The 12 Strategies of a Mantis Boxer

A complete and comprehensive guide to becoming a mantis boxer!

You’ve seen the basics, now dive deeper with:

• Extensive written supplementary material for each keyword.

• exclusive videos only found here.

• Curated videos to demonstrate and highlight applications.

• organized and easy to navigate layout for quick access to all Of the the 12 strategies.

• Over 105 minutes of HD video.

• Easy to recall Strategies for applying them in combat.

The 12 strategies of mantis boxing (tánglángquán 螳螂拳) are considered to be the cornerstone of this bare-knuckle clinch fighting art originating from Laiyang County, Shandong Province, China during the latter half of the Qing dynasty. These have been handed down from generation to generation from boxer to boxer.

While the keywords can vary from lineage to lineage, with each boxer adjusting them to fit their own style and emphasis, all descendants of the mantis boxing style have a version of these keywords with the core (hook, clinch, pluck, connect, stick) in common.

In essence these are the strategies that previous mantis boxers held to be important facets of the art worthy of passing on to those who followed. They define what it means to be — a mantis boxer.

The 12 Strategies

Hook (Gōu 勾) up your opponent in a powerful Clinch (Lǒu 摟).

Pluck (Cǎi 採) them with ballistic force to take them to the ground.

Connect (Zhān 粘) and Stick (Nián 黏) to them to know their every move.

Hang (Guà 掛) to sap them of their strength and secure your position,

Use Wicked (Diāo 刁) deceptions, fakes, feints, to trick the enemy,

Enter (Jìn 進) the fray with tactical advantage to maximize success,

Crush (Bēng 崩) the opponent causing them to collapse and fall into ruin.

Strike (Dǎ 打) to knock out, stun, or distract.

Adhere (Tiē 貼) and Lean (Kào 靠) to dominate the clinch and toss them to the ground.

Deep dive into the 12 Strategies of a Mantis Boxer Today

Research Notes (Open): Power Building Boxing (功力拳, Gōng Lì Quán)

Gōng Lì Quán, or Power Building Boxing is a unique boxing set from northern China. It is included as a training routine amongst a variety of boxing styles in the north to include: long fist, eagle claw boxing, and praying mantis boxing. This form likely intermixed with the latter two styles when it was included as part of the Jīngwǔ Athletic Association’s fundamental wu shu curriculum.

At Jīngwǔ, gōngliquán was one of six mandatory ‘empty hand’, and four ‘weapon’ sets taught to practitioners. These ten sets were required as a prerequisite to the study of other styles of Chinese boxing: xingyiquan, bagua, taijiquan, eagle claw, or mantis boxing; considered by Jīngwǔ founders to be more ‘advanced’ styles.

MY FIRST INTRODUCTION

I first came across gōnglìquán whilst studying Eagle Claw Boxing back in 1999/2000. Although it often is, Gōnglìquán was not included in the style of mantis boxing I was learning at the time, but it was my introduction to Eagle Claw Boxing. This was the first version of the set I learned.

The research I’ve done on this set over the years has predominantly been focused on the physical execution of the movements, the variations of the boxing set from one style to the next, and the combat applications of the movements within the set.

Back in 2006 I delved deeper into gōnglìquán with the intent to reverse engineer the combat applications. Gōnglìquán was passed on to me as an empty shell, a form of shadow boxing or choreographed series of movements, as was most of my early Chinese boxing.

At the time that I first attempted to figure out the secrets hidden within the set, I lacked the knowledge and skill to properly dissect it, my expertise at the time was rooted in striking, kicking, and submissions (qin na), not wrestling, or grappling.

In attempting an analysis of this set however, I learned eight different versions, comparing and contrasting each set with one another with the goal of keeping the redundancies, while eliminating anomalous moves that were likely performance based rather than combative.

We set about at translating a couple of books on gōnglìquán, with one of my students Adria Kyne handling the linguistics, Adria could speak and read Mandarin so her expertise was invaluable. Since most of the text was written in ryhme, or verse, relevant to one ‘in the know’, these translations were sadly of little benefit in unlocking the true intent behind these moves at the time. As years passed I kept practicing and teaching the set up until a final seminar I taught in 2012.

TRIM THE FAT

Since 2012, I’ve rarely turned an inkling of a glance in the direction of gōnglìquán. I no longer train or teach forms, my time is consumed with fighting application and sparring which I find much more rewarding and a far superior vehicle for teaching the arts to others. Gōnglìquán became a distraction from my work on mantis boxing sets, keywords, and taijiquan combat applications so I left it on the side of the road while I traveled on.

However, a recent discussion began weeks back in a pub in Wales, UK between another high level Chinese boxer and myself as we bombastically tossed one another around the bar sharing techniques. The conversation has continued since via back and forth emails, and as such has brought my attention back to this boxing set I left behind so long ago.

Our didactic discourse has included many subjects in the field of Chinese boxing, but repeatedly returned to the element of Chinese wrestling transmitted within these boxing sets. If a reader is not yet aware of the level of influence folk wrestling has had on the formation of these boxing sets passed down for over a century, then you are in for an amazing discovery.

THE WANDERING WARRIOR

During the pandemic, Vincent Tseng (Black Belt - Mantis Boxing) began his deep dive into gōnglìquán while he was locked down in Taiwan and studying Shuia Jiao there. Vincent reached out to me at the time on his rekindled interest in the set, and we discussed the high probability of the set being wrestling-centric. I supported his endeavors and Vincent went to work on forming his own analysis of gōnglìquán that you can find on his YouTube channel — The Wandering Warrior.

While Vincent and I did converse on his project at the time, and he graciously shared his videos with me, which I thought were excellent, I was in full on survival mode at the time trying to keep our team training remote, building online courses, streaming classes, and meeting everyone’s needs, while at the same time rehabbing our derelict house. My attention to Vincent’s work while committed and sincere, was short lived. At the time I was also tearing apart (again) Beng Bu and Luan JIe, two of the core boxing sets from mantis boxing and re-interpreting their techniques. My headspace for reverse engineering combat methods from forms was 100% devoted to these sets.

Since picking gōnglìquán back up for the reasons I’ll list next, I have specifically avoided revisiting Vincent’s extensive work with the purposes of avoiding any cross contamination of our different analyses. Once this project is complete I plan to go back and revisit Vincent’s work and compare commonalities to see where our interpretations intersect.

REKINDLED INTEREST

My new friend Graham Barlow of The Taichi Notebook has a background in Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, and Choy Li Fut, a southern style of Chinese martial arts, as well as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Thus we can speak seamlessly on Chinese martial arts, BJJ, and grappling/wrestling. In one of his styles, Choy Li Fut, there is what some practitioners refer to as choy li fut’s ‘signature move’: sau choy. A similar move to this is found inside gōng lì quán, what we call 3 Rings Trap Moon. As Graham and I talked I took another look at the set with the knowledge and eyes I have now. Some new and intriguing ideas on the combat applications came to light, and it would appear the entire set consists of wrestling moves, which is counter to any translation I or others have attempted in the past.

It is important to remember that sets like this were a vehicle or storehouse for a boxer’s system of moves. Many boxers of old spent a bulk of their practice time alone. The set’s name translates as: power building boxing. One practicing the set uses the movements within to train the creator’s boxing techniques in a manner akin to exercise, a creative way to transmit the movements to others without reading and writing; skills which were rare at the time. The use of hyper low stances, calisthenics, exaggerated movements, and dynamic tension, allow for a self contained training system alongside a library of techniques.

Below are videos with one of my black belts Tom McNair. We began with shooting a couple of videos (Double Bump, or Punch, and Three Rings Trap Moon) to highlight the ‘stylized’ shadow boxing move juxtaposed with the ‘weaponized’ combat application. Enjoy.

UPDATE: Since starting this mini project, it would appear another daemon has decided to drop by my dojo for summer break. I’ve been unable to turn my attention away from the set and keep unmasking the combat applications previously hidden before my eyes. So for the meantime, at least until this welcome, but uninvited guest leaves town, we’ll be releasing more of these videos, possibly the entire boxing set. This weekend I’ll be adding Twining Silk Legs, Lock Neck Through Sky, and Pluck Eggplant.

Stay Hooked!

Gōng Lì Quán Videos

Tyrant King Lifts Ritual Tripod | Throw in Well

Coming soon…

Horse Dragon Deep Sea

Coming Soon…

Collide Elbows, Double Bump

Twining Silk Legs

Lock Neck Through Sky

a.k.a. — Sweeping Moon Off The Wind Over Clouds, and Overturn Sack. This move is executed with slight variations from version to version. Here we depict Lock Neck Through Sky and Overturn Sack variations.

Cast Off Hand/Capture Hand

Next Up. Stay Hooked!

Pluck Eggplant

This move is another counter to the counter when committing to 3 Rings Trap Moon attacks. Rather than stepping back, the opponent steps around the leg to maintain position.

Three Rings Trap Moon

Make Coil Squeeze Pound/Lock Neck Carry On Head

Up Next. Stay Hooked!

Slant Chop aka Single Whip

Up next. Stay Hooked!

Gōng Lì Quán Boxing Set Demonstration (Tao Lu) - 2012

Gōng Lì Quán Boxing Method

1. Tyrant King Lifts the Ritual Tripod

2. Letter Hand Throw in Well

3. Bow Stance Horizontal Fist

4. Horse Dragon Deep Sea

5. Letter Hand Throw in Well

6. Horse Dragon Deep Sea

7. Double Cross Waist

8. Double Bump (L)

9. Collide Elbows, Double Bump (R)

10. Lock Neck Through Sky

11. Twining Silk Leg (L)

12. Twining Silk Leg (R)

13. Collide Fist

14. Cast-off Hand

15. Pluck Eggplant

16. Collide Fist

17. Cast-off Hand

18. Three Rings Trap the Moon (R)

19. Three Rings Trap the Moon (L)

20. Three Rings Trap the Moon (R)

21. Three Rings Trap the Moon (L)

22. Collide Elbows, Double Bump (L)

23. Collide Elbows, Double Bump (R)

24. Collide Elbows, Double Bump (L)

25. Cast off Hand

26. Capture Hand, Collide Fist, End Cast-off Hand

27. Make Coil Squeeze Pound

28. Lock Neck Carry On Head

29. Cast-off Hand, Collide Fist

30. Capture Hand, Collide, Fist

31. Slant Chop Fist

32. Jump step, Clap Palm, Collide Fist

33. Pierce Palm

34. Servant Stance Navel Eyebrow Palm

35. Pierce Palm

36. Collide Fist

Translating ‘Fist’ (Quán 拳)

As Chad Eisner points out in his translation of Qi Jiguang’s treatise on unarmed combat found on Judkin’s Kung Fu Tea blog, the character ‘Quan’ 拳 is used in various ways, especially when discussing Chinese martial arts. At times it is used as ‘fist’ and at other times as ‘boxing’. When used in conjunction with other characters such as in this case Gōng 功 and Lì 力, it more specifically refers to a system of “unarmed techniques/combat” which denotes anything from striking to kicking to grappling or wrestling techniques. It is not confined to punching.

Gōng Lì Quán Grappling ‘System’ Breakdown

The following is a breakdown of the moves within the choreographed set, categorized by technique types found within the Gōng Lì Quán ‘system’. I now refer to it as a system after discovering the inclusion of: ji ben gong training (fundamentals), grip defense, combined with the series of throwing/tripping/sweeping methods embodied in the form. Gōng Lì Quán by all indications is a self-contained training system for the creators’ grappling/wrestling methods.

“When our only tool is a hammer, every problem is a nail.”

Any instances of what appears as a strike or a kick found within the set, can be dismissed with almost complete certainty as being a punch or a kick. These techniques used in such a manner would prove to be disastrous in a real fight.

Upon deeper examination of the set through the lens of grappling methods common to the region, each move can be explained and shown to be effective wrestling methods. Many of these techniques still exist in shuai jiao as well as other wrestling arts found in China and surrounding cultures.

Grips, Grip Defense, & Jibengong

These are techniques centered on deflection, parrying, blocking grip attempts, and/or breaks.

• Tyrant King Lifts the Ritual Tripod

• Letter Hand Throw in Well

• Bow Stance Horizontal Fist

• Horse Dragon Deep Sea

• Double Cross Waist

• Cast off hand

• Capture hand

Throws, Trips, Sweeps

• Collide Elbows, Double Bump

• Lock Neck Through Sky

• Twining Silk Legs

• Collide Fist

• Pluck Eggplant

• Three Rings Trap Moon

• Lock Neck Carry On Head

• Slant Chop

• TBC…

Gōng Lì Quán Historical Record

Anyone with more information on the roots of Gōng Lì Quán is welcome to email me, or leave a comment below. Your contributions will be greatly appreciated and added to the post with accreditation.

While little in the way of solid facts exist around Gōng Lì Quán’s origin prior to Jing Wu, there are numerous oral sources naming Cangzhou, Hebei as the place of origin. Some sources claim it arrived on the scene early in the Qing dynasty, but this is uncorroborated. Of note is, Cangzhou being central to Baoding and Tianjin, both major Chinese wrestling centers throughout several dynastic periods in China’s history.

The Taiping Institute lists over 33 styles of empty hand and weapon sets they claim originate from Cangzhou. Gōng Lì Quán being among them. There are no sources listed for these attributions so it is difficult to know if this is revisionist history, or if Cangzhou is actually home to a large number of Chinese martial arts ‘styles’ that have survived till modern times; if survival includes the empty shells known as forms (tao lu).

NATIONAL STRENGTHENING & REFORMATION

As is well documented at this point in martial arts scholarship much of modern Chinese martial arts was changed, morphed, and re-appropriated from fighting to physical education as part of the nationalist efforts of the government of China in the early twentieth century, with the goal to strengthen her populace after repeated humiliations with the west — lost wars with western and eastern powers, corruption, disasters, famines, rebellions, and drug epidemics.

Amongst these efforts was the creation of institutes chartered with the task above, and modeled after and in direct competition with the YMCA. Jing Wu was one of these institutions. At the inception of Jing Wu they included a revamped Chinese martial arts as part of the curriculum, alongside many other sports and activities with the express goal of physical education.

Tasked with establishing a curriculum to represent the nation’s martial arts, and attempting to consolidate over 100 or 100’s of styles, it is my view that they initiated a ‘culling of styles' in an effort to represent this diverse kingdom in a manageable way. Many of these styles: red boxing (hongquan), plum boxing (meihuaquan), ba ji, power boxing (gongliquan), etc etc etc) contain a common vernacular of movements, making a strong case for why they were excluded.

If a style did not stand out as 'unique', or have a strong brand or history already attached to it (mantis, eagle, bagua, xingyi, taiji), it is easy to believe it was chopped up for parts. Whereby similar movements found to overlap other styles tossed into a larger bucket of ‘Northern Shaolin Long Fist’, or an overly simplified North/South context. Simplifying a convoluted and confusing history that was not relevant to the government's purposes, or in line with the mission at large. 

Fast forward to the 1950s and this categorization was further propagated and reinforced by the PRC when they created modern Wushu and the creation of standardized sets (forms) being bundled into long fist and southern fist. It is plausible to see why gōnglìquán, a set from Cangzhou, if the oral accounts are to be believed, with large extended movements similar to other longfist-style movements, was included alongside other styles from the north. Add to this that gōnglìquán does not have a significant number of unique techniques, roughly sixteen moves, making it even easier to include it in a broader system, especially when some of these same moves are found in taijiquan, tanglangquan, and yingzhouquan.

EMPTY SHELL WRESTLING

By the time of Jing Wu’s creation it is possible the fighting applications of the techniques within gōnglìquán had already been lost to time making the boxing set even less distinguishable from other routines. 

Of interest is, Jing Wu had a wrestling program independent of these basic wushu routines. This leads me to further believe that the combat methods of gōnglìquán were already lost, although it is possible it varied enough from the wrestling curriculum that whoever dictated that program’s training regimen had a distinct bias for an altogether different style of Chinese wrestling. The intriguing question is: if the combat methods inside the form were still known, why would a fighting form full of wrestling moves from Cangzhou, be taught without…the wrestling?

PERSONAL PROJECTION

If one throws out all of the included evidence that points to gōnglìquán being comprised of wrestling moves rather than strikes and kicks, and disagrees with the video demonstrations above, if gōnglìquán truly is not wrestling, meaning that I am only projecting my own knowledge, experience, and research onto this set with revisionist intent, then we have an incredibly strong argument that this set would fall under the experiences of General Qi Jiguang and other author’s survey of Chinese boxing styles during the Ming dynasty - 

“These flowery styles had lost the foundation of boxing and strayed very far from some presumably simple and original form.“

The reason being, none of these techniques stand up to battle testing in a boxing and kicking context. A bevy of examples found in books, videos, YouTube, over the past 30 years or more, demonstrate these moves being applied as such. Each and every example under careful scrutiny fails to stand up as effective in real fighting vs fantasy boxing, or kung fu movie fighting.

Anyone using these techniques as strikes and kicks will meet with utter failure even against novice street fighters or strongmen, never mind seasoned fighters and grapplers from other styles even within regional borders, and across the globe.

NORTHERN SHAOLIN MYTHOLOGY

In modern writings gōnglìquán is categorized as being a “Northern Shaolin”, and/or “Long Fist (chang quan)” boxing set. It is more likely that this inclusion amongst Shaolin is part of the overarching oversimplified duality of Shaolin versus Wudang, or Northern styles versus Southern styles classified early in the twentieth century and later reinforced by the People’s Republic of China in the mid twentieth century.

The Shaolin Temple is 416 miles (617km) SW of Cangzhou. Essentially equivalent to a trek from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington D.C. There is a significant distance between these areas. Although it is too easy to assume zero to low probability of boxing and wrestling pollination between such great distances in the 1800s. Reflexively we think of things in modern day settings where a majority of us would never dream of walking 416 miles to get to a destination. We think of travel in terms of automobiles, trains, and planes, failing to recognize that humans have been far more migratory as a species for thousands and thousands of years, and the 1800’s was well traveled.

China is no exception. It is impossible to rule out that someone from Shaolin traveled to Cangzhou and disseminated their martial knowledge there. However, Shaolin was not known by us for wrestling, gōnglìquán is not recorded as being taught at Shaolin, and Cangzhou has both wrestling, and gōnglìquán as part of its heritage. Peter Lorge in his book Chinese Martial Arts From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century dispels the excessive credit and significance of Shaolin’s influence on China’s martial arts history as a whole, citing a 900 year gap in Shaolin even being mentioned in regards to martial arts, and only reappearing in the Ming dynasty when they help battle pirates — with weapons.

Lorge goes on to elaborate that the connection between Shaolin and martial arts was becoming more prevalent during the Ming. Lorge also makes clear that the focus of these martial arts was predominantly based on weapon combat rather than unarmed, as weapons were more effective at defending Shaolin’s lands and assets. Furthermore, he points to temples such as Shaolin being refuge for travelers on their journeys, where it would be more likely techniques were brought here, or learned here during someone’s stay.

