the Hong Kong Hakka ship and dock workers union. The classes in Hong Kong was taught by Wong Yook-Kong and this school still exists today. Wong Yook-Kong was described as a large man and in training he placed great emphasis on strength and physical conditioning before moving onto the more internal aspects of the style. One of his favorite training method was to practise with 30 to 60 LB iron rings on his wrist while he perform his forms. As a result, his students also emphasize those aspects in their training. The lineage of Wong Yook Kong is continued by his two sons: Wong Yiu Hung (黃耀雄) and Wong Yiu Hwa (黃耀華) and other students such as Lee Kwok Leung, (李國良) and Sifu John Koo of Portland, Oregon (a Disciple of both Wong Yook-Kong and Lee Wing Sing).

In the 1920s Lum Sang, one of the youngest of Cheung's students in Hong Kong, was fortunate enough to meet and study with Lee Siem See during one of Lee Siem See's trips to Hong Kong to establish a Buddhist temple (Chuk Lam Sim Yuen). Lum studied and traveled with Lee for the next seven years. In the 1930s, Lum returned to Hong Kong and opened a Kwong Sai Jook Lum Temple Tong Long Pai school in Kowloon

Kowloon

Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...

. Lum Wing Fay was described as being small in stature, being only 5'2" and 120 lbs. In practise, he placed emphasis on softness and redirection and his students continue to display those traits. In 1942, Lum Sang emigrated to the United States and settled in the Chinatown of New York City. He started teaching in Chinatown's Hakka Association, the New York Hip Sing Tong at Pell Street. In the late 1950s, he taught at Free Mason Association Athletic Club, also known as Hung Ching. By 1963, his Kwong-Sai Jook Lum Gee Tong Long Pai was one of the largest kung fu schools. In 1969, Lam Sang retired from teaching and migrated to Taiwan. Lam Sang died in 1991. His students such as Harry Sun, Wong Buk Lam, Gin Foon-Mark, Henry Poo Yee and Louie Jack Man would establish themselves as teachers following the example and high esteemed reputation earned by Gin Foon Mark, after Lum Sang retired. All of these men have promoted this art in the United States and around the world. Gin Foon Mark became the most well known practitioner and master of the art passed to him by Lam Sang.
Lee Shen Sheng (李腎勝) originally trained in Chu Gar before becoming a student of Cheung Yiu Chung. He left Hong Kong in the 1940s but continued to teach his style under the name Lee Family Tong Lang (李家螳螂拳). Some of his students can now be found in Liverpool, England. One of students, Ho Sing was able to pass on his tong long kung fu knowledge to a couple of his Liverpool students, including his own nephew James Ho.

Iron Ox

The Iron Ox (鐵牛) branch is named after its founder, Iron Ox Choi (Choi Dit-Ngau; 蔡鐵牛). He earned the nickname for his strength and ability to withstand his opponent's strikes. He was also known to have taken part in the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

(1900) fighting against the Ching government to restore the Ming government.

Ho Kung Wah introduced the style to the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Most practitioners of this branch of Southern Praying Mantis are found in Southern China but there are now promoters of this style in South America, Europe, Canada and Australia.

Characteristics and Training

Like other Southern Chinese martial arts, Southern Praying Mantis is characterized by a strong stance, powerful waist and fast, heavy forearms and quick hand movements. The essences of the style is captured in various poetry and mnemonic aids.

Training includes a variety of solo forms, pair practise, and weapon practise. The name and type of form will vary between branches. In Circular Tong Long (a version of Chow Gar Tong Long under the direction of Henry Sue in Australia), the form structures are as follows:

Sarm Bo Gin

Sarm Bo Yil Sou

Sarm kung Bic Kuiel

Sarm Bo Pai Tarn

Sarm Bo Pin Kuiel
Tong Long Bow Sim Sou

Tong Long Won Sou

Kwong Sai Jook Lum by Gin Foon Marks Kung Fu Association excerpt of curriculum:
sarm bo gin
two man breakdown sarm bo gin
18 points and breakdown>
7 stars and breakdown
five stars and breakdown
poison snake staff

Sarm Bo Gin is considered one of the most important forms of the southern mantis system. It is a hard chi gung form and is usually the first to be learned. It strengthens the body, aiding its resistance to physical blows, and also develops power. The form should be done everyday, preferably early morning.

Film

Lo Mang

Lo Mang is a Hong Kong based veteran martial artist who was born as Lo Hin Lam in Hong Kong on 23 July 1956. Primarily known for starring in Shaw Brothers kung fu movies in the latter part of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s...

of the famed Venom Mob

Venom Mob

The Venom Mob is a group of actors from the Shaw Brothers Studio, popular creators of martial arts films in the 1970s and 1980s. Most were friends since childhood and attended the Peking Opera School in Taiwan before meeting director Chang Cheh and moving on to the Shaw Brothers studio in Hong...

is an expert in Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis having studied the martial art for over 13 years before starting an acting career. He shows off his style, complete with a long training sequence, in the Shaw Brothers movie Invincible Shaolin
Invincible Shaolin
Invincible Shaolin aka Unbeatable Dragon is a Hong Kong films of 1978 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Chang Cheh. It is one of Chang Cheh's tales of Shaolin's historic rivalries with the Qing Dynasty...

(1978). It is also the martial art used by the character Toph in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Hakka Kuen

Praying Mantis

Lau Soei

Chow Gar

Chu Gar

Kwong Sai Jook Lum

Iron Ox

Characteristics and Training

Film

See also

External links