Mantis
Fist (Tanglang Quan)
Mantis Fist (Tanglang Quan) was very popular in the Han
Dynasty. It has a long history, dating back to 200AD.
The Fist is very useful in close range combat, so it has
another name called short-hit Fist, one of the pictographic
fists.
Mantis Fist has a high value on improving learners' health.
In the past, it was the most popular in the cities of Laiyang
in Yantai and Qingdao. It's a well-known fact that Mantis
Fist originated from Yantai. Gradually this kind of fist
spread far and wide all over China. Now Mantis Fist has
spread all over the world.
The creator was Wanglang. There is a legend about him. During
the reign of the Chinese Han Dynasty, there was a very skilled
warrior in Chinese Martial Arts, called Wang Lang. He spent
much of his time roaming many famous Chinese places, during
which he made lots of chivalrous friends and fortunately
met some great masters who taught him great skills in Chinese
Martial Arts. But he was devastated when he later lost in
a Gongfu competition, and became very depressed. Lying under
a big locust tree, he suddenly saw two praying mantises
fight viciously for an insect. These two mantises were assuming
various positions, such as Hooking, Pulling, Jumping, Defending
and Locking. Wanglang was so immersed in the two Mantis
movements that he felt very inspired. These thoughts of
contemplation helped him to create an early basic structure
of Mantis Fist. He continued to practice very hard and became
highly skilled. He went back to challenge the man who had
defeated him. This time, the man could not match Wanglang,
so he won easily.
Afterwards, he integrated the classic parts of the most
famous 18 Fists, as well as adopting some monkey movements
into the form. The movement of Mantis Fist became perfected.
Characteristically, it was fast and agile.
The traditional Mantis Fist shows great emphasis on the
entirety of 6 aspects of Spirit, Body movements,
Consciousness (Mind), Qi (Dantian, lower
part of your abdomen), Strength and Variety
of technique. All these aspects will help you achieve
a high level, which means the external practice will be
more harmony with the internal practice. Mantis Fist is
based on the principle of being swift, steady, exact and
varied. The moves include, Hooking, Picking (it is a kind
of defending skill), Hanging and Beng Fist. The technique
routes are mainly arc and round, while the body revolves
in different movements (in order to dispel the hitting
strength from the enemy.)
5 parts of your body, named Wufeng (head, shoulders, elbows,
hips and knees), play an important role in a fight. Your
hands and feet called Liangshao, will have strong power.
With fist, several forms are going on simultaneously,
so there is no the single form. When your adversary is
a little further from you, you punch with a straight fist.
If nearer, you try to control and attack using some forms
of wrestling. Almost all parts of your body can attack
the opponent, so you can shut all the retreat routes of
your opponent. The moment the adversary defends, he has
already been injured.
The main movement, "Yuhuang Movement," is unique
to Mantis Fist. Its characteristic is to keep an energetic
state, like a strong and fast arrow in a bow ready to
shoot. All the forms are full of strong power and speed.
The content of this Fist includes 3 parts. They are "the
forms of external practice", "the forms of internal
practice"and "Elementary, Junior, Senior forms".
You can learn from easy to complicated forms that cannot
effectively be described by words. Only with a whole-heart
can we get the essence of Mantis Fist. The advisable way
for practicing it is through oral instruction. So we can
only offer you a broad outline.
Weapons include the single sword, double swords, stick,
spear and etc.
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