We can conclude that while not improbable for someone of the time to travel to pick up fighting methods and disseminate those in another region hundreds of miles away, the gōnglìquán Shaolin origin falls apart when we compare the histories and styles of both areas, look at the types and methods of combat being transmitted in each, and fail to have any substantial evidence of gōnglìquán existing at Shaolin, not even oral records.

Jīngwǔ

Jīngwǔ was created in 1910 as part of a national reformation movement. This was another attempt at using Chinese martial arts to help combat a weakened populace and culture. Chinese martial arts were not viewed highly prior to this, in part due to the humiliating defeat of the boxers vs the western powers during the Boxer Uprising. Chinese martial arts was often tied to nefarious groups with less than noble intentions. This is an oversimplification of an intricate and complex problem with many tendrils attached. The purposes here are not to rehash the history of Jīngwǔ, or the Boxer Uprisings, but to trace gōngliquán’s path to modern times.  I’ll end my commentary on the wider implications with another quote from Ben Judkins:

“This basic social pattern started to undergo a fundamental shift in the wake of the Boxer Uprising (1899-1901).  In the modern era (dominated by firearms) the original military applications of the martial arts started to look outdated to a number of educated social elites.  Actual military and police personnel had reasons to continue to be interested in unarmed defense, but these sorts of concerns rarely bothered arm-chair reformers or “May 4th” radicals. In fact, many of these reformers and modernizers wanted to do away with traditional hand combat. To them boxing was an embarrassing relic of China’s feudal and superstitious past.

For the martial arts to succeed in the 20th century they would need to transition.  They had to be made appealing to increasingly educated and modern middle-class individuals living in urban areas.  It would be hard to imagine a group more different from the rural farm youths that had traditionally practiced these arts.  But this is the task that the early martial reformers of the 20th century dedicated themselves to.”

NOTE: If a reader is interested in a deeper understanding of the time period where Chinese martial arts transformed from a fighting art to a form of physical education, commercialization, and a coupling with more esoteric and religious practices, I highly recommend reading Joseph Esherick’s ‘The Boxer Uprisings’ for a better understanding of the late 1800’s into early 1900’s China. For extensive detail on what would become The Republican Era, and the Nanjing Era, I recommend the plethora of articles written by Ben Judkins in his prolific blog Kung Fu Tea. The references at the end house several sources that can satisfy your thirst for knowledge.

Jīngwǔ had a large charter when it came to fitness, Chinese martial arts was only a part of it. The YMCA is truly the best comparison as a member could take up tennis, fencing, wrestling, etc etc etc. When it came to martial arts though, Jīngwǔ  had a basic curriculum and then an advanced track. The martial arts were taught as forms (taolu) and combatives/sparring were not the focus. The goal was fitness and exercise.

Their directive was noted in an English article published in the Jīngwǔ 10th anniversary journal:

“Ten years ago [1909] when the Association was founded, the press and the general public criticized and called it a place for breeding “boxers.” The gentlemen interested, however, were not discouraged, knowing the need of physical culture for the 400 million and the value of “kung fu” as gymnastics.”

Gōngliquán was one of six mandatory ‘empty hand’, and four ‘weapon’ sets taught to practitioners before they could advance. These ten sets were required as a prerequisite to the study of other styles of Chinese boxing: xingyiquan, bagua, taijiquan, eagle claw, and mantis boxing; considered by Jīngwǔ founders to be more ‘advanced’ styles.

When assembling the curriculum for Jīngwǔ, Judkin’s writes:

“the institutional structure of the modernist Jingwu Association tended to absorb sets from various arts rather than presenting them as distinct, self-contained, lineages.”

While I am still searching for more information on the curriculum development for the martial arts program at Jīngwǔ, and specifically why each set was chosen, we can see that gōngliquán was obviously chosen, and did not have a Shaolin heritage that was necessarily tied to it. Nor was it the purpose of Jīngwǔ to promote this narrative as seen in Tse’s writing about Ying Hon Lan’s research, and Andrew Morris’ book on this period:

“Yin details how the martial arts were at their lowest ebb during the 1900s due to successive failures on the battlefield, the Boxer Rebellion, and the elimination of the Imperial martial examination in 1901.17 From this low point, Yin describes how martial arts became a sport discipline in schools and in the standing armies of various warlords by the 1910s and 1920s.

This work is one the first to draw extensively from the primary sources within the Republican Era Guoshu Periodicals Collection. Yin uses a variety of primary sources to recreate the rich martial arts milieu in Republican China, while the roles of martial arts as a form of physical exercise (as promoted by the Chin Woo Athletic Association) have also been covered in Andrew Morris’s Marrow of a Nation.”

Performing a quick internet search of ‘Shaolin gongliquan’ finds a plethora of martial arts schools claiming the set to be Shaolin while coincidentally reproducing the exact or near simulacra of the basic curriculum of Jing Wu established in Shanghai in the summer of 1910. This attribution to Shaolin or longfist is extremely tainted, and is by all appearances being revised onto Shaolin, not by Jing Wu, but rather the later division of Chinese boxing into Northern & Southern styles established by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Guoshu Institute in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s.

Modern kung fu practitioners continue this cycle of syncretism by selling a story of a wrestling set from Cangzhou with no connection to Shaolin or longfist (changquan), as being an art that is now Shaolin, or ‘northern long fist’, while presenting absolutely zero evidence of this being true. Simply a regurgitation of a narrative built 100 years ago to suit the purposes of a government organization of the time.

The inclusion of the above historical detail on Jīngwǔ is important to our purposes as it establishes the official written record of when gōngliquán appears on record, how it connects to other styles such as eagle claw and mantis boxing, and the critical aspect of — Chinese martial arts at-large, but specifically the forms found in Jīngwǔ, no longer being taught with martial application included. Rather instead, strictly taught as exercise sport. With this established we can focus on how a style known as changquan came to be, and parse out if gōngliquán is, or is not, a part of this style.

CHANGQUAN (LONGFIST)

Longfist has a separate and congruent history alongside gōnglìquán, with some claims linking it back to Emperor Taizu of the Song dynasty (960-1279). General Qi Jiguang in his 1560 survey during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) mentions: “Taizu’s stances of the long fist”, but the reference is to ‘stances’ not a style, or even fist methods.

There is a bottomless void when it comes to searching out any real scholarship that has been done on the history of this style. In all likelihood this is due to it being fabricated as a ‘style’ in the early 1900’s as part of the reformation movement. Of note is that, a majority of the narrative is espoused by lineages linked to Han Qing Tang and the Nanqing Guoshu Institute which we’ll cover later on.

According to the changquan Wikipedia page the actual historical term can only be traced back to the second half of the 1800’s, coincidentally the same time other styles of boxing in China began to revise their histories and/or brand themselves. This is when we also see an explosion in the commercialization of Chinese martial arts. A quote from the wiki page points to this much later creation of longfist:

“The Long Fist of contemporary wǔshù draws on Chaquan, “flower fist” [sic meihuaquan], Huāquán, Pao Chui, and "red fist" (Hongquan)”.” 

This helps make a case that the ‘long fist’ style was born out of the Nanqing Guoshu Institute and is not an ancient style that existed from the Song dynasty. It also explains why these other styles that are the formation of longfist, and popular in the Qing dynasty, disappeared or at the least, lost substantial popularity and flirted with extinction. Post Nanqing Guoshu Institute is when we see the shell of the northern Shaolin as a system arriving on scene, and gōnglìquán now included as a part of this style.

TAIZUQUAN

There is a style called Taizuquan which still exists today, but it lacks any mention of a set known as gōnglìquán while mentioning many others. A quick review of the wikipedia page on Taizuquan, summarizing the bare-hand sets in the style, shows an absence of gōnglìquán. There’s little point in this research to delve further into this style as it has no bearing on gōnglìquán.

SHAOLIN BURNING - THE CENTRAL GUOSHU INSTITUTE

The Nanqing Guoshu Institute is important in establishing when, where, and why I believe gōnglìquán ended up being classified as Northern Shaolin Longfist.

Albert Kayter Tse writes in the opening paragraph of his dissertation — Unfulfilled Potential: The Central Guoshu Institute in Republican China 1928-1948:

The Central Guoshu Institute 中央國術館 (1928-1948) in Nanjing was a martial arts entity funded by the Nationalist government to ‘promote better physical health to the population through martial arts practice.’ With its prestige and funding, the Central Guoshu Institute opened a nation-wide network of martial arts schools, held two national marital arts tournaments, published books and journals researching and preserving martial arts, participated in exhibition tours of Southeast Asia and the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and trained a new generation of martial arts masters. In 1937, with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war, the Institute relocated several times before disbanding in 1948 on the eve of the Communist takeover.

1928 to 1938 is known as the ‘Nanjing decade’, a period in the Republican Era of China’s history. Before we go further let's establish a few facts:

• 1911 - Jingwu was created in 1911 in Shanghai and later opened a branch in Hong Kong. Gōnglìquán is included in the curriculum.

• 1927 - Shaolin temple burned.

• 1927 - 1950 - Chinese Civil War

• 1928 - Nanjing Guoshu Institute created. Later includes Shaolin styles in its curriculum. Gōnglìquán is not included in the curriculum of Nanjing Guoshu Institute.

• 1937 (technically 1931) to 1945 - Second Sin0-Japanese War, also known as World War II.

The Shaolin temple burned to the ground in 1927 under orders from Chiang Kai Shek, leader of, at the time, the National Revolutionary Army and after 1928 the leader of the Republic of China. The head abbott of the temple gave sanctuary to his friend, a rebel general fighting against Chiang’s Northern Expedition to reunite China. After losing he fled to the temple seeking refuge. According to records, when Chiang’s soldiers arrived to rout the general, the monks of the temple fought back, losing to superior firepower. Chiang’s general ordered the temple burned and Shaolin history and manuscripts were lost in this fire. (Yang Jwing-Ming, (2009, December) History of Shaolin Longfist)

Gōnglìquán was already included in the Jingwu curriculum 16 years prior to the Shaolin fire and 17 years prior to the creation of the Guoshu Institute. There is no indication that Shaolin was connected to Jingwu.

The Nanqing Guoshu Institute was created in 1928 by General Zhang Zhiziang. In a biography of her father, Zhang Runsu wrote:

“The defining moment of how Zhang conceived of the plan for the Central Guoshu Institute is explained: while convalescing from an injury in 1926, the newly retired general used martial arts as a form of rehabilitation. During this time, he came to feel that the martial arts would be suitable for the entire Chinese populace.”

Once again we see that the focus of these institutions that heavily influenced modern Chinese martial arts, was anything but combat application, and they continued to propagate toothless tigers for ulterior purposes.

It is important to note that gōnglìquán was not included in the Nanjing Guoshu Institute curriculum as we can see below from Tse’s dissertation where he cites a 1933 recruitment article:

“in the Zhongyangribao 中央日報 on 9 December 1933 shows the numerous styles students were expected to master in three short years for the training programme”

Kicking methods
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Tantui 彈腿

Striking courses
(Xingyiquan 形意拳, Tai Chi Chuan 太極拳, Baguaquan 八卦拳, Bajiquan 八極拳, Chaquan 查拳, Xinwushu 新武術, Lianbuquan 練步拳, Zaquan 雜拳, Xingquan 行拳, Chuojiao 戳腳, Pigua 劈掛)

Weapons courses
Double-edged sword: (Qingpingjian 青萍劍, Sancaijian 三才劍, Kunwujian 昆吾劍, Longxingjian 龍形劍, Houbeijian 猿臂劍)

Single-edge sword: (Meihuadao 梅花刀, Baguadao 八卦刀, Maodao 苗刀, Yingzhandao 應戰刀, Piguadao 劈掛刀)

Pole: (Shaolingun 少林棍, Kunyanggun 群羊棍, Xinwushugun 新武術棍, Tongzigun 童子棍)

Spear: (Duanmenqiang 斷門槍, Daheqiang 大合槍, Suokouqiang 銷口槍)

Whip: (Taishibian 太師鞭)

Competition-based courses
(Sparring, Weapons, Wrestling, Boxing, Bayonet, Pijian 劈劍)

Elective courses
(Mianquan zuoluohan 綿拳醉羅漢, Zuibaxian 醉八仙, Zuiquan 醉拳, Houquan 猴拳, Joint locking methods)

Special courses
(Qigong 氣功, Tieshashou 鐵砂手, Hongshashou 紅砂手, Swimming, Sprinting, Baseball)

Military courses
(Fundamentals of instructing, Combat instructing)

Of note from the figure above, is mention yet again of wrestling but with no specifics or names.

Nanjing Guoshu Institute lasted until 1938 when the Sino-Japanese War (World War II) came to China. Tse writes: 

“During the Sino-Japanese War, the Central Guoshu Institute, reduced to a handful of staff members and students, relocated with the Nationalist government to the Chinese interior. Lacking official funding, the Central Guoshu Institute existed in name only until it was disbanded in 1948 on the eve of the Communist takeover.”

Here we see a gap in the transmission of knowledge from the Guoshu Institute in mainland China until the creation of the People’s Republic of China post World War II, and post Chinese Civil War. Given the inclusion of gōnglìquán in styles such as mantis and eagle claw we can see clearly that it was transmitted to these systems directly through Jing Wu.

Decades later we see gōnglìquán coupled with another form straight out of the Guoshu Institute called, lianbuquan (continuous boxing). Lianbuquan is a subject for a separate deep dive. What is important for our study is that the two of these forms show up in modern times under the moniker of Shaolin Longfist, but neither of them are Shaolin, nor Longfist in origin.

Was this related to the Shaolin vs Wudang narrative built by the Guoshu Institute? If so, why would the Guoshu Institute, a government sponsored institution, be inclined to then use Shaolin in its directives or branding, especially after the government burned it down?

SHAOLIN VS WUDANG – A TOXIC CHOICE AT THE  GUOSHU INSTITUTE

At the inception of the Guoshu Institute Zhang Zhijiang started a classification of Chinese martial arts systems within the institute that resulted in an immediate and toxic battle that spans decades later into modern times. Tse writes:

“Courses began on 11 May 1928 with an initial intake of 70 to 80 students. Two departments handled the martial arts instruction: wudangmen, shaolinmen. During the early 20th century, Chinese martial arts were typically grouped into styles derived from the Wudang mountains, or from the Shaolin Monastery. The two martial arts sects were diametrically opposed: Wudang focused on internal cultivation, valued softness and was affiliated with Daoism; whereas Shaolin focused external cultivation, valued hardness, and was affiliated with Buddhism. The two departments were headed by two acclaimed masters: the Wudang section by Sun Lutang, and the Shaolin section by Wang Ziping.

It did not take long, however, before internal discord broke out. As the two sects were traditional rivals, the students of either department often clashed with each other in the fledgling institute.”

“The tension between the two departments reached a boiling point, with department heads and the teaching directors facing off against each other to see whether Wudang or Shaolin was superior. With the entire student body watching, Wang Ziping and Gao Zhendong fought fiercely, followed by the teaching directors fighting with bamboo spears. Wang, unhappy with being embroiled in this conflict, eventually resigned and returned to private life in Shanghai.”

This segregation and oversimplification of the rich and varied styles of Chinese boxing and their unique heritage was seared into the minds of those who attended the Guoshu Institute. The Republican Era is one of the most prolific periods for written material on the Chinese martial arts. Thus the impact of those who attended the institute, or were instructors there, who went on to write curriculum and instruction manuals propagated this idea of Shaolin vs Wudang, or Buddhist vs Taoist categorization. The ridiculousness of this is apparent when reading Judkins’ account of Meir Shahar’s book on Shaolin taking notice of Shaolin during the late Ming dynasty, and we find Shaolin at the time incorporating Taoist philosophy and medicine into their practices.

What is amazing to me is how impactful and permanent this became in the Chinese martial arts demographic. After the chaos it caused in the institute, they abolished the classification system by July of the same year, a mere two months after the doors opened.

“By July, the dual-department arrangements were abolished. The Central Guoshu Institute was rearranged into teaching, publishing, and general-affairs divisions.” (Tse)

Of note when permeating the details of the Guoshu Institute, is the fact that later instructors in the institute focused on Western Boxing and Chinese Wrestling for combat methods rather than homegrown martial arts systems. This is important as it shows that all of the other ‘striking’ styles in the institute with Chinese heritage - xingyiquan, taijiquan, baguaquan, bajiquan, chaquan, xinwushu, lianbuquan, zaquan, xingquan, chuojiao, pigua, were not being passed on with combat methods training, only forms training. 

This is significant as it proves that by this period in Chinese martial arts history, when it comes to organizations like Jingwu and the Guoshu Institute which were responsible in large part for not only carrying on many of these styles, but elevating their fame and popularity post Chinese Civil War, the fighting application of each style was no longer being transmitted within the halls of these organizations. While it is difficult to ascertain with certainty exactly when such transmission stopped, we can at least see by this point that it is gone. Anyone passing on these systems from this point on, is transmitting empty shells of deceased fighting methods.

A few noteworthy quotes from Tse’s work highlight these points. The first of which is his recounting of the 1928 National Guoshu Examinations (a tournament) where people competed in Chinese weapons demonstrations as well as empty-hand demonstrations. These were non-contact and executed as choreographed routines known as forms or taolu. As we can see from the following quote, Chinese boxing was already dead at the Guoshu Institute:

“Second, of the top 15 examinees, three brothers Zhu Guofu (widely viewed as the winner), Zhu Guozhen, and Zhu Guolu won based on their sparring experience. Well versed in traditional arts (Xingyiquan, Shaolinquan, wrestling and Tai Chi), it was their ‘unofficial’ training in Western boxing which offered them the ability to train against resisting partners while attacking at full intensity with padded gloves.” (Tse, pg 35)

As we can see, when it came to sparring and combat, the participants relied on western boxing rather than their homegrown martial arts styles. The next quote emphasizes the purpose of the institute overall, and why this was acceptable to the government:

“By the late 1930s, the consensus model of physical education best suited for ‘saving the nation through physical exercise’ was a combination of Western military calisthenics, modern sport and guoshu. As such, the Central Sports College’s mandate exactly suited the needs of the times.” (Tse, pg 33)

The negative view of the Chinese boxers after the early 1900’s, plus a desire to modernize and incorporate more western practices to defeat the negative reputation of a weak China on the world stage, there was a gravitation to the western practices that were seen as superior to things beyond just Chinese martial arts. However, the martial arts suffered greatly as the early 20th century was the disintegration of combat application being handed down to the following generations. Much of which was henceforth passed on as empty shells for the next hundred years and more.

---

Was the labeling of these two sets as Shaolin Longfist even more recent than we think? Could they have been categorized as such after the PRC was born?

To be continued…

REFERENCES

• Kennedy, B., & Guo, E. (2010). Jingwu. Blue Snake Books.

• Peter Allan Lorge. (2012). Chinese martial arts : from antiquity to the twenty-first century. Cambridge University Press.

• Tong Zhongyi. (2005). The Method of Chinese Wrestling. North Atlantic Books.

• Reevaluating Jingwu: Would Bruce Lee have existed without it? (2012, August 15). Kung Fu Tea; Kung Fu Tea. https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2012/08/15/reevaluating-jingwu-would-brucle-lee-have-existed-without-it

• Cangzhou Martial Arts | 沧州武术 – Taiping Institute. (2024). Taipinginstitute.com. http://taipinginstitute.com/cangzhou-martial-arts

• Qi Jiguang (1560/1580). Jixiao Xinshu 紀效新書 New Treatise on Military Efficiency.

• Zhu, Jianliang. (2023). A Study on the Evolution of Chinese Wrestling, the Characteristics of the Project and Its Value. Global Sport Science. 1. 10.58195/gss.v1i1.36.

• Graceffo, A. (2018). The Wrestler’s Dissertation.

• Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, July 16). Changquan. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changquan

• Wikipedia Contributors. (2023, February 22). Taizuquan. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taizuquan#Taizuquan_Changquan

• Bringing Northern Styles South: A Brief History of the Liangguang Guoshu Institute. (2018, December 13). Kung Fu Tea; Kung Fu Tea. https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2018/12/13/bringing-northern-styles-south-a-brief-history-of-the-lianguang-guoshu-institute/

• The Book Club: The Shaolin Monastery by Meir Shahar, Chapters 5-Conclusion: Unarmed Combat in the Ming and Qing dynasties. (2012, December 7). Kung Fu Tea; Kung Fu Tea. https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2012/12/07/the-book-club-the-shaolin-monastery-by-meir-shahar-chapters-5-conclusion-the-evolution-of-unarmed-martial-arts-in-the-ming-and-qing-dynasties/

• Martial Classics: The Complete Fist Canon in Verse. (2018, October 26). Kung Fu Tea; Kung Fu Tea. https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2018/10/25/martial-classics-the-complete-fist-cannon-in-verse/‌

• Tse, A. K. (2019). Unfulfilled Potential: The Central Guoshu Institute in Republican China 1928-1948 [PDF Unfulfilled Potential: The Central Guoshu Institute in Republican China 1928-1948].

• Yang, J.-M. (2009, December 30). History of Shaolin Long Fist kung fu. YMAA. https://ymaa.com/articles/history-of-shaolin-long-fist-kung-fu

• “Zhongyang guoshuguan she shifanban,” Zhongyang ribao (Nanjing), December 9, 1933.

• Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (4): Sun Lutang and the Invention of the “Traditional” Chinese Martial Arts (Part I). (2020, December 17). Kung Fu Tea; Kung Fu Tea. https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2020/12/16/lives-of-chinese-martial-artists-4-sun-lutang-and-the-invention-of-the-traditional-chinese-martial-arts-part-i-2/‌

Secondary References

• Yin Honglan. Jindai zhongguo wushu de zhuanxing yanjiu Research on the Transformation of Contemporary Chinese Martial arts]. Shenyang: Dongbei daxue chubanshe, 2016.

• Morris, Andrew D. Marrow of the Nation – A History of Sport and Physical Culture in Republican China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.

• Zhang Runsu, ed. Zhang Zhijiang zhuanlüe [A Short Biography of Zhang Zhijiang]. Shanghai: Xuelin chubanshe, 1994.

The Plum Blossom Connection To Mantis Boxing

Symbolism

Plum Blossom - logo design - Randy Brown - 2006

The plum flower (méi huā 梅花) is a prolific symbol in Chinese culture. The flower is one of the very few blossoms to appear in the early spring when snow is still a possibility. There are countless images in Chinese art culture depicting the plum blossom emerging through snow covered branches. The symbolism of this particular flower is powerful, a metaphor for ‘strength through adversity’, or ‘overcoming hardship’.

Upon close inspection, Praying Mantis Boxing (táng láng quán 螳螂拳), a style from Shandong province in northern China, has a deeply rooted past that intersected and conjoined with plum boxing, another popular style of the time and region. There are a multitude of references found within names of mantis boxing sets, specific movements within forms, and even branches/lines of the mantis boxing style that split off from the main line, going on to brand themselves as ‘plum blossom’ praying mantis boxing. This goes beyond mere symbolism and speaks to something greater. To understand this we have to delve deeper into the region, politics, and time period where the style originated, and discuss another style of boxing known as, Plum Boxing.

Plum Flower Boxing

Plum Flower Boxing (méi huā quán 梅花拳), or méi quán, is a folk style of boxing from the border regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, and Hebei province in northern China. It began during the Qing dynasty, and by the collapse of the Qing in the early 1900’s, it had thousands of followers; although this description is rife with technicalities.

For one, the word styles is in question. In the early and mid Qing dynasty boxers rarely stayed with one teacher for any significant length of time. ‘Styles’ as a construct were few and far between outside of family units. A boxer’s repertoire was an amalgamation of techniques from various teachers and counterparts across the north China plains. Joseph W. Esherick writes of this in his book on the origins of what is commonly known as the Boxer Rebellion, which he more aptly describes as a series of ‘uprisings’.

As we get to the late Qing, when plum boxing is gaining in popularity, we see more styles begin to take significant roles in the Yellow River region in the 1860’s. Esherick notes,

Boxing was particularly popular in this area - both as recreation for young men, and as a means of protecting one’s home in an increasingly unstable countryside.

He also quotes a Linqing gazeteer. They said,

The local people like to practice the martial arts — especially to the west of Linqing. There are many schools: Shaolin, Plum Flower and Greater and Lesser Hong Boxing. Their weapons are spears, swords, staff and mace. They specialize in one technique and compete with one another.

Shaolin boxing was tied to the ‘bandit-monks’ as Chinese historian Peter Lorge describes them. Temple monks hired local ruffians and bandits to protect their land holdings and crops. They were monks only in title and appearance, but more accurately put — armed enforcers for the temple.

Red Boxing (Hong Quan) was the preferred boxing methods of security guards, escort masters, and family bodyguards in the northern provinces. Albeit this was not the style of origin for a bodyguard who began the 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing line in the generations to follow.

Plum Flower Boxing has a variety of descriptions tied to it, all of them accurate in their own rights. The synopsis - a ‘style’ only in the loosest sense of the word. More accurately - a series of boxing methods used for self-defense, but more for exhibition in village marketplaces. It was named not for a style so much as the time of year these exhibitions normally took place — in early spring before the field work began. A period during which, spare time was more plentiful for the agrarian society, and the plum blossoms were appearing on the trees. The ‘plum boxers’ would arrive in the markets touting their skills. (Esherick, 1987)

Dr. Peter Lorge, a Chinese historian wrote

“many local styles [of Chinese martial arts] subsumed themselves under the rubric of Plum Blossom Boxing when it became famous [due to its association with the Boxer Rebellion] at the beginning of the twentieth century” (2012:208; see also Zhang and Green 2010)

Dr. Tom Green, and Dr. Zhang Guodong write extensively on the folk aspect of Mei Boxing in their research (Zhang and Green 2010) on the style, and its integration in local villages that survives even to today.

By the end of the 19th century plum boxing had thousands of practitioners. Shandong, the birthplace of mantis boxing, was replete with plum boxing practitioners, and the now known style was taught by one of the famous patriarchs and leader in the boxer uprisings - Zhao Sanduo. Esherick writes heavily on Zhao and his role with the rebellion. Ben Judkins follows up in great detail as well.

The significant point of immediate interest for our purposes, is to note the popularity of the style as well as its migratory nature. This was not simply limited to one small region in China. The style spread from village to village, city to city as the 1800’s progressed on towards the turn of the century. If we stick with the concept of styles being a construct of a series of techniques learned from multiple sources, or as Green puts it - “a common vernacular in the region”, then we can understand why one style or boxer, would absorb the methods of another so seamlessly. As with modern day martial arts, and the popularity of videos on fighting technique for almost any style you can think of - we practitioners seek out and use what works. Efficacy is at the forefront. This concept is not unique or exclusive to human beings in the 21st century, and it would be hubris to believe so. It would be especially present when dealing with violent and chaotic regions where your life and the life of your family depended on these skills, as existed during this time period.

The Collapsing Empire

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Crane on a Snow-Laiden Plum Tree - ink on silk - Attributed to Lu Fu, second half of the 15th century -after 1505

There are questions as to the ‘true’ age of praying mantis boxing. For now we’ll assume that mantis boxing was an actual ‘style’ prior to the late 19th century.

Liang Xuexiang, the lineage holder in Shandong Province, China during the late Qing dynasty. Liang returned from Beijing in 1855 to his village in Laiyang county (Yushankuang) two days walk south of Yantai. At this time the region to the west of the village was in the fifth year of catastrophic flooding of the Yellow River. The Taiping Rebellion was raging in the south. The second Opium War, known as The Dart War would begin the following year in 1856.

Liang Xuexiang was a biaoshi (escort master) prior to retiring, and possibly a soldier in the Qing military (although I have yet to verify this with more than one source). I am told by another credible source that he was a silk merchant in Beijing prior to returning to his village. It is worthy of noting, according to Chircop-Reyes and his paper on Merchants, Brigands, and Escorts, a biaoshi was hired based on factors which included their martial arts lineage.

In 1875, Liang was in his mid 60’s when his life intersected with the next (4th) generation of mantis boxers. The boxers who would then go on to diverge the style from it’s core lineage, and propel it onto separate paths into the present day. Liang, with his experience as a biaoshi, may have been considered a village protector upon his return, or just passing the time in his later years teaching for fun.

During 1875, a majority of the Shandong province was gripped by severe drought that had begun two years prior in 1873, and was still ongoing. Four years of mass famine would follow this drought claiming the lives of 9.5 to 13 million people within five northern provinces of the north China plains which included Shandong. An estimated 8 to 12% of the population.

Opium was ravaging the populace, as well as continued western encroachment and pressure. Yantai was home to one of the treaty ports that was forced open by the western powers at the Treaty of Tianjin (1858) following the Dart War. The White Lotus Rebellion was off and on in the border regions of Shandong, and banditry was a significant problem in northwest and southwest of Shandong. Militias were growing in popularity to quell these threats.

The Qing rulers were meanwhile engrossed in fending off a multi-pronged attack on their rule from outside powers and internal rebellion, as well as corruption which all told, compromised their ability to maintain power. An economic fallout from the catastrophic floods, major rebellions fought in the south and the west that sapped their military strength; foreign powers beating down their door, and the eventual Japanese invasion during the Sino-Japanese war (1894-95). This invasion included battles in Shandong next door to Yantai, in Weihai Wei.

The Qing military at it’s apex was remarkably powerful and adept with the 8 banner armies of the Manchu. By this time however, they had become lazy and unkempt. The Green Banner army, comprised of Han Chinese, not Manchu bannermen, was now the leading force to deal with rebellions and fight off foreign incursions with any significant effect. The Qing military lacked technological advancement, and the western powers made short work of the Qing army in any altercation. Likewise, Japan during the Sino-Japanese war, sunk the much larger Chinese fleet in its entirety in a single day.

The intrusion of Catholic and Protestant missionaries, their willfulness at not only converting villagers, but influencing the political establishment, caused a growing resentment toward these religions, their leaders, and their followers alike. Thus was the climate of Shandong during the 1800’s as Plum Blossom Boxing spread, and mantis boxing was branded.

The rise of Méi Huā Quan

As mentioned, méi quan was the name of a growing martial art in northern China well before and during the lives of the 4th generation of mantis boxers that followed Liang Xuexiang. Liang is noted as training under Zhao Zhu, who trained under Li Bingxiao - known as ‘two hooks Li’, the likely progenitor of the mantis boxing lineage around the turn of the 19th century, if there was one. His existence is difficult to verify, and his name has questionable translations.

Those who would become the fourth generation of mantis boxers, to teach others, were the following: Liang Jingchuan (Liang’s son), Jiang Hualong, Song Zide, Sun Yuanchang, and Hao Lianru. They were all friends with one another in Yantai.

How were these boxers tied to Liang Xuexiang? They are claimed in the mantis oral records as being students of Liang. Upon deeper inspection though, this is a more difficult question to answer. At the time they met Liang they were the following ages: Hao was still a child at 11 years old. Jiang and Song were 20 years old; both had experience in other boxing styles prior to meeting and ‘training’ with Liang, according to their biographies.

Is it possible Jiang and Song, and the other boxers their age, were in Liang’s employ as escort guards rather than martial arts students? That is, if Liang was still operating as a security boss at this time. There is no known evidence of when Liang ended his service in this career so this is difficult to answer.

Another possibility is, they were bodyguards for Liang and his family, who was now in his 60’s during an extremely chaotic time in Shandong. One experienced in the field of protective services would certainly recognize the need for such in times of strife.

Militias were also becoming more and more commonplace in Shandong due to the growing criminal activity. Was this group a militia? Was their symbol the mantis? Was Liang the militia leader? He was a respected escort-master who may well have been looked to as a local leader. More questions, few answers.

Another question, were they a gang of hoodlums brought together by ill circumstances to bully and harass others? Asserting their will over those weaker than themselves? This last part is doubtful due to Song, and another friend of theirs, Wang Rongsheng, being from wealthy families.

Perhaps, during the height of a major catastrophic event, and surrounded by a collapsing dynasty, Liang was simply teaching martial arts to this next generation for a hobby? Silly, when we lay it out that way, but entirely possible.

We have no definitive reason why any of these boxers, with the exception of Wang Rongsheng came to claim Liang as their teacher. We can however look at the obvious connection to the plum blossom society, and how this popular boxing wave came to influence mantis boxing as it progressed toward the 1900’s. Possibly determining when praying mantis boxing began to change.

The Boxer Uprisings

Plum blossom boxing was highly popularized by the time these 5 boxers were in their 30’s and 40’s. The style was also directly, or indirectly tied to the Boxer Uprisings many years later. According to Dr. Peter Lorge, and Dr. Tom Green, méihuāquan was a popular style, or group of martial artists of the time, which also held a folk religious element along with it.

Plum blossom boxing was spread through marketplaces when their followers/practitioners visiting villages and cities in the northern regions of China. Said boxers would meet up with other martial artists and share techniques in a cross collaboration. The art spread through various provinces such as - Henan, Hebei, and Shandong [Green 2016].

Dr. Ben Judkins mentions these plum boxers in his extensive writings on Martial Arts as Brand. Judkins writes, “Talent attracts talent.” which could help explain why these younger, accomplished boxers with prior experience in other styles, ended up tied by lineage, to two biaoshi (escort masters) that came before them - Li San Jian, and Liang Xuexiang.

Judkins further writes -

“However it would appear that there have been numerous cases where local martial artists wished to capitalize on the marking[sic] power of the dominant style or “brand” but for one reason or another could not officially enter the new institution or retrain.  The very rapid spread of Plum Blossom Boxing across northern China in the late 18th and 19th century is a good example of this.

Members of this style, sometimes associated with millennial folk religious movements, were a common fixture on training grounds and at village markets in a number of northern provinces.  Today there are a very large number of “alternate lineages” within the Plum Blossom tradition, some of which share more commonalities than others.  Practitioners of the art occasionally point to this proliferation of clans as evidence of the great age of the art.  However, we actually have some good documentation on the history of this particular style.

It appears that in the second half of the 19th century a relatively large number of small local fighting styles, some of them more closely related than others, started to declare themselves “Plum Blossom” schools by fiat, essentially appropriating what was a regionally very successful brand, without having to totally overhaul their teaching structures.  In this way the total number of unique local styles in the region was reduced, and the relationship between the name “Plum Blossom” and any fixed body of techniques was stretched and twisted”

Jiang Hua Long and his friend Song Zi De were the first to claim the moniker of the plum blossom, branding the style as ‘Plum Blossom’ Praying Mantis Boxing. Hao Lian Ru was the blood brother of Liang’s son, Liang Jingchuan, who was much older than him and the 1st disciple of Liang Xue Xiang. Hao later went on to distinguish his line of mantis as something different than the others - Tài Jí Méi Huā Táng Láng Quán, or ‘Supreme Ultimate Plum Blossom’ Praying Mantis Boxing.

Tai Ji is oft used as a way to define something as ‘the source of all things’. This was likely a way for Hao to declare (or brand) that he was in fact the 1st of Liang’s disciples. The closest to the core. However, when this happened is debatable. Such political pettiness is likely to have happened after Liang Xuexiang’s death in 1895 at 85 years old.

If Lorge is correct that much of the plum blossom moniker came after the Boxer Rebellion, then we can narrow this down to sometime after 1902. If Liang Xuexiang was the bearer of the mantis torch prior to all of these boxers, and it was not a brand invented after his passing, then it is likely the plum blossom blend of techniques also did not appear until after his passing, and after the boxer uprisings.

The references to the plum blossom go deeper as we explore a few of the mantis boxing tào lù (forms, or choreographed boxing sets). Although this is subject to debate, these boxing sets are the commonly believed ‘older’ sets from mantis boxing. They exist in all of the main lines with the exception of 6 harmony mantis, which came later in the 5th generation by conjoining with a different boxing style altogether (Liuhe).

Mantis Boxing Sets -  Tào Lù

A note on these boxing sets before we establish their plum blossom connection. The common forms that exist between the lines of — plum blossom praying mantis boxing, supreme ultimate praying mantis boxing, and qī xīng (Seven Star 七星) praying mantis boxing, are all different from one another in execution. None of them have the same moves/patterns within the choreographed set of fighting moves. This makes it next to impossible to tell which version is ‘correct’, or an original, and further solidifies the fact that boxing techniques and styles of the time, were fluid.

We can however rule out seven star mantis as being the original, since Wang Rongsheng never studied under Liang Xuexiang. Wang’s claimed teacher, Li Sanjian practiced Red Boxing (Hong Quan), not mantis boxing. Li San Jian was in his 70’s in 1888 when Wang started training with him, and died a few years later in 1891. So it is difficult to assess how much ‘knowledge’ was transferred to Wang from Li in that time, and if fighting was the true nature of their relationship.

It is also important to note that Wang was from a wealthy family, and thereby did martial arts as a hobby rather than as means of employ. Li San Jian however, was a famous fighter and biaoshi. Wang, also ‘purchased’ his degree in the 1890’s (a common form of corruption taking place at this time due to the imperial examination system being extremely difficult to pass). Wang failed the exams three times previous to purchasing his degree. Wang, and his family quite possibly hired Li Sanjian for his protection services/knowledge, and Wang could have studied with him during this time. But their relationship is unknown to us, and not relevant to our current, and further exploration of the plum blossom connection to mantis.

Ultimately, finding the original quickly narrows down to — Plum Blossom Praying Mantis (Jiang and Song), Tai Ji Mantis (Sun Yuanchang), or Tai Ji Plum Blossom Praying Mantis (Hao Lianru). Perhaps Hao and Sun’s ‘taiji' mantis is closer to the true mantis, if there ever was such a thing. Or, at least closest to Liang Xuexiang’s teachings? Perhaps this is why they named branded it with the taiji? As in ‘closest to the source’.

The fact that the forms (taolu) from each of them is also different, tells us that even within this ‘style’ of mantis boxing, the forms were subject to independent interpretation rather than a dogmatic system of practice. Due to the appearance and consistency of all three of the core boxing sets (albeit executed differently from one another) in ‘seven star’, ‘taiji’ and ‘plum blossom’ lines of mantis boxing, allows us to trace the forms Luán Jié (Intercept 攔截), Bā Zhǒu (8 Elbow 八肘), and Beng Bu (Crushing Step 崩步) at least as far back as this 4th generation of boxers.

I have no known record of who created these forms at the time of this writing. There is uncorroborated claims that Liang Xuexiang wrote three manuscripts and listed some of these sets within. Until I can verify that, it is unsubstantiated. We may never know.

Because these boxing sets show up in plum blossom praying mantis, supreme ultimate praying mantis, and seven star praying mantis, we can conclude that they either a) existed prior to this generation, and were taught by Liang Xuexiang, or b) were created by this generation and spread down each branch from there; each style having different versions of the form based on the boxer teaching it. Having no verifiable written records makes it difficult to pin down an absolute origin, but it is important to note Esherick’s writings again here as a refresher - ‘boxers and their methods were more fluid and subject to variation from boxer to boxer.’

Wang Rongsheng, the founder of the seven star praying mantis branch was close friends with the ‘plum blossom’ praying mantis boxing founders, and around the same age. Wang assuredly learned mantis boxing from these boxers, his friends, since he did not learn it from Li San Jian. This we can discern from a close study of our mantis boxing timeline, and exactly when he is noted as meeting his claimed teacher, Li San Jian.

Since the boxing sets Crushing Step, Intercept, and 8 Elbows are often the topic of discussion when it comes to ‘original forms’, I’ll focus on these in more detail while additionally notating other forms that offer significant points of interest, if in name only.

Note: These observations are based on the versions of the form(s) that I learned and witnessed via other boxers. Mantis forms are ripe with variations from one line to the next, even at times within the same branch/line. Thus making it extremely difficult to make any statements in absolute terms.

Lán Jié (Intercept 攔截)

The same double block is found in Gongliquan.

The version of Lán Jié that I learned, as well as others I see out there, is precipitated by a strange movement pattern performed in the air. This pattern makes little sense out of context, but the pattern in the air is clearly a plum flower. An homage to plum blossom boxing and a strong indication that this set was assembled by this 4th generation of boxers, or at least this was tacked on.

The opening move of the form that follows the salutation is synonymous with a version of the plum blossom boxing set -> double rising hooks followed by double palms/waist chop. This is the same opening move of the plum blossom form/boxing set that still exists today. Instead of hooks (another brand as I discuss in The Mantis Hand was nothing more than a Mantis Brand) the plum blossom version uses two upper blocks with fists. Similar to gongliquan (power building boxing).

By itself one could argue that this was just a technique that was common to the region at the time. However, when placed immediately after the opening symbolism and combined with other factors that follow, it stands to reason that it came from plum boxing rather than the other way around.

Other common techniques overlap with plum boxing as well: crashing tide, closing door kick, recede/block/kick, block/circle/trap strike, seize leg, lifting hook to the topple, and more. All show a) there was a common vernacular, or library of techniques, (see What Can BJJ Teach Us About Qing Dynasty Martial Arts? - Randy Brown - MAS Conference 2019) in the region at the time, and b) given the redundancy of these two sets and plum boxings popularity compared to mantis, that Lán Jié was likely created after the plum blossom boxing craze.

Given the heavy influence and symbolism of plum boxing within this set, it is far more likely this form was created or altered after the boxer uprising when forms proliferation truly began. However, this is difficult to know for sure without documented dates of creation. Another commonality with this set as well as other mantis sets like crushing step, and others (yet not Ba Zhou), is the repeated engarde position found in the meihuaquan (see photo).

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Bēng Bù (Crushing Step 崩步)

Bēng Bù (Crushing Step 崩步) is a prevalent tào lù (boxing set 套路) of praying mantis boxing. It stands as one of the more popular fighting sets on record for the style. It is also a common boxing set practiced by a few of the branches. Although the name translates as 'Crushing Step', this is a bit of a misnomer. 

This form also embodies the influence of plum blossom boxing. The ‘engarde’ position known as ‘mantis catches cicada’ shows up in bēng bù right at the beginning — second move. In Crushing Step as well as in other mantis sets, this engarde position is branded with the mantis hooks instead of the signature open palms found in plum blossom boxing as seen above. This clearly disrupts the idea that this was a combative move in and of itself. A heart crushing blow to many of us who spent great efforts trying to ‘decipher’ the fighting application of that move.

In the end, it is nothing more than a branded engarde position taken from plum blossom boxing. It could also be commonly used by boxers from varying styles accustomed to duels at the time. Although, in my experience with studying over 50 forms from a variety of northern Chinese boxing styles, it does not appear that often in other sets/styles.

Additionally, the end of Crushing Step, and Intercept, both have a 180 degree turn to this ‘mantis catches cicada position, or engarde with hooks. The plum boxing set ends with the exact same 180 degree turn, the exception being the use of open palms vs hooks. 

The Tiger Tail Kick

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Plum Flower Maiden Dancing from Pole to Pole. Circa 1880. Source: Wikimedia (though I believe that Stanley Henning was the first person to publish this image in his essay for Green and Svinth.)

At the end of the first road of bēng bù, there is a move often referred to as a ‘tiger tail kick’. There are versions of crushing step with one instance of this move as you start the second road, and other variations end the first road with this move, and then repeat it in the opposite direction before heading into the second road of the form. Regardless, its roots lie in plum boxing.

Thanks to another article done by Ben Judkins on his Kung Fu Tea blog, I found a drawing of this exact same move. The article - “Research Notes: “Background of Meihuaquan’s Development During Ming and Qing Dynasties” By Zhang Guodong and Li Yun” discusses the influence meihuaquan had on the area of Shandong during the late 1800’s. This same ‘tiger tail kick’ move, as seen in the drawing from 1880, is inside the meihuaquan forms as well as Crushing Step.

This influence on a staple mantis boxing form such as bēng bù draws into question the age of the form, and perhaps points to a newer origin story for this boxing set thought to be at one time over a thousand years old.

Bā Zhǒu (8 Elbows 八肘)

Bā Zhǒu is claimed to be one of the older sets in the lineage. By outward appearance, although mutated from line to line, it seems to be one of the only forms consistent among seven star, supreme ultimate plum blossom, and plum blossom mantis. It would therefore hint that this form [whichever version is original], is handed down by Liang Xue Xiang, and perhaps those before him.

Additionally, and perhaps more significantly — in review of the various versions of this form ascribed to the different branches of mantis boxing, there is a distinct lack of the ‘plum blossom influence’ in the set unlike crushing step, and intercept. In a closer look at this 4th generation of boxers when they fractured into separate lines, based on this evidence it is highly likely in my opinion that this is the oldest mantis boxing set.

Bēng bù and lán jié are suspicious when we see the heavy plum blossom boxing influence represented within them. In both seven star, and plum blossom mantis boxing lines. This can further be brought into question as we look to what other significant geopolitical factors took place in this region/time period.

Rebel Boxers

These plum boxers were subsequently connected to the Boxer Uprisings as we travel closer to the turn of the century. Zhao San Duo, a famous plum boxer and rebel of the time, they were connected to the uprisings not necessarily in ways that would seem obvious. Judkins writes regarding the plum boxers/sect in his article on Zhao San Duo, “the group expelled anti-Christian, and anti-Qing extremist factions.” They were, as well as other martial artists of the time, called upon to engage as a militia group in times of need.

However, Judkins cites the work of Joseph Esherick on the Boxer Uprisings and goes on to further mention the following specifically about Zhao San Duo -

“Esherick reports one very interesting example of “image policing” in his discussion of the relationship between Plum Blossom boxing and the aftermath of an outbreak of anti-Christian violence in 1897 (The Origins of the Boxer Uprising.  California UP, 1985. pp. 151-159.).

Zhao San-duo was a noted local Plum Blossom teacher who had a few thousand students and disciples (including many yamen clerks and secretaries) in the Liyuantun region of Shandong.  He was probably not a wealthy individual, but his father was a degree holder and he seems to have had some amount of local influence.  While he initially resisted being caught up in local events, he ultimately could not withstand the demands to back his fiends and students in the face of persistent communal violence.

During the spring of 1897 he was effectively pressured by his students to become involved in a dispute between the local community and the area’s Christian population. A church (still under construction) was attacked, homes were looted and many people were injured in the clash (one person was reported to have been killed). The Christians were effectively driven out of the local community and the site of their former church was reallocated as a village school.

This action was well received locally and local officials were sympathetic to Zhao and his cause. However, from that point forward he increasingly aligned himself with radical (and sometimes even anti-Manchu) figures. This trend worried the other elders of the local Plum Blossom clan. They did not want to be associated with community violence, anti-Christian violence or even the suggestion of sedition.

These elders met repeatedly with Zhao.  However, when it was clear that he would not change his path they agreed to part ways, but forbade him to teach or practice under their name.  In effect, worried about the damage and disgrace that he would bring to a very successful brand, the Plum Blossom clan excommunicated the increasingly revolutionary Zhao.

He selected a new name for his style, the Yi-he Quan (Boxers United in Righteousness).  This should sound very familiar to students of late 19th century Chinese history.  Just as the elders feared, the subsequent actions of the Yi-he students in the Boxer Uprising severely damaged the fortunes of martial artists around the country.

The above is a significant indicator as to not only the popularity of plum blossom boxing at the time, with Zhao having “a few thousand students”, but what would ultimately also come to affect our mantis boxers in Shandong.

We see not only the influence of plum boxing on mantis boxing, but this further evolves into a new intersection with the Boxer Uprisings and the political leanings of at least one of our boxers. As the Righteous Harmonious Boxers as they were called, grew in popularity, so too did their influence on Jiang Hualong. Was Jiang involved in the uprisings? Or was he just an admirer of how they stood up to the western powers who were forcing their way into China, and specifically Shandong? Or was Jiang a supporter of the yi-he boxing movements anti-Christian agenda?

The following forms are noteworthy due not only to their connection to the plum blossom, but the boxer uprisings as well. Whether this is due to religious, cultural, or rebellious reasons is unknown, but it offers further evidence of our boxers being influenced or connected with meihuaquan.

• Plum Blossom Fist - creator unknown

• Plum Blossom Road (Meihua Lu) - Jiang and Song

• Righteous Harmonious Fist - Jiang Hualong

• Flower Arranging - Wang Rongsheng

• Double Flower Arranging - Wang Rongsheng’s forms

Of particular interest is Jiang Hualong’s set - Righteous Harmonious Fist. According to Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo in their book ‘Jing Wu The School That Transformed Kung Fu’, any association with the boxers involved in the Boxer Uprisings in the early twentieth century would have been considered detrimental to one’s reputation. While we have no record of what year this form was created, if it were prior to the reformation period and the creation of Jing Wu, it raises an interesting question as to why Jiang would keep the name, given any association with the Rebel Boxers was perceived as negative.

Jiang died at the age of sixty-nine in 1924 during a period when Jing Wu was battling the disparaged reputation of Chinese martial arts, and attempting to shed negative associations and convince the public that any black marks such as the boxer rebellion, outlaws, bandits, and overzealous warlords of the past, were not the true martial arts of China. Whatever was going on in the mantis boxing sub-culture in the early 1900’s, it did not affect Jiang Hualong enough for him to shed the name of his set and associations it may conjure in the minds of the public. This could lead us to believe he had strong associations himself with the boxer uprisings, their charter, or anti-western opinions.

Conclusion - A chronology of strife

If we look at the ages of our boxers and the regional and political conflicts they intersected with, we can begin to see a pattern evolve. These boxers met Liang Xuexiang as young adults and became branded as ‘mantis boxers’. Perhaps they were attracted to him due to Liang’s status and reputation carried from years of running escorts/bodyguard services. Liang’s reputation appears to be significant at least in his village/county.

Liang’s home in Laiyang/Haiyang is now a nationally protected treasure. The village sees visitors from around the world that come to see Liang Xuexiang’s dwelling and grave site, and to meet his descendants.

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Liang Xuexiang’s house/courtyard. 2020 - https://kuaibao.qq.com/s/20200103A0GKCS00

Article on Liang Xuexiang’s home

After meeting Liang Xuexiang our boxers experience (in chronological order)

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• Continued western encroachment in Yantai, and across Shandong

• Catholic and Protestant interference in politics on a macro and micro level causing great upset in the populace of Shandong.

• An opioid epidemic - by the 1890’s the once proud and famous Manchu Bannermen that were some of the strongest military in the world, were now reduced to corrupt drug addicts.

• Drought across the plains wiping out crops for years to follow.

• Mass famine following the droughts

• Another famine

• Japanese invasion/war on the Shandong peninsula.

• Another famine

• Boxer uprisings

• National restrengthening movement

• Collapse of the last remaining dynasty in China’s history

As our mantis boxers age they likely pick up the plum blossom banner to become part of the growing popularity of this quasi-religious movement. And yet in aligning with this banner, do not discard the mantis boxing brand. This could indicate the power of the mantis brand handed down by Liang, or his influence alone. The mantis was obviously a valuable enough symbol to our boxers that they continued to carry this banner as they adopted new branding and grew their influence in Shandong and beyond.

As we reach the end of the 19th century we see rebellious factions appear. One of our boxers is somehow directly or indirectly linked to the more extremist part of the plum blossom society, the yi he boxers who are ultimately exiled for their actions against Christians and converts. Was Jiang Hualong the one naming forms afters these boxers and their movement a part of uprisings? Further study of Jiang Hualong is required to try and answer this question.

Once the Qing dynasty collapsed we are now in a time period where martial arts in China undergoes a significant reskin. No longer a fighting art, now a form of physical education. Teachers vie for commercial students, popularity, reputation. Mantis boxing is propelled on a path to become a worldwide martial art as it travels south to Shanghai and enters the now infamous - Jin Woo Athletic Center to become a part of China’s national movement to regain face. From there to Hong Kong and half a century later it traverses the globe.

This southern migration was spearheaded by a student of a student to mantis boxer Wang Rongsheng who started the Seven Star line of mantis boxing. This 3rd generation ‘seven star’ student was Luo Guangyu. This lends itself to yet another question — Wang was not part of the original group mentioned above who trained with Liang. Yet his mantis, not the mantis of those who studied under the direct descendant was the branch/style (Seven Star) chosen to go south and represent these mantis boxers from the north. Why?

Wang’s version of mantis also carries with it hallmarks of the plum blossom boxing style. It is therefore conclusive that this integration with mei boxing took place before mantis reached Jin Woo in 1913. Due to none of the orginal sets matching from one branch to the next, it is difficult to ascertain an exact point in time when these two ‘styles’ converged. Quite possibly it was even before Wang adopted the mantis brand from his friends.

---

Bibliography

• Esherick, Joseph W. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. University of California Press, 1987

• Lorge, Peter. Chinese Martial Arts from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

• Guodong, Zhang & Green, Thomas & Gutiérrez-García, Carlos. (2016). Rural Community, Group Identity and Martial Arts: Social Foundation of Meihuaquan. Ido Movement for Culture. 16. 18-29. 10.14589/ido.16.1.3.

• Judkins, Ben. Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (13): Zhao San-duo—19th Century Plum Flower Master and Reluctant Rebel - https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2017/04/20/lives-of-chinese-martial-artists-13-zhao-san-duo-19th-century-plum-flower-master-and-reluctant-rebel-2/

• Guodong, Zhang & Green, Thomas (2018). “I Am the Greatest Boxer”: Articulating Group Identity through Chinese Folk Drama - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326005437_I_Am_the_Greatest_Boxer_Articulating_Group_Identity_through_Chinese_Folk_Drama

• Research Notes: “Background of Meihuaquan’s Development During Ming and Qing Dynasties” By Zhang Guodong and Li Yun - https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2015/06/01/research-notes-background-of-meihuaquans-development-during-ming-and-qing-dynasties-by-zhang-guodong-and-li-yun/

• Kennedy, Brian, Guo, Elizabeth Jing Wu The School That Transformed Kung Fu, Blue Snake Books 2010

The Origins of Wang Lang of Tángláng Quán - 螳螂拳

Wang Lang (王朗) was a military folk hero/warlord in the Eastern Han dynasty (25CE - 220CE). Born in Tancheng County in the south of Shandong near the border of Jiangsu province. Wang Lang’s deeds are recorded and as with other famous figures in Chinese history, Wang was later memorialized and embellished upon in a famous novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. 

Sacrificing to heaven and earth, the oath at the peach garden, Romance of the Three Kingdoms/Chapter 1 - An illustration of the book - From a Ming Dynasty edition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (金陵萬卷樓刊本) , 1591 - the original is kept in the library holdings of Peking University 1591

Wang’s bio according to Chine.de - An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art

Wang Lang 王朗 (died 228 CE) courtesy name Jingxing 景興, was a high minister and Confucian scholar of the early years of the Wei period. He came from Tan 郯 in the commandery of Donghai 東海 (today's Tancheng 郯城, Shandong) and was, as proficient in the Confucian Classics, appointed gentleman of the interior (langzhong 郎中), then magistrate of Ziqiu 菑丘. In the turmoils of the Yellow Turban rebellion 黃巾起義 he became a follower of the warlord Tao Qian 陶謙, who promoted his appointment as governor (taishou 太守) of the commandery of Guiji 會稽. This region was contested, and Wang Lang had to ward off the warlord Sun Ce 孫策. The warlord Cao Cao 曹操 therefore decided to offer him the post of Grand Master of Remonstrance (jianyi dafu 諫議大夫), and made him concurrently military administrator of the Ministry of Works (can sikong junshi 參司空軍事). When Cao Cao, as factual regent of the empire, was made king of Wei 魏, Wang Lang was made governor of Weijun 魏郡 and "military libationer" (? jun jijiu 軍祭酒), later promoted to Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues (shaofu 少府), Chamberlain for Ceremonials (fengchang 奉常) and Chamberlain for Law Enforcement (dali 大理). When Cao Pi 曹丕 (Emperor Wen of Wei 魏文帝, r. 220-226) assumed the title of emperor, Wang Lang was appointed Censor-in-chief (yushi dafu 御史大夫) and given the title of neighbourhood marquis of Anling 安陵亭侯. Somewhat later he was made Minister of Works (sikong 司空) and promoted to Marquis of Leping Village 樂平鄉侯. Emperor Ming 魏明帝 (r. 226－239 CE) conferred upon him the title of Marquis of Lanling 蘭陵侯 and appointed him Minister of Education (situ 司徒). His posthumous title was Marquis Cheng 蘭陵成侯. Wang Lang wrote commentaries to the Classics Chunqiu 春秋, Xiaojing 孝經 and Zhouguan 周官 (Zhouli 周禮), and wrote numerous memorials to the throne. Most of his writings are lost.

Sources: Zhang Shunhui 張舜徽 (ed. 1992), Sanguozhi cidian 三國志辭典 (Jinan: Shandong jiaoyu chubanshe), p. 36. Ulrich Theobald Copyright 2016

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms Wang Lang

In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wang Lang died at the age of 76 in 228. Despite his age, he led a group of soldiers and set up camp to do battle with Zhuge Liang. In the novel, Cao Zhen was defeated by Zhuge Liang. Cao Zhen called for his subordinates to help, and Wang Lang decided to try and persuade him to surrender (even though Guo Huai was sceptical that it would succeed) and engaged Zhuge Liang in a debate, but was soundly defeated. Zhuge Liang among other things scolded him as a dog and a traitor, from the shock of which he fell off his horse and died on the spot. There is no record of this in history, and instead, it is said that he merely sent a letter to Zhuge Liang recommending that he surrender. The letter was ignored.

Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi)

The Apotheosis of Wang Lang (王朗)

The birth of mantis boxing has been well debated. Some claim it was a product of the Song dynasty (960–1279), while others place it in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The evidence however points to the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) as the likely period of birth, and Wang Lang is a contributing factor to the evidence.

How did Wang Lang become entwined with the history of Praying Mantis Boxing (Tángláng Quán - 螳螂拳) almost 2 millennia later? Is this the same Wang Lang, or was there someone else who founded this boxing style who went by the same name? I believe these are one and the same.

Wang, as with many famous generals in Chinese history, was deified. He became a god especially to those villagers and communities in the region near his birth. There is even a statue of Wang Lang located in Shandong province. There is however no mention in historical records of Wang Lang practicing or teaching something known as - praying mantis boxing. Wang existed long before mantis boxing appeared in the second half of the Qing dynasty. So how did Wang become the progenitor of this style in the 18th or more likely, the 19th century? Who incorporated Wang Lang into the mantis lineage, and why?

Was it Wang Rong Sheng (王榮生, 1854-1926) founder of the ‘seven star’ branch of praying mantis boxing? Even though Rongsheng had a different teacher (Li San Jian, also not a mantis boxer) than the other mantis boxers under Liang Xuexiang? Wang Rongsheng’s shared surname with the famous deity is likely a mere coincidence. Perhaps Wang Rongsheng’s family lineage tree did trace all the way back to the Han dynasty warlord. This is all conjecture. It is unknown who tied Wang Lang to Tanglangquan's history, but the time period can be narrowed down by other cultural factors which existed in Shandong province in the late 19th century, and from these a reasonable explanation of how this connection was made can be discerned.

Shen Quan

During the 1800’s boxers were highly prevalent in Shandong. Some were tied to religious sects, and mini uprisings, others to banditry. Most just trying to survive. Some were even recruited at times to fight the religious groups such as The White Lotus, and other sects. Foreign imports, and factories took many of the jobs in the cotton weaving industry Shandong was known for. A large portion of the population became unemployed, and economically depressed. Treaty ports such as Yantai (where mantis boxing was born), were affected even more by this foreign incursion of industry and lifestyle. This by proxy, caused a rise in banditry.

A mid-Qing (1700’s) emergence of Shen Quan (Spirit Boxing) in Shandong, whereby the practitioners recited incantations, danced wildly, and believed they had been possessed by a spirit/god that gave them courage, and even invulnerability, reappeared in the late 1800’s as the Boxer Uprising was beginning in full. The original founder of Shen Quan believed he had been possessed by a famous Tang dynasty general he knew from an opera. This same spirit-boxing was repopularized in Shandong during the late Qing when the region was collapsing economically and had been pummeled by droughts, famines, drug addiction, banditry, wars, and rebellions. A perhaps misguided means of ‘self’ control by villagers and peasants to pray for rain, or turn their deities ire toward their Manchu rulers, and later the western invaders.

At this time opera and folklore was highly popularized in local villages, towns. Famous stories were acted out such as Water Margin, Journey to the West, The Enfeoffment of the Gods, and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Wang Lang’s exploits were part of these tales, and Wang was a hero that would have had personal meaning to the locals of Shandong as he hailed from their homeland.

Joseph W. Esherick explains: 

“most north China villages had a small temple to the local God (Tu-di shen), or perhaps to Guan Gong.”

Additionally, Esherick writes:

“There was one paramount occasion when these temples became a focus for community activity: the temple fair, held annually at temples in larger villages or market towns. The name for these - “inviting the gods to a performance” (ying-shen sai hui). The center of attention was an opera, for the benefits of the gods.”

It important to capture this in the entirety of what Esherick writes next:

“Above all, these occasions were welcomed for the relief they provided from the dull monotony of peasant toil. Relatives would gather from surrounding villages. Booths would be set up to sell food and drink, and provide for gambling. The crowds and opera created an air of excitement welcome to all. But the statement of community identity provided by opera and temple was also extremely important. It is important, too, that the gods were not only part of the audience: many of the most popular dramatic characters---borrowed from novels which blended history and fantasy---had also found places in the popular religious pantheon. Since few villages had resident priests, and few peasants received religious instruction at larger urban temples, it was principally these operas that provided substantive images for a Chinese peasant’s religious universe. This is why sectarian borrowing from popular theatre is so important. To the extent that sectarian groups incorporated gods of the theatre, they brought themselves into the religious community of the village---rather than setting themselves apart as a separate congregation of the elect.

The importance of village opera for an understanding of the Boxer origins can hardly be overstated. As we shall see below, the gods by which the Boxers were possessed were all borrowed from these operas. That many of the possessing gods were military figures is hardly accidental. From what little we know of the operas of west Shandong, it is clear that those with martial themes, for example those based on novels Water Margin, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and The Efeoffment of the Gods were particularly popular. This is to be expected given the popularity of the martial arts in the area, but it no doubt helped that Jiang Zi-ya (Jiang Taigong), the hero-general sent down from heaven to assist the founder of the Zhou dynasty in The Efeoffment of the Gods, was himself supposedly enfeoffed in the north Shandong state of Qi, and the heroes of Water Margin made their base in the western part of the province.

In many ways it was the social drama of the theatre which tied together elements of popular culture most relevant to the rise of the Boxers. Here was the affirmation of the community which the Boxers sought to protect. Here were the martial heroes who expressed and embodied the values of the young martial artists of this region. Here were the gods by which the Boxers were possessed---gods now shared by sectarians and non-sectarians alike. When the young boxers were possessed by these gods, they acted out their battles for righteousness and honor just as surely as did the performers on the stage.”

Was Wang Rong Sheng spirit boxing with the deity Wang Lang? Was it one of his friends, Jiang, Song, or Hao, the founders of the other branches of mantis boxing (plum blossom praying mantis boxing, supreme ultimate praying mantis boxing, supreme ultimate plum blossom praying mantis boxing) that emerged around this time? All of them acting together perhaps? Or was this something their teacher Liang Xuexiang being wiser, older, educated, and well traveled used to inspire the younger boxers under his charge?

Esherick continues”

“The martial artists that we have seen in the mid-Qing (Li Bingxiao for example) were men whose social world was outside the village community. Many led wandering lives as salt smugglers, peddlers, or professional escorts; others were primarily associated with the gambling and petty crime of market towns.”

Later in the Qing, Escherick points out, this changed as banditry became more prevalent. At this time young men were more often studying martial arts for self-defense, and protecting their communities and families. There was a movement toward community defensive efforts, and in more agrarian areas, crop defense.

Whatever the reasons for Wang Lang being assigned attributions as the creator of praying mantis boxing we can most likely determine from the popularity of spirit boxing and the trend in the late 1800’s that this period in time during the late Qing, when shen-quan was revitalized, was the period when Wang was incorporated into the lineage. We can view this same occurrence in Eagle Claw Boxing around the same time period to the northwest in Hebei province. Yue Fei, another famous general in Chinese history is credited with founding that style. Yue Fei also had no definitive connection to eagle claw boxing prior to this time period in the Qing.

In the second generation of the lineage charts in both mantis boxing and eagle claw, are similarly obscured. In both styles there is no definitive link between the founder and the next verified carrier of the torch. The two have very similar discrepancies within their histories after these deities supposedly invented them. The oral records claim the styles after being invented, then went into the Shaolin temple almost 900km (560 miles) to the west, and three to four weeks walking distance away from Yantai where mantis existed centuries later. There is no known record of mantis, or eagle claw styles being part of the Shaolin boxing system. Are we to believe these styles, if they did exist at Shaolin for a time, were suddenly spit back out hundreds of years later back in Shandong or Hebei?

It is much more plausible that these military legends, Yue Fei, and Wang Lang, were brought about into these styles in the late Qing as spirit boxing rose to prominence once more amongst the martial artists of the time. As we’ll see in the time period of Li Bingxiao (李炳霄 1731-1813 estimated), during the ‘High Qing’, martial artists did not stay with one teacher. They rather learned from a multitude of sources similar to a modern day university student, thus making it extremely difficult for the concept of ‘styles’ to gain root during this time unlike a few decades later.

This can explain the lack of history in between the founders, and the verifiable practitioners of these arts in the late Qing. Why they suddenly ‘disappear’ into temples in their lineage charts. Only to then reappear centuries later with traceable roots. It explains an oral history in mantis boxing that this style was an amalgamation of 18 different ‘styles’. This is far more believable and easier to comprehend in the realm of martial arts if each of these 18 ‘styles’ was a technique or two from each independent source the practitioner learned from. Finally, it can further explain why prior to the 18th and 19th century, there is no definable lineage for these arts.

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Bibliography

• Esherick, Joseph W. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. University of California Press, 1987

• ChinaKnowledge.de An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art, edited by Ulrich Theobald - Sanguozhi 三國志(www.chinaknowledge.de), Wang Lang 王朗(www.chinaknowledge.de)

• Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi)

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You can purchase these books on my Amazon store and help fund research like this.

The Origins of the Boxer Uprising - https://amzn.to/3c3iz36

Romance of the Three Kingdoms vol. 1 - https://amzn.to/2McZZKT
Romance of the Three Kingdoms vol. 2 - https://amzn.to/3sOIZM0
Romance of the Three Kingdoms vol. 3 - https://amzn.to/3sW5wXl

Scholar Warrior Interview - Dr. Peter Lorge

Delve into the history of Chinese boxing, famous generals, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, UFC leg locks, gunpowder, and all things martial arts, as I interview Dr. Peter Lorge, author of Chinese Martial Arts from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century.

Part 2 - A continuation of our discussion on General Qi Ji Guang, Sun-Tzu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, teaching methods, and...INTERNAL vs EXTERNAL nonsense!

The 'Mantis Hand' was simply a 'Mantis Brand'

photos by Max Kotchouro

Suggested Reading:

Prior to reading these notes below, I recommend reading my research notes leading up to this point. It will help you lay context for my observations and findings.

1. Research Notes: To Dissect a Mantis

2. What Can BJJ Teach Us About Qing Dynasty Martial Arts?

3. Research Tool: Mantis Boxing Historical Timeline

Notes

What has become abundantly clear to me through the research I’ve been undertaking on Mantis Boxing; along with the discovery and extrapolation of more and more techniques from within the forms, as well as the examination of the historical data surrounding the collapse of a dynastic period of a major civilization in world history, is the following -

Mantis boxing as we know it today, the versions of the style passed down to us for the past 120 years, is fake.

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Mantis hand posture as depicted in a myriad of forms in Praying Mantis Boxing.

Now that I have your attention, allow me to explain. Fake is a strong word, and intentionally bombastic on my part. It carries with it a harsh connotation especially when it comes to an art that is held so dear to so many loyal followers. Present company included.

Fake, implies deception on the part of those teaching or partaking in the practice of it today. This...is anything but the truth. Without those teachers, practitioners, stewards of the art, who have carried this broken and hollow skeleton forward through time, we would not have any hope of a future for this art, or perhaps even Chinese boxing as a whole. To them, we owe everything. So what do I mean then when I use the word ‘fake’?

The idea that tanglangquan had some ‘special’ technique(s) never seen in any other Chinese boxing, or martial arts style in the world, is unrealistic, fantastical, or…fake. Almost all of the ‘real’ applications (and there are many), that come out of the forms, are absolutely amazing and effective combat methods. Methods that are alive in martial art styles today; including the remaining functional Chinese art, shuai jiao, and it’s progenitor from the Steppes peoples to the north - bokh.

A majority of the forms practiced by the various lines of praying mantis boxing were created after the turn of the 20th century. They are not combative forms. They are not even made by people who necessarily knew how to fight with mantis. This is evidenced by photographs we have of said people that began documenting the art in the first half of the 1900’s.

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Photo of application of Wicked Knee depicted in one of many of Huang Han Xun’s books on Mantis Boxing. Technique found in mantis forms such as Seven Star Mantis’ Beng Bu (Crushing Step). Why is he standing on one leg? Why is his opponent holding his fists at his waist?

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Wicked knee depicted in a mantis boxing form.

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Wicked Knee applied. Hook (Gōu 勾) to Pluck (Cǎi 採), to knee.

Note: I did not say, these practitioners could not fight. I am saying, that they did not fight with mantis. As is evidenced by the photo representations of the applications depicted in their books (see Huang Han Xun’s manuals for examples). Therefore, if some of the forms are choreographed by people that did not know how to use the moves within, then they are ‘fake’ martial arts.

If the forms contain applications common to the Chinese boxing methods of the time (1800’s), and offer nothing unique that sets the mantis ‘style’ apart, then the forms cannot be what defines mantis as being mantis. The keywords and their integration into a fighter’s combat methods could however, define what it means to be a mantis boxer.

The ‘mantis hand’ itself, is fake. This is unfortunate, as it’s rather unique and extraordinary, but it is the harsh truth. It is nothing short of branding. Marketing, as I explained at Chapman University in the Martial Arts Studies talk that I gave. The fingers curling under (as seen above) are incapable of grabbing effectively, and offer no distinct advantage in fighting. As a matter of fact, it offers a plethora of liabilities.

Unfortunately, this hand posture has confused generations of worthy and dedicated practitioners of the art. Myself included. A fleeting mirage we focused on as we have sought to unlock the applications behind this ‘Mantis Catches Cicada’ posture. Which at its core, is nothing short of - ‘engarde with the hook’ (depicted further below).

The reality of this is simple - these hooks with a hand (without the fingers curling), are common holds, ties, binds, and lifts. Think of how you would hook a leg for a knee pick. How you would hook a neck for clinch. An arm for a hold. These hooks are common to many throws, and clinches in Chinese boxing as well as other martial arts the world over. Something I began to realize and wrote about back in 2013. They are not grabbing full speed punches out of the air. This quickly becomes evident when testing our art against a 3-punch-combo from a western boxer.

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Mantis boxing form circa 2000.

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The move applied.

Someone, at some point, took said hooks, curled the fingers, and stamped the name ‘mantis boxing’ on it. This includes other moves that have ‘faux’ hooks such as - the double hands up engarde with cat stance (mantis catches cicada seen below), curling the hands over into hooks and branding it ‘mantis’. The double rising hands that is also seen in Méihuā Quán (Plum Blossom Boxing), but without the mantis hooks exists as the opener to a mantis boxing classic known as Lan Jie (Intercept and Counter). This is a push counter takedown that is now stylized with unnecessary hooks. Something akin to performance art, rather than real fighting.

Incidentally, that opening move found in Lan Jie, is the exact opening move of the Méihuā Quán form. Minus the hooks. The closing 180 degree turn to mantis catches cicada? Also in Méihuā Quán minus the hooks. Thanks to the works of Zhang Guodong, Thomas Green Carlos Gutiérrez-García, and Ben Judkins, whose works I cited in my research on Qing dynasty totem styles, Méihuā Quán was being spread through marketplaces in Shandong and other northern provinces and heavily influenced the martial arts of the late 1800’s in China. The abundance of ‘plum blossom’ references in the mantis boxing of the turn of the 19th to 20th century cannot be ignored. An entire line of mantis was born with this moniker, forms were named after it, symbols adopted, and moves in forms were direct simulacra.

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Mantis Catches Cicada posture found repeatedly in forms of the style Tángláng Quán (Praying Mantis Boxing 螳螂拳).

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Cat stance engarde position found in Méihuā Quán (Plum Blossom Boxing 梅花拳), Chángquán (Long Boxing 長拳), Yīng Zhuǎ Quán (Eagle Claw Boxing 鷹爪拳), and likely more Chinese boxing styles. Often depicted as the closing move of the Méihuā Quán form precipitated by the same 180 degree turn found in mantis forms.

The photos above show exactly the same posture. The former is branded as ‘mantis boxing’ by using the hooks. Countless hours have been spent by myself, and other accomplished boxers/fighters trying to crack open the application of this move. Once you look at the prevalent styles in the Shandong region that influenced mantis boxing, it becomes apparent what this posture truly is - engarde w/ mantis. A way of stating - ‘we are mantis’.

When I use the work fake, it is not to insult, or demean any of us who have dedicated our lives to this art. Mantis practitioners are some of the most committed people I have met. The purpose, is to shine full light on the shadows. Exposing our weaknesses and laying bare a truth that we as mantis boxers all need to come to grips with. Our art stopped working a long time ago. We need to be focused on fixing it.

Embracing this truth so that we may turn our attention away from forms, styles, lineage, ceremony, and other superfluous distractions to what really matters - survival. We must turn to the task at hand. Restoring this dying martial art to relevance in the modern world. Making mantis boxing ‘real’ again. Setting it up to be the art it can truly be - a well rounded hand-to-hand combat system that works superbly in the clinch.

To Dissect a Mantis - A Summarized Re-Written History of Mantis Boxing

The following takes all of the data collected this past winter from my timeline research (people, places, events, catastrophes, wars, rebellions, etc), as well as the mantis family tree, and assembles it into a condensed re-write of a more grounded history for mantis boxing. This is a brief overview notating some discoveries and answering questions…there were many. For the purposes here I removed mythical backstories and unsubstantiated people. Beginning instead with verified living representatives/associates.

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Chinese soldiers 1899 1901 - Leipzig Illustrierte Zeitung 1900 [Public domain]

Here are a few of the questions I hoped to answer in my research on Praying Mantis Boxing.

1. The records are foggy prior to the 1800’s on the history of Mantis Boxing. Did mantis exist prior to this period?

2. If so, why did the 4th generation, fresh out of catastrophe on an epic scale in the late 1800’s, and the Boxer Uprisings that followed, suddenly start branding vanilla Mantis Boxing with other names such as - Plum Blossom, Supreme Ultimate, Seven Star? Other Chinese boxing arts of the region/time period did not see this same anomaly yet it was prevalent in Yantai. Did this ‘branding’ happen with the 5th generation of boxers in the first half of the 20th century?

3. Why are the forms inconsistent with each line of Mantis? If the forms existed as part of Liang Xuexiang’s art, why then did the next generation of boxers change them? If so, then why for the next century, were practitioners so meticulous about keeping these forms intact with little to no disruption?

4. Why was Li San Jian credited as a Praying Mantis Boxer when there is no evidence that he ever practiced the ‘style’?

5. Why did Li’s descendant, Wang Rong Sheng, who, by using dates and events, could not have learned Mantis from Li San Jian, but instead clearly learned mantis boxing from his friends - Jiang, Song, Hao, (‘students’ of Liang Xuexiang), end up as a major representative of the mantis style? Especially when he did not have the pedigree the other’s shared?

6. There is a recognizable crossover with meihuaquan in tanglangquan. What is the significance of the plum blossom symbolism and the prevalence with its use? Is there a link to meihuaquan? This style was spreading through marketplaces in the northern provinces leading up to the Boxer Uprisings, were the mantis boxers in Yantai connected with the uprisings? This creates more questions as the meihuaquan society was adamantly opposed to the violence and attacks on soldiers, missionaries, civilians, and property, such as churches and railways.

7. According to records, Jiang created and named a form in honor of the boxers connected with the rebellion - ‘Righteous and Harmonious Fist’. Was Jiang connected to the Boxer Uprising? Or was he simply angry at western encroachment and abuses like many in Shandong during this time?

8. Why is 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing so different from the other lines?

Begin…

A man by the name of Li Bingxiao (李秉霄, 1713-1813), becomes known for his fighting skills in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. He supposedly uses technique(s) that hook with two hands. As he gets older, he’s nicknamed - ‘2 hooks, Li’, or ‘2nd Elder of the Hook’. There is scant evidence of his backstory, but what has been carried down the lineage tree, is suspiciously close to the Confucius origin story. Confucius being highly revered in China for centuries, and originating in the same province - Shandong. Borrowing origin stories is a common phenomenon. Li allegedly teaches a student named Zhao Zhu.

Note: 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing Segway

At this point there is an oral note in the lineage charts that Wei San (De Lin), the accredited founder of the 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing line, met and sparred with Li Bingxiao.

“They could not best one another, but Wei San took some of Li Bingxiao’s methods.”

Thus begins the historical record of 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing. Wei San’s background was in liuhequan (6 Harmony Boxing), aka xingyiquan. The oldest form in this line of mantis is known as ‘duan chui’ - referred to in English as ‘short strikes’, but more appropriately it means - ‘to hammer a weak point, or to beat a weak point or fault with one’s fists’. This form is known to be the creation of Wei San’s student Lin Shichun, who was a bodyguard for the Ding family for a large portion of his career.

Note: This form is quite possibly the oldest representation of xingyiquan in a form.]

This form, known as ‘short strikes’, is the only form in this line at the time and has zero mantis hooks within. Something the practitioners of this line seem well aware of as it varies significantly from their other forms. However, it does share much of its striking and power generation with xingyiquan. I will continue this further down as we get to the branching out of mantis.

Resume…

Zhao Zhu (1764-1847), becomes a teacher himself. He allegedly teaches his sons, and a student named Liang Xuexiang (1810-1895) as Liang grows up. Liang goes on to serve in the military, and becomes a famous biaoshi ​ (security-escort master) & boxer; one with a reputation and record that makes him a well known fighter in his province. His nickname is ‘iron fist’.

Li Bingxiao’s, and then Zhao’s techniques are passed on from Liang Xuexiang’s hands, including his own influences, to a new generation (4th) of boxers that includes his son. With the exception of his son, the teaching of many of his students takes place while Liang is in his late 60’s during a major famine preceded by 3 years of drought. Deathtoll - 9.5 to 13 million people died in the region during this 3 to 6 year time period.

At the time of joining Liang, all of these men were reported to be accomplished proficient fighters before meeting their ‘teacher’. Given Liang’s age and the surrounding events, this student/teacher relation appears to be more indicative of a mentor/client relationship. Liang possibly showing them some of his techniques, but their presence being more in line with protecting him and his family in his old age during extremely violent times.

His counterpart, Li Sanjian, did the same with his two students when visiting a friend in Yantai during this same period of unrest in Shandong province. It would make sense that an elderly, seasoned biaoshi (escort master) entering a foreign city in a time of catastrophe, would also be seeking out young, competent fighters to bring into his stable. Li’s students? Wang Rongsheng, and Hao Shunchang,

Note: Li Sanjian was credited with starting the line known as Seven Star Praying Mantis Boxing. Most people are now in agreement that this is false, and a way for Wang Rong Sheng to pay respect to his teacher, a branding advantage, or otherwise. Li never did mantis boxing, and while it is possible he knew, or knew of Liang, there is no indication he learned mantis from Liang, and was a more famous fighter by all accounts than Liang.

Liang Xuexiang, and Li Sanjian were both renowned escort-masters that ran dart bureaus (​ biaoju ) ​ in their lifetime. While they were likely still quite capable at defending themselves, it seems more plausible that they saw the writing on the wall in violent and chaotic times, and circled the wagons so to speak. Calling on younger, more capable fighters to assist them.

These fighters would benefit immensely from this relationship as well. It would after all, be an honor to claim either of these famous veterans as one’s teacher. The younger generation benefiting from this arrangement as much as the old.

The fighters under Liang Xuexiang, if they learned techniques from him, would then add Liang’s techniques (these hooking methods) to their own fighting skills. Each of these men could reasonably be considered rough and tumble fighters since they have each gone through multiple ‘mass droughts/famines’, rebellions, and grew up in a region full of strife. Their home province of Shandong has a reputation in China for producing tough, hardy people, especially boxers. It is a significant region in the history of the nation, where rebellions, bandits, invasions, and catastrophe have all left their mark.

The 4th Generation prior to ‘Mantis’

Style Notes:

Luohanquan, or Arhat Boxing, is a term developed in the early nineteen hundreds by boxers of the time attempting to revise history and accredit their martial arts to Bhudda. Stripping this away, it points to a general ‘Chinese boxing’ style of the Qing era that comprised of many common techniques that were not particular to any one ‘style’. ​ ​ Without the ability to label them, anything not clearly defined, usually gets called luohanquan.

Changquan, or Long fist is a more modern term used to classify the large body of ‘styles’, or more appropriately, boxing methods of the northern Chinese provinces. This can include lesser known styles as well as techniques shared in Hong Quan, Meihuaquan, Tongbei, Tanglang, Ying Zhua, Taijiquan, etc.

Hou Quan, or Monkey Boxing, is by all accounts one of the older ‘systems’ in the north. As evidenced by mention of it in Qi Jiguang’s book, in which he takes survey of the local martial arts in 1560 during the Ming dynasty. 300 years prior to the lives of these boxers.

Ditang, or Ground Boxing, is still alive in Shandong to this day. Evidence is lacking from General Qi’s book on the existence of ditang during the Ming, but it is apparent that it predates, or at the least runs concurrent with mantis boxing.

Liuhequan (6 Harmony Boxing), aka xingyiquan is a style born from the Muslim population in northern China and eventually adopted by the Dai family as the fighting methods for their biaoju company, and the guards under their employ. This is relevant to mantis boxing as it is the primary influence behind the 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing line.

The following styles are accredited to each of these mantis boxers prior to their association with tanglangquan.

• Jiang Hualong - luohanquan, hou quan (monkey boxing)

• Song Zide - luohanquan, hou quan (monkey boxing)

• Hao Lianru - luohanquan

• Sun Yuanchang - ?

• Wang Rongsheng - changquan (long fist) + ditang quan (Ground Boxing) + whatever Li Sanjian taught him. Although that relationship was similar to Liang and his disciples.

• Ding Zicheng - luohanquan (family art), xingyiquan/liuhe.

Four of the above mentioned fighters all opened schools post Boxer Rebellion. One of these boxers, Wang Rongsheng, goes on to teach two people privately. A disciple named Fan Xudong (silk merchant), and Wang’s own son. Prior to this, or during, Wang became good friends with Liang’s disciples, and at this time they shared knowledge with one another. Eventually all adopting the common banner of ‘Praying Mantis Boxing’. Each of them have all survived harrowing times up until this point.

6 Harmony Praying Mantis continued…

It is not until the 3rd generation of the 6 Harmony line (and 5th with the main mantis line), that ‘mantis hooks’ show up in 6 Harmony. Also accompanied by more forms. Ding Zicheng grew up under the tutelage of Lin Shichun. Learning Ding’s methods/bodyguard techniques. As we travel into the 20th century, Ding becomes good friends with one of Jiang Hualong’s students - Cao Zuohou, a 5th generation mantis boxing practitioner, now branded as plum blossom style mantis.

Ding and Cao, go on to share students with one another and cross pollinate. It is noted in their records that their followers could come and go to either school. This period is where we begin to see the additional 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing forms. Post Boxer Uprisings and well into the ‘martial arts for physical education’ stage of Chinese history.

Resume Main Line…

Each one of Liang Xuexiang’s students, as well as Wang Rong Sheng, goes on to brand their own version of mantis (seven star, plum blossom, and supreme ultimate). This draws into question the legitimacy of the existence of a ‘praying mantis boxing’ prior to this generation.

Evidenced by the simple fact that the only commonality among all of their arts are the following:

• Forms with shared names.

• The move known as ‘mantis catches cicada’ (engarde with hooks). Which appears to be nothing more complex than ‘branding/marketing’.

• And the hooking techniques -​ seize leg, twisting hook, piercing hooks, lifting hook.

Nothing listed above is unique per se. The hooking techniques, absent the extra, and highly impractical curled fingers, all exist in Shuai Jiao records. Perhaps these methods were unique to this area at the time, exclusive in the setups to initiate the moves, or the follow-ups to the technique if the move is countered. The last being of particular interest to other fighters as is found in modern fighting arts.

The forms vary from each line at this point, or perhaps were mutated in the generation(s) to follow.

Note: Assuming the style existed prior to these boxers, or more specifically the forms of mantis boxing, and the methods of the mantis were Liang Xuexiang’s and his teachers before him; why would these boxers take it upon themselves to change these forms? Practitioners since then, have been incredibly adept at keeping these forms intact for the past 100+ years. Why would all of these boxers alter them?

Without supporting evidence to the contrary, it is difficult to accept that the name Praying Mantis Boxing existed prior to this point in history. It appears more likely that it was created by these 4th generation boxers/friends in the early 1900’s post Boxer Uprising, well after Liang Xuexiang, and Li Sanjian are deceased.

Did these younger boxers/friends brand their stuff ‘mantis boxing’ as a group? Was it based on the techniques from Li Bingxiao they now have in common with one another?

This would explain how:

1. They each have different names of their mantis style. Each able to keep an individual identity because they all had their own techniques unique to themselves prior to incorporating these ‘mantis’ techniques of Li Bingxiao on down. We end up with labels to signify the differences of each boxer prior to intercepting mantis - seven star, supreme ultimate, plum blossom.

2. It perhaps explains why the forms are inconsistent in each line. Shared in name only, but beyond that never having more than 2 lineages with consistent forms to one another. If the forms were handed down for generations prior, they would be sacred and undisturbed, not changed by Jiang, Hao, and Wang. ​
   
   Liuhe tanglangquan ​(6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing) is a good example of this. The second generation of 6 harmony style (Lin Shichun) created a form known as Duan Chui ​ (the only form prior to the 4th generation. Duan Chui still exists to this day, relatively undisturbed. Practitioners of all other lines of mantis since this period, have been obsessively adept at keeping these forms well intact with minimal changes. This makes it all the more improbable that the 4th generation would all of a sudden change the forms as they saw fit. Unless…there were no forms prior to this time…or forms were considered insignificant and not revered as they often are today.

3. This would explain how, and why, Li Sanjian receives an honorary accreditation for a style he never did. It wasn’t a ‘style’ at all. It was a handful of techniques that Wang Rongshengs’ friends showed him. Wang never studied with Liang Xuexiang, as evidenced by the fact that he took the mantis moniker yet still claimed Li Sanjian (a non-mantis boxer) as his teacher.
   
   If Wang had studied with Liang, and then changed his forms without giving proper credit, it would be incredibly disrespectful, and dishonorable. His ‘friends’ would certainly take issue with this. Instead, if it were simply a handful of methods from Liang that were passed down, it would make it easy to blend in with the other things Wang already knew and learned. Wang keeps his ‘teacher’ because there is no pure ‘line’ of mantis boxing to be loyal to prior to this.

4. This also identifies why one of Wang Rong Sheng’s descendents was selected to represent ‘mantis’ in Jin Wu. Wang wasn’t ‘true mantis’ under the ‘Li Bingxiao -> Zhao Zhu -> Liang Xuexiang line’. So why would one of his students be picked to represent the mantis style for such a major endeavor in the south such a Jing Wu? If it really mattered that is? Why not one of the ‘true heirs’ - Jiang, Song, Sun, or Hao’s students? These boxers even had schools at the time, and Wang was only teaching one non-family member.

5. Lastly, this would explain why it was so easy for a 3rd generation descendant of Liuhe/xingyiquan to blend ‘mantis techniques’ that he learned from a 5th gen mantis practitioner, with his style of liuhequan. Combining a few techniques using the foundation taught to him by Lin Shichun, Ding Zhicheng wasn’t learning an extensive ‘system’, merely some techniques unique to these mantis boxers at the time. But certainly not unique in all of China, or the world.

What about the forms?

The forms could not have mattered. They obviously were not cemented in place. They were certainly not sacred if they were so freely altered. The techniques within these ‘sacred sets’ were common to other ‘styles’ of Chinese boxing, and Shuai Jiao in the region during that period of the Qing dynasty.

The curled finger mantis hooks expressed within the forms, are not necessary for the techniques to work. They all too often confuse observers/practitioners on the true martial intent of the move. If anything, they prevent the actual moves from working properly due to aesthetic stylization being placed above practicality.

What about the keywords? Aren’t they unique? Do they not define it as ‘mantis’?

No. I no longer believe this to be the case. These words are also part of the common boxing vernacular of the time. They offered nothing unique that isn’t found in Cotton Boxing and other fighter’s systems. Evidence by a few of the 12 keywords, and a plethora of techniques being shared with taijiquan. The mantis keywords that are not primary taijiquan principles, are listed in other subtexts as supplemental to the primary 13 keywords of taijiquan. A comparison can be found here in this working document Praying Mantis Boxing vs. Supreme Ultimate Boxing.

In Summation

As we would find in Brazilian jiu-jitsu today, with someone using the infamous ‘spider guard’ synonymous to that style - in mantis we have Li Bingxiao using his ‘double hooks’, aka - mantis controls/takedowns that caused him to stand out from the crowd of other boxers. Giving him an edge.

His methods were only allowed to exist as a ‘style’, because of a unique set of circumstances in history. Occurring at the end of an era of combat for survival, and the beginning of an era of wuxia, and physical education for profit.

Having seen and studied a wide range of Chinese boxing forms, provides me with a unique vantage point to be able to compare forms from various Chinese boxing systems north and south. The following are the moves I have found to be unique to ‘mantis forms’ that I have not seen in the other styles (this does not mean they do not exist. My knowledge/experience is certainly no where near all encompassing):

1. Seize leg (one variation)

2. Wicked knee

3. Hanging Hooks

4. Twisting Hooks

5. Pierce hooks (Edit: I later realized this is a shared application with one of the moves in Yang taijiquan’s - snake creeps down)

6. Possibly the ‘kicking legs’ methods are also unique.

All of the above methods are easily shared with competent experienced fighters/martial artists. Simple, easy to grasp methods. Akin to what ​ fighters​ would be learning from one another, rather than convoluted systems of 70, 80, or 100’s of techniques/moves.

If we take each ‘boxing set’ at face value as a fighter’s ‘system’, consider for a moment how unlikely it would be to collect those in times of chaotic strife...

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Arriving full circle -

We need not be bogged down by the chains of the past - politics, lineage, forms, etc. Take the best, discard the rest.

What is Mantis Boxing? An arsenal of hands, elbows; knees, kicks; throws and locks from Chinese boxing. We have the keywords to define it, and learn by. We have the roots. We honor them in our practice and continuation of the art.

What Can BJJ Teach Us About Qing Dynasty Martial Arts? - Randy Brown - MAS Conference 2019

This podcast is a re-recording of a talk I gave at the 5th Annual Martial Arts Studies Conference held at Chapman University in Los Angeles, California in May 2019. The event was hosted by Dr. Paul Bowman, and Dr. Andrea Molle. A two day extravaganza of martial arts history, politics, and culture. There is amazing research into the martial arts taking place around the globe today. It was an honor to be a part of this significant event, and contribute in some small way to the Martial Arts Research Network. Below is a copy of the abstract submission for my talk at the conference to help lay context before listening.

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Abstract

What Can Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Teach Us About Qīng Dynasty Martial Arts?

The continually evolving art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and the journey of this style throughout the 20th century can provide insights into key elements of the Qīng dynasty Chinese martial arts, helping to demonstrate similar developments in the ‘Chinese Boxing’ systems of that era. Specifically, by following the modern evolution of BJJ, it is possible to gain insights into the sudden appearance of totem styles or subsets across China, how these anomalies become styles in their own right, and how they survived and thrived for over a century. A martial arts cross-cultural comparison of style subsets within BJJ, which have developed since the early 1990s, can be juxtaposed with the pre-modern development of comparable ‘subsets’ within Qīng dynasty ‘Chinese boxing’. On the other hand, the survival and globalization of this stylization in China differs with how developments within BJJ propagate, where instead changes become rolled into a pool of common knowledge and do not take hold as independent systems or alternative styles outside of the core art. A question needs to be asked, did ‘Chinese boxing’ of the era, have a similar common pool of knowledge? Qī Jì guāng’s manual would hint at such. Within ‘Chinese Boxing’, attributes, feats, or skills defining one fighter over another became definitive styles of their own right due to events of the time, compared to a failure in modern times for these subsets to survive independent of BJJ, even though properly vetted in the crucible of worldwide tournaments. In the Qīng dynasty a confluence of events which included rebellions, opium wars, global humiliation and the collapse of a dynasty, began to solidify these subsets as styles in China. Eventually, cultural industrialization of Chinese martial arts, notably through the Hong Kong movies, ingrained these styles into popular culture with the result being securing their legitimacy to the public eye without any evidence of martial prowess.

Keywords:

Chinese martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Qīng dynasty, animal styles, Chinese boxing

Biography

Randy Brown

Randy is an owner and teacher at Randy Brown Mantis Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Acton Massachusetts. Randy has over 20 years’ experience with praying mantis boxing with additional cross-disciplinary training in various Chinese martial arts: eagle claw, Hung gar, long fist, Yang, xingyiquan. Randy has trained in 17 Chinese martial arts weapons and specializes in staff, saber, sword, and military saber and has seven years’ experience in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has published a number of articles in martial arts journals, including Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine and Journal of 7 Star Mantis and has competed and placed in both the U.S. National Wu Shu Championships and the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. Randy holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Franklin Pierce University. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, drawing, painting, and hang-gliding.

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Bibliography

• Wile, Douglas. Lost Tʻai-Chi Classics from the Late Chʻing Dynasty. State University of New York Press, 1996.

• Lorge, Peter. Chinese Martial Arts from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

• Silbey, David J. The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China. Hill and Wang. 2012.

• Tong, Zhongyi. Cartmell, Tim (translator). The Method of Chinese Wrestling. North Atlantic Books, 2005 (original 1935).

• Kennedy, Brian. Guo, Elizabeth. Jingwu The School that Transformed Kung Fu. Blue Snake Books, 2010.

• Leung, Shum. The Secrets of Eagle Claw Kung Fu Ying Jow Pai. Tuttle Martial Arts, 1980, 2001.

• Keown-Boyd, Henry. The Fists of Righteous Harmony - A History of the Boxer Uprising in China in the year 1900. Leo Cooper, 1991.

• Kennedy, B., & Guo, E. Chinese martial arts training manuals: A historical survey. Berkeley, CA: Blue Snake, 2008.

• Laurent Chircop-Reyes. Merchants, Brigands and Escorts: an Anthropological Approach of the Biaoju ffff Phenomenon in Northern China. Ming Qing Studies, WriteUp Site, 2018, Ming Qing Studies, 2018, http://www.writeupsite.com/eng/ming-qing-studies-2018.htmlff. ffhal-0198740

• Article on Biaoju Companies - https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%8C%E5%85%B4%E5%85%AC%E9%95%96%E5%B1%80/8761785

• E. Henning, Stanley. (1999). Academia Encounters the Chinese Martial Arts. China Review International. 6. 319-332. 10.1353/cri.1999.0020.

• Interview with the last Manchu archer - By Peter Dekker, January 23, 2015 - http://www.manchuarchery.org/interview-last-manchu-archer

• Library of Congress maps - https://www.loc.gov/maps/?c=150&fa=subject:maps%7Clocation:china%7Clanguage:chinese&st=list

• List of Rulers of China - Metropolitan Museum of Art - https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chem/hd_chem.htm

• Li San Jian - http://www.shm.com.cn/special/2015-07/22/content_4365668_2.htm

• McCord, Edward A. The Power of the Gun. University of California Press, UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004 - https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft167nb0p4&chunk.id=d0e288&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e288&brand=ucpress

• Guodong, Zhang & Green, Thomas & Gutiérrez-García, Carlos. (2016). Rural Community, Group Identity and Martial Arts: Social Foundation of Meihuaquan. Ido Movement for Culture. 16. 18-29. 10.14589/ido.16.1.3.

• The Mantis Cave - Fernando Blanco - http://www.geocities.ws/mantiscave/fernando.htm

• The Taiping Institute - http://www.taipinginstitute.com/courses/northern-central-plains/tanglangquan

• Judkins, Ben. Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (13): Zhao San-duo—19th Century Plum Flower Master and Reluctant Rebel - https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2017/04/20/lives-of-chinese-martial-artists-13-zhao-san-duo-19th-century-plum-flower-master-and-reluctant-rebel-2/

• Judkins, Ben. Research Notes: Xiang Kairan on China’s Republic Era Martial Arts Marketplace - https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2016/08/14/research-notes-xiang-kairan-on-chinas-republic-era-martial-arts-marketplace/comment-page-1/#comment-81216

• Perdue, Peter C., Sebring, Ellen. The Boxer Uprising 1 - The Gathering Storm in North China (1860 - 1900) - https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/boxer_uprising/pdf/bx_essay.pdf

• The Worst Natural Disasters by Death Toll - Contributed by Administrator - June 15, 2007 Last Updated April 06, 2008 - http://www.armageddononline.org

• Professor Peter Lorge's keynote, 'The invention of "traditional" martial arts" - given at the July 2017 Martial Arts Studies Conference, Cardiff University - https://youtu.be/9Y_1tKVvwNc

Mantis Boxing Historical Timeline - Qing Dynasty to Republican Era

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Collapse and Fall Into Ruin - (Beng 崩)

A huge thanks to Gene Ching and the team at Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine for publishing my article this month. Such an awesome presentation! Thank you to my team - Holly Cyr, Vincent Tseng, Max Kotchouro, Bruce Sanders, and Sean Fraser for your assistance in making this happen. I am honored.

The article is an expose on the Mantis Boxing principle of Beng (Crush, or to Collapse and Fall Into Ruin). You can read the rest of the article 'Collapse and Fall Into Ruin' in the July/Aug issue on store shelves now, or available online.

Research Notes: (Open) Praying Mantis Boxing vs. Supreme Ultimate Boxing

Current document status: open and active.
Edited - 3-2020

Brothers in Arms: A Comparitive Analysis of Praying Mantis Boxing vs Supreme ultimate boxing (Tai Chi)

Although tánglángquán (praying mantis boxing 螳螂拳) and tàijíquán, also known as tai chi (supreme ultimate boxing 太极拳) have very different purposes in today's world, they share a plethora of similarities beyond just common fighting arts from the late Qīng dynasty in China. So much so, that I believe that they are intertwined in history.

Shared techniques, principles, and geographic location all hint to a broader cross-pollination of Chinese boxing techniques in this time period, and region. The reality is these styles have more in common with one another than any defining uniqueness.

For the past few years I have been working intermittently on this project and from time to time come back and update these notes with more findings, and observations. I noticed similarities with praying mantis boxing and supreme ultimate boxing back in 2012 while researching texts. At the time, I was doing an article on one of the keywords of mantis boxing - Kao (Lean), and I recalled the 13 characters of tàijíquán had the same keyword.

I decided to do a character comparison between supreme ultimate boxing and mantis boxing, and see if it was the same 'kao'. Sure enough, they were the same character. I quickly then asked myself, ‘if these were the same, were their other keywords they had in common?’

This lead to further research and comparisons, and soon I had a series of principles and sub-principles that drew a solid link between the two styles. Showing clearly that they held more similarity with one another than not. The English translations people use can vary, but the Chinese character for many of the keywords is found to be the same for each style.

Below is a work in progress but it is far enough along that I can share it. 

Note: when I refer to Taijiquan, I am referring to my background in Yang style Cotton Boxing. The name was changed in the late 19th or early 20th century when the practice shifted to fitness/health, from practical fighting art.

The original names of Chen, and Yang family styles (see below), were very different than the broad characterization of tàijíquán they are muddled in nowadays. From my research it has been hard to locate any evidence of the term tàijíquán in relation to these 2 families and their boxing systems prior to the second half of the 19th century when the Wu brothers wrote about it.

The Wu’s studied with Yang Lu Chan, patriarch of the Yang family. Who had trained with the Chen family but used his own combination of 37 techniques later known as Yang style tàijíquán but what Yang referred to as mianquan, or cotton boxing.

I’ve been able to trace (thanks to the translations of other researchers that speak Chinese) that the Wu’s later studied with Yang’s son after he passed away. Eventually they separated into their own style, and from all outward appearances, then began branding it as tàijíquán, or Supreme Ultimate Boxing.

One can quickly surmise that if the Wu’s called it such, that the grandson to the founder of the Yang family’s boxing system himself, Yang Cheng Fu, who incidentally is the most influential in the spread and recognition of tàijíquán in the world today, would lay claim to that name since the Wu’s learned their art from his family/grandfather.

From there the Chen family catching wind to this, could certainly take notice and say, ‘how can you be the ‘Supreme Ultimate’ Boxing if Yang Lu Chan learned from us?’ Thus, I believe the chain reaction that caused them to possibly take on the name/moniker of tàijíquán across all families.

Regardless of the chicken and the egg argument, the fact remains that the keywords used by tàijíquán share many common terms/principles with tánglángquán. Speaking to a larger overriding argument that there was more in common with all styles of Chinese boxing as a whole rather than differences.

The following are examples of the crossover between these two arts from northern China and the Yellow River region:

12 Keywords
of
Praying Mantis Boxing
(Táng láng quán 螳螂拳)

1. Hook (Gōu 勾)

2. Clinch (Lǒu 摟)

3. Pluck (Cǎi 採)

4. Connect (Zhān 粘)

5. Cling (Nián 黏)

6. Hang (Guà 掛)

7. Wicked (Diāo 刁)

8. Enter (Jìn 進)

9. Crush (Bēng 崩)

10. Strike (Dǎ 打)

11. Adhere (Tiē 貼)

12. Lean (Kào 靠)

13 Keywords
of
Supreme Ultimate Boxing
(Tài jí quán 太极拳)

1. Arrow-Quiver (bīng 掤)

2. Stroke (Luō 擠)

3. Press/Squeeze - (Jǐ 擠)

4. Press/Push, Keep a hand on (àn 按)

5. Split (Liè 挒)

6. Pluck (Cǎi 採)

7. Elbow (Zhǒu 肘)

8. Lean (Kào 靠)

9. To Enter (Jìn 進)

10. To Retreat (Tuì 退)

11. Left

12. Right

13. Central Equilibrium

Shared Keywords

Includes the primary keywords listed above, sub-principles listed in the tàijíquán manuals, and some tánglángquán correlating evidence.

Hook (Gōu 勾)

A predominant tool in tánglángquán and the first keyword, yet absent from the keywords in tàijíquán. However, it is still used in tàijíquán, and seen in techniques such as strum pipa, single whip, and snake creeps down. Hook, is also listed within sub-principles in tàijíquán manuals. Similar usage in application of ‘single whip’ vs ‘slant chop’, the initiation of pluck, requires a grab, or a hook. Hooking was not unique in Chinese boxing, and is quite prevalent in many of the various ‘styles’ from the region, including numerous shuai jiao applications. It would be more difficult to explain why ‘hooking’ wouldn’t exist, rather than why it does.

Pluck (Cǎi 採)

The ‘pluck’ principle is not only present in Chinese arts, but exists in styles from around the globe. In wrestling styles of the west it is commonly referred to as a ‘snap down’, but the arm variation of pluck, while included in the Chinese variant, exists in the west as a separate method known as a ‘drag’. This keyword runs strong in tánglángquán, and tàijíquán and it used heavily in conjunction with hooking, or splitting.

Enter (Jìn 進)

To enter as in a doorway. To advance. This keyword is shared between both tánglángquán, and tàijíquán, and other styles as well. The entire premise with xíngyìquán (mind intent boxing 形意拳) for example, is to go forth and blast someone with full intent. The concept of advancing in xíngyìquán is more in line with tánglángquán. Within tàijíquán, we see the concept of yielding and retreating displayed more prominently in their framework. I would attribute this less to any sort of superior approach, and more to do with the framers incorporation of taoist, or Chinese philosophical beliefs in general, into the tàijíquán agenda. The concept of Enter is straight forward - go in. Do not dally. Press the attack into the opponent to overwhelm them.

Lean (Kào 靠)

Both ‘styles’ work inside and outside of the clinch. Whenever we’re engaged in this range, we should be leaning forward to prevent easy takedowns, or being uprooted with minimal effort. The lean principle can be applied this way, but…it’s true measure is within the application of throwing techniques such as crashing tide, or white crane spreads wings. In both praying mantis boxing, and supreme ultimate boxing, the designer of the framework for these arts that later became known as the keywords, sought to convey significant value to this character and its importance.

Connect (Zhān 粘) | Cling (Nián 黏)

[In process] - Correlation between - Connect/Cling found in tánglángquán vs Stick/Adhere/Connect/Follow within tàijíquán. The significance of sticking.

Adhere (Tiē 貼)

Any grappling based art, or hand-to-hand combat system that includes grappling, whether on the ground, or stand-up, would be remiss not to include such a principle. This is further supported by this character being prominently listed in both tánglángquán and tàijíquán which use grappling and clinch work in their application. Tiē, is an emphasis on sticking, but closer in than the aforementioned sticking highlighted in both arts with Zhān, and Nián.

Elbow (Zhǒu 肘)

One of the core forms of mantis boxing is known as 8 Elbows, or Ba Zhou. The use of elbows is highly prevalent in Mantis Boxing. This correlates to the emphasis placed on the ‘elbow strike’ in tàijíquán in it’s prime principles.

Notes on ‘Ward Off’

The first keyword of taijiquan is often called - Peng (ward off). I was unable to prove this to be true in my research. Much of my findings indicated a schism in the tai chi community at large, over what the original Chinese character was. Some claim it to be peng, others bing, what I used above. What is the most important factor here is the Chinese character. If the community cannot agree on what the original character was then any translation or meaning of the first keyword is null and void. We cannot translate that which we do not know, or are incapable of agreeing upon. This coupled with Yang Lu Chan, founder of Yang family style taijiquan, being recorded as illiterate, makes it even more preposterous to claim original intent here.

Additional Commonalities

Kicking Methods

The two styles share their kicking strategy in common. Some of the kicks found in both styles are the ‘heel kick’, ‘toe kick’, and ‘cross kick’.

Striking & Blocking

The two styles share common striking attacks and counters.

• ‘Deflect, Parry, Punch’ from supreme ultimate boxing is also found in mantis boxing forms.

• Both styles depend on an upper block combined with a counter strike down the middle; known as ‘bend bow shoot tiger in tàijíquán, or ‘pao quan’ in xíngyìquán. This move shows up repeatedly in tánglángquán forms such as Tou Tao (White Ape Steals Peach).

• The use of the 'chopping fist' shows up in both styles. This appears to have been Yang Lu Chan’s primary offensive attack/bridge. I suspect, based on the expression and representation in the original Chen style form, known as ‘cannon fist’ that this is similar. This attack method is used repeatedly in styles of Chinese boxing found in the north and south, to include, but not limited to praying mantis boxing. Other styles/sets relying heavily on this include - gongliquan, lianbuquan, tongbei, changquan, choy li fut, etc.

• The Beng Quan (Crushing Fist) is used predominantly in both mantis boxing and Yang’s mianquan (cotton boxing). This attack is commonly found in mantis boxing forms, such as Beng Bu, Lan Jie, Ba Zhou, and Tou Tao, and more.

• White Snake Spits Tongue is also a shared attack in both systems. Parry and counter-strike to the eyes, or throat.

Throwing/Tripping Methods

The crossover here is expected to be heavy. I will name them as they come to mind, but given the prevalence of the Mongol influence in the north, and the wrestling techniques of the Steppe peoples permeating the local cultures, it is likely this will be one of the strongest areas of similarity and crossover. Many of the movements are even evidenced back to the 1500’s in Qi Jiguang’s unarmed boxing set used to train troops in the Ming dynasty.

Techniques

• Snake Creeps Down is the same move/attack as found in tánglángquán’s piercing hook method.

• Single whip in tàijíquán is the same method known as slant chop in tánglángquán.

• Grasp Sparrow Tail:
  Stage 1 - rowing hook variant (see below).
  Stage 2 - known as double sealing hands in mantis boxing.
  Stage 3 - known as ‘crashing tide’ in mantis boxing.
  Stage 4 - double push takedown found in an opening move of mantis boxing form known as lanjie, which evidence points to meihuaquan origin.

• Step Up to Seven Star is a second variation of ‘crashing tide’ that is found in another mantis boxing form. The same move, expressed with variation on the leg execution based on grappling pressure of opponent. The monkey stance or bow stance version is heavy forward momentum when going from striking to takedown. The seven star variant is when adhering to the opponent in the grapple and using forward pressure (lean) and trapping the leg to prevent the step out.

• Strum Pipa is known as ‘white ape invites guest’ in mantis boxing.

• Diagonal Flying is a shuai jiao move known as a rowing hook. The flying diagonal is one variant.

• Golden rooster rises up is also a rowing hook variant and is found in lan jie form in mantis boxing.

• to be continued…

Two Roads Same Path

The two styles took very different paths as time passed, yet originated with a similar intent. Yang tàijíquán was very condensed; using one form to house the entire system of 37 applications.

Tánglángquán, on the other hand, had 2 or 3 original forms (allegedly), and later became bloated as more and more forms were piled on. The system split into multiple lines as did tàijíquán, except each branch with a multitude of varying forms, rather than a single representation, further diluting the art.

Tàijíquán, was also transformed into the health practice commonly known as Tai Chi today and was used for physical education. This took place in the early 1900’s; spearheaded by Yang Cheng Fu. It was excellent for all ages, and those who could not perform high impact exercise thus keeping it fairly intact through the ages.

Tàijíquán had already been split into different family lines (Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu Hao, and finally Sun). It split again post-transformation from fighting to fitness. The original Chen family style (Cannon Boxing), and Yang family style (Cotton Boxing), were combative and extremely condensed. See my article on ‘The Dirty History of Tai Chi’ for more details, and a bibliography of sources.

Praying mantis boxing, was also absorbed into the national movement for better health and fitness. Jin Woo, Nanqing Guo Shu Institute are examples, but with a different methodology. They added pre-requisite forms known as fundamentals training prior to being able to focus one’s studies on mantis boxing, or another style. In Jin Woo, practitioners performed sets at a faster, and more athletic pace, to a fault; as this later became a standard by which your ‘art’ was judged, versus the original combative intent.

In the end, it saved neither from becoming obsolete, broken, and losing their teeth. Lucky for us, the forms, and the keywords/principles survived; making reassembling the arts still possible.

Below are maps to show the provinces in China where these styles originate. Eastern Henan Province, Shandong, and Hebei province.

As Douglas Wile points out in his book - ‘Lost Tai-Chi Classics of the Late Ch'ing Dynasty’,

“the Yellow River basin was a hotbed for martial arts training and fighting. Many famous boxers emerged from this region and went on to be accredited with founding of their own fighting systems.”

Crossover of techniques and principles that work, or the use of a technique that defeated another opponent, would surely be picked up and used among anyone in the know.

The common use of bēng quán (crushing fist 崩拳), pào quán (cannon punch 炮拳), and pī quán (chopping fist 劈拳) in Xing Yi Quan, Tang Lang Quan, and multiple family styles of Tai Ji Quan offers a clear example of this cross-pollination of techniques.

Maps

Yantai, Shandong, China. Birthplace of Tánglángquán

 

Chen family village. Henan, China. Birthplace of Tàijíquán

 

Dai family biaoju company. Xingyiquan Region

 

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Research Bibliography and Character Sources:
 

• Lost Tai-Chi Classics of the Late Ch'ing Dynasty, Douglas Wile, 1996, SUNY Press

• 12 Character Formula by Michael Dasargo

• Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan - Fu Zhongwen, translated by Louis Swaim 1999, North Atlantic Books

• The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan, Yang Chengfu, translated by Louis Swaim, 2005, North Atlantic Books

• Brennan, Paul. 2013. EXPLAINING TAIJI PRINCIPLES 楊班侯 attributed to Yang Banhou [circa 1875] - https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/explaining-taiji-principles-taiji-fa-shuo/

Essay: The Heart of Mantis

Update - 10-MAR-2019

Below is an essay from May of 2013. After 14 years in Chinese boxing styles, thousands of hours of training, and a year into my journey of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, in 2012 my ideas and approach to the art of praying mantis boxing began to shift. I was not happy with the ‘status quo’, the failure of the art (meaning the methods within forms) to ‘work’ in fighting, and I began to approach mantis from a different angle - a grappling mindset. What you are about to read, is written during this early period in my transformation. Some of this (the history in particular) is incorrect, or incomplete. Later, through further training, research, and sparring, I was able to more deeply develop an understanding of the art. This is the foundation, the beginning of the evolution. I consider this to be when my art truly began. While I could delete this, hide it, or pretend I was never ‘new’, I leave this here to demarcate a point in time on my journey in martial arts. - Randy

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The Heart of Mantis - What is Praying Mantis Kung Fu?

By Randy Brown - 28-MAY-2013

photos by: Max Kotchouro

The story goes something like this...

Wang Lang observed a Praying Mantis fighting a larger and more powerful Cicada sometime in the 1600’s. After watching the Mantis defeat the Cicada with ease, he adopted the Praying Mantis' combat style into his Kung Fu. He began mimicking the hooking techniques, as well as the fighting strategy into his own fighting, to much success. Mantis is said to be a hybrid of 18 different styles of Kung Fu; streamlined and polished for efficiency in combat.

Concept art for new logo - 2013

Here is a style created some 350+ years ago in an area of northern China known as the Shandong Province. The style has survived dictators killing/imprisoning/exiling martial artists, rebellions, war, racial boundaries, distrust, and cultural diversity through the annals of time. It has survived in part because of it's legend as a superior fighting art. So why isn't it being used by anyone in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships)? Why isn’t it at the forefront of self-defense like other systems? Why isn't it as well known as Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Jiu Jitsu, Karate?

As with much of the Chinese Martial Arts known as Kung Fu, the fighting application was lost over the centuries or decades. Practitioners and teachers were left with choreographed forms; empty shells of a bygone fighting art. Speculating on what it meant to fight like a Praying Mantis, and what the true art contained. After all, we don't have 4 legs, 2 arms with large hooks and spikes on them, or the ability to fly. So how does a human fight like a bug? And how is it relevant to hand-to-hand combat in the 21st century?

What is Praying Mantis Kung Fu?

Mantis Hooks

A Praying Mantis seizes it's opponent with it's large arms and hooks. It pulls it's prey off balance, and devours it on the ground. When observing the mantis against a larger foe, one can see the mantis pounce, take the back of it’s foe, use it’s legs to hold on, and continually try to control it's opponent while it bites and gains better hook positions to keep it safe.

We don't have large mandibles to chew on our opponents, nor would I advocate biting your enemies unless absolutely necessary. What's important about the mantis' tactics is, the controlling, the seizing, the binding up...the hooks! This is what I love about Mantis, and what I believe has been misunderstood for quite some time - where the hooks belong.

We often thought Mantis was all about grabbing wrists and pulling our opponents around. Some have made that work quite well for themselves, especially those with large hands, or body types. What of the rest of us? How do those techniques get used against a full speed attacker coming to take you down, or knock you out? How does a smaller person use that to grab someone with wrists twice as thick? It doesn't, and they don’t. Plain and simple. It might work on low skill opponents, or those under the influence of drugs/alcohol. If it worked in full out combat against a trained opponent, you'd see that style of fighting in a venue such as the UFC.

Mantis should be based on the following - if you had two large hooks, not small hands with 10 fingers, how would you control a human opponent? How would you fight like a Mantis? What would you take away from watching a real mantis that could function in live combat?

A Stand-Up Grappling Art

You would use these hooks to clinch, to control your opponent; latching onto their neck, their upper arms, their body - over hooks, under hooks, clinch. Similar to what is seen in other fighting arts - Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, Muay Thai, etc. These techniques are still alive today in other art forms. Minus the defining attribute of Mantis - the hooking hand (more on that below).

The moves inside the Mantis forms make much more sense when viewed from this perspective. Many obscure and often seemingly useless applications/movements, suddenly come to life as amazing and ingenious solutions to combat at mid to close range. Approaching it from this angle, one can also disseminate and get rid of stylized marketplace Kung Fu, stuff that has the practitioner just trying to act like a bug with no real purpose.

The hooking hand is used to grab an opponent’s wrist in some applications. Mantis accounts for the range it likes to function in; the hooking hand vs. the forearm/wrist becomes an important tool for maintaining the dominant position or winning the fight when grappling for control.

The Hooks (Gōu 勾)

‘Mantis Hook’ as depicted in Chinese martial arts forms.

The Mantis Hook - an obvious indicator of the Kung Fu style. Making it readily apparent that the practitioner is doing Praying Mantis Kung Fu. This seemingly innocuous shape is highly effective and ingenious in it’s design.

Other martial arts styles use hooks (White Crane, Muay Thai, Wrestling - Mongolian and Western), but unlike Mantis, there is no emphasis on the curling of the fingers. The little finger (a.k.a. - the pinky) is the grip finger. This finger controls our grip and governs the strength of such. When latching onto an opponent, focusing the energy and intent in the pinky increases the tightness of the hold.

When practicing Mantis in the air, folding the fingers into the hook hand engages the muscles in the forearm, making your hooks stronger, thereby giving you more control, and being more difficult to contend with. Use this to clinch and control your opponent so you can topple them to the ground, or cling to them while you strike, knee, elbow. The common hooks are neck hook, over hook on the tricep, under hook, arm hook, wrist hook, leg hook.

Hook positions, And Where They Attach

Some applications involve wrist hooking and lower arm control as stated - defensive measures in the clinch, but predominantly the hooks are used to control upper limbs and body. Control the head, and you control your opponent.

The following pictures show some of the common holds in Mantis, as well as other fighting arts.

Hook variations found in mantis forms. Common to other styles of martial arts as well.

The Mantis Boxer Strategy

Bridge, Strike, Kick, Contact, Cling, Takedown/Throw, Destroy

Bridging with Closing Door Kick

The 5 elements of a Mantis Boxer:

1. Bridge using deceptive kicking.

2. Overwhelm with ‘crushing’ strikes (Beng Da) or block counter-strikes.

3. Contact/Cling - engage the hooks for control in the clinch. Use elbows/knees where necessary.

4. Takedown or throw the opponent to the ground.

5. Finish them with ground strikes, kicks, knees, elbows, or joint locks.

This is the overall offensive strategy in Mantis. Overwhelm, seize, control, strike with knees, elbows, tight hooks, uppercuts - all from the clinch; then take to the ground, and finish the fight, mimicking the same actions of a Praying Mantis in the wild. If the opponent is offensive, block incoming blows, close to the clinch, then strike, knee, and take to the ground.

Conclusion

What makes Mantis different from so many of the other fighting arts in the limelight today? Not much. A few incredible things that were developed for the range that Mantis likes to control from, and the nuances of the hooking hand - using it to delay an opponent’s return to a defensive position long enough for a counter attack, etc.

Like many of the Northern Kung Fu styles, Mantis descends from centuries of Mongolian Wrestling (Elephant Style Wrestling). An artform in and of itself, whereby Genghis Khan tested the fortitude and skills of his warriors.

Northern Kung Fu styles such as Praying Mantis developed from these roots and evolved to include combat effective techniques. Used properly, Praying Mantis Kung Fu can be a highly effective and destructive fighting system.

The Dirty History of Tai Chi

The history of Tai Chi (taijiquan, supreme ultimate boxing) is often taken with too much salt. The prevalent history disseminated to the masses often involves a mythical backstory thousands of years old, which includes: Taoist immortals, monks, and fairies. It is commonly propagated that the style of Tai Chi contains and revolves around a type of magical energy (known as qi) that will heal the practitioners body and/or throw opponents, without ever touching them. This fictional portrayal in the west would be known as a fairy tale, in China it is called ‘wǔ xiá’ (武侠), martial arts stories in theater/fiction popularized during early 1900’s China.

The notion that one can achieve unequivocal power, something akin to a superhero, without ever performing a day of ‘rigorous’ training, exertion, or hard work, is certainly the stuff of movies, myth, and legend. In contrast, the truth of tai chi’s history is far less enchanting to the laymen dabbling in an exotic art. The truth involves laborious acts, physical exercise, redundant practice, mental endurance, self-discipline, perseverance, and a history full of bloodshed, violence, and oppression.

General Qi Jiguang. Source: Wikimedia

The more accurate and verifiable history at the time of this writing shows that tai chi was developed roughly 400 years ago in Chen Village, Henan Province, China. It was known as less formally as ‘Cannon Boxing’, or the Chen family style. Like many Chinese martial arts it included hand-to-hand combat techniques common to the region, area, and time period. In 1560, General Qi Jiguang developed an unarmed combat system to train a militia to fight the wokou pirates. A group of Japanese pirates, which included Chinese ex-soldiers, privateers, and ruffians were pillaging the coastal villages and sea traffic. Based on the chapter in Qi Jiguang’s manual on unarmed combat, and the included illustrations, it appears by the trained eye that many of the depicted hand-to-hand combat methods are found in what is now known as tai chi. This points to a common pool of knowledge of fighting techniques.

During the mid 1800's Yang style tai chi was created by founder Yang Lu Chan. Yang, lived and studied in Chen Village and later went on to create his own system originally called 'Small Cotton Boxing'. Now known as Yang style tai chi, or taijiquan.

While many of Yang’s techniques mirror the Chen family boxing style, Yang included some of his own methods and merged them with the techniques of the Chen style, as any fighter will do throughout their martial journey when introduced to effective combat methods that they wish to amalgamate into their own art.

Yang’s life (1799 - 1872), or the life around him, was no stranger to violence and upheaval. Throughout his adult life he bore witness, knowingly, or unknowingly, to the impending collapse of China’s final dynasty, the Qing (1636-1912). Events happening all around Yang during his life include catastrophic flooding of the Yellow River (Huang He) (1851 - 1855, and many many more), famines, droughts, drug epidemics, two wars with the west (see Opium Wars 1839-1842, and 1856-1860), multiple rebellions (see Nian rebellion 1851-1868 and Taiping rebellion 1850-1864), and the encroachment of western powers on the Chinese populace, especially in and around trade ports.

As a result of losing both of the aforementioned wars, China was forced through treaty to pay reparations to the western powers, mainly by opening previously closed trade ports in the south and the north.

Imperial Standard of the Qing Emporer

Yang Lu Chan at one point in his life is recorded as being hired by the Qing court to teach armed, and unarmed combat to the imperial guards of the Manchu court in Beijing. Yang also disseminated his boxing art to his family.

Around the turn of the 20th century, decades after Yang’s death, the Chinese became disenchanted with their martial arts after repeated embarrassment in their confrontations with the west. More specifically incidents involving armed and unarmed combatants known as boxers, versus soldiers with firearms. Arguably the most famous of these incidents is known as the 'Boxer Rebellion', or more accurately the ‘Boxer Uprising’ (Joseph W. Esherick - The Boxer Uprising), which transpired over a four year time period with various encounters. The uprisings took place in Shandong, Hebei, and Tianjin provinces, as well as Beijing itself.

Port of Chefoo circa 1878 to 1880. Edward Bangs Drew family album of photographs of China, © President and Fellows of Harvard College, Historical Photographs of China - https://hpcbristol.net/visual/Hv37-02

A century prior to this China was one of the most powerful civilizations on earth, with one of the most formidable military forces in existence. However, the industrial age in the west brought substantial change to warfare, along with the ability for nations to project global power in greater magnitude than ever before.

Although martial arts was considered beneath the scholar class, it was prevalent with boxers, soldiers, and guards in the employ of biaoju (security-escort companies). Local militia-men, sanctioned by magistrates commonly used armed/unarmed martial arts methods to quell local bandits and keep the peace. The Qing government in the 1800’s was preoccupied and impotent to respond to many smaller internal issues. The lowest expression of martial arts was associated with criminals, gangsters, ruffians, or charlatans which the Jing Wu and early 1900’s Chinese martial arts community tried to erase, or reverse.

The ‘boxers vs firearm’, or rather, antiquated military tactics versus modernized, industrialized weapons and strategies incidents that took place around 1900, likely further cemented the general public’s poor opinion of their nations martial arts, and of the ‘boxer’ overall. Three hundred years prior during the Ming dynasty General Qi, in his second book, published two decades after the first and post wokou battles experience, considered the act of training troops in hand-to-hand combat a rather fruitless endeavor when compared to the rapid and effective weapons training such a spears and matchlocks. This is evident since his second book omitted the unarmed combat chapter altogether.

Battle of Lafang 1900. Source: https://pin.it/5uubzq3xry77n5, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

By the turn of the 18th to 19th century the Chinese having battled the western power’s sponsored opium crisis, repeated mass famines, floods, droughts that killed millions of people; rebellions that also killed millions more, and in addition to disease epidemics, were being called the 'sick men of Asia' by the international community. For a culture that was once in the not to distant past, more powerful than any other nation on earth this was humiliation on an epic scale.

At the end of the Qing (1910’s) and the beginning of the Republican era, a movement was initiated to change this stigma. A nationalist effort was undertaken to strengthen the populace and remove this cultural blight, or poor reputation. As a part of this movement and perhaps in an effort to keep their national arts from dying, Chinese martial arts teachers were commissioned to teach their methods for health, strengthening, and fitness, rather than for fighting.

This saw the creation of organizations such as the Jing Wu Athletics Association (circa 1910) of which tai chi, specifically Yang style, was a significant part of, as well as later the Nanjing Central Guoshu Institute in 1928. The directive of Jing Wu was primarily to improve health, and combat the 'sick men of Asia' label. Teaching physical fitness and health to affect positive national change. The Nanjing Guoshu Institute also propagated Chinese martial arts, and employed none other than Yang Chengfu, grandson to the progenitor of the style.

Yang Cheng Fu clearly had an entrepreneurial spirit that would help proliferate not only the Yang family art, but by proxy their predecessor, the Chen family, as well as the Yang offshoots of Wu family style Taijiquan, and Wu Hao style. Yang Chengfu took his grandfathers boxing art and taught far and wide, spreading it to the general public for health and wellness purposes around 1911.

Chengfu incorporated slow motion practice and longer movements as the focal point, removing much of the fighting application and combative elements taught by his grandfather, father, brother, and uncle. Thus was born a form of exercise that was all at once accessible to the young, old, weak, sick, and those of poor physical condition; to which rigorous exercise was not possible.

Prior to this Yang family taijiquan was taught strictly for combat, or a method of violence, or rather, defending against violence. It involved such skills as striking, throws, trips, takedowns, joint locks, sparring, fighting, and weapons training.

Forms practice (tào lù 套路), and push hands (tuī shǒu 推手) in contrast to present day, were likely a very small portion of the training. It is questionable if push hands had a significant role in the traditional combative training outside of skill building. It is possible that this portion of the training was derivative of the scholar class slumming in the martial arts world years after the art lost its teeth. A ‘game’ for people uninterested in fighting to pretend they are fighting.

It is also possible that given the heavy focus of the Manchu on wrestling, which was significant with the Han as well, that push hands was a tool for training wrestling skills in said competitions. The strategy of pushing an enemy in battle is ludicrous unless pushing them to the ground, or off a cliff. However, pushing someone outside a ring, or off a platform (lei tai matches) in order to score points, or win, holds a great deal of validity.

Qianlong Emporer observing wrestling match. Source: WikiCommons

Due to Yang Chengfu's efforts, and others around him, Yang style went on to become extremely popular, the most widely proliferated form of taijiquan throughout the world even to this day. The style’s true nature however is evident by some writers of the time:

Gu Liuxin writes of Yang Shaohou (Yang Cheng Fu’s older brother 1862-1930)

He used, “a high frame with lively steps, movements gathered up small, alternating between fast and slow, hard and crisp fajin (power/energy), with sudden shouts, eyes glaring brightly, flashing like lightning, a cold smile and cunning expression. There were sounds of “heng and ha”, and an intimidating demeanor. The special characteristics of Shaohou’s art were: using soft to overcome hard, utilization of sticking and following, victorious fajin, and utilization of shaking pushes. Among his hand methods were: knocking, pecking, grasping and rending, dividing tendons, breaking bones, attacking vital points, closing off, pressing the pulse, interrupting the pulse. His methods of moving energy were: sticking/following, shaking, and connecting.”

1949 Taiyuan battle finished. Source: WikiCommons

Three decades after Chengfu’s popular introduction of this rebranded art to the people, the Communist Party took control of China. As in past rebellions and changeovers of power, they once again outlawed the instruction of martial arts for the purposes of fighting. Mao Zedong, ever a student of history was well aware of the number of uprisings, rebellions, and dynastic turnovers associated with temples, and boxers. He burned the temples and banned the boxers.

During this period in the mid twentieth century, many traditional martial artists fled the country or were killed. The restriction by the government was certainly not in fear of a boxer, spearman, or swordsman attacking a tank, or machine gun nest, but rather due to a need to control the populace, a task exponentially more difficult when it involves submitting those trained in fighting arts (disenfranchised privateers, aka pirates). Martial training empowers individuals and empowered people are less willing to blindly succumb to oppression.

In 1958 after the period of unrest during the Communist Revolution (circa 1946 to 1949), China formed a committee of martial arts teachers. Choosing from a pool of those who stayed behind and used their martial arts training for coaching health/fitness, and/or those who had returned to the mainland from their exile.

The committee created what are known as the ‘standardized wushu sets’ - choreographed forms of shadow boxing summarizing and abbreviating the broad spectrum of China's legacy martial arts styles.

The wushu committee created the standardized sets for unarmed and armed styles, streamlining hundreds of styles in the north, and south that shared common techniques into one compulsory set to represent each - long fist (changquan) for the north, and southern fist (nanquan) for the south. In this consolidation effort, a few styles were left to stand alone gaining independent representation. These were, praying mantis boxing (tanglangquan), eagle claw boxing (yingzhaoquan), form intent boxing (xingyiquan), 8 trigrams boxing (baguaquan), and supreme ultimate boxing (taijiquan). Coincidentally these five styles were the advanced curriculae of the Jing Wu athletic association. Had they not been part of Jing Wu, it would be interesting to know if they would have survive long enough to be recognized by the PRC Wushu Committee.

These choreographed sets were then presented to the rest of world in a neat clean package, government regulated, and used to project China’s human martial prowess abroad, to include a trip to the Nixon White House where they demonstrated their skills. These boxing sets left behind the fighting elements of old, replacing them with sharp anatomical lines, clean corners, fancy acrobatics, and gymnastics. They became martial dance with 'timed' routines rather than the violent methods they once were.

As part of this standardization process in the 1950’s, the Yang taijiquan 24 movement form (a.k.a. Beijing Short Form) was created, and not by the Yang family itself oddly enough. This form represented Yang Style taijiquan (against the families approval) and went on to not only be a competition set, but a ‘national exercise’ that Chinese citizens would practice every morning in local parks for decades to come.

As China opened her doors to the rest of the world, westerners glimpsed the large organized gatherings of Chinese citizens performing their beautiful practice of the short form in parks day after day. Foreigners began learning this art while spending time overseas and via teachers who migrated to western countries proliferating their ‘art’ through hobby, or as a means of financial survival. The western world's interest was officially piqued.

Throughout the 1960's-70's and even into the 1980's, there may have existed a reluctance with Chinese teachers to show ‘outsiders’ their national, or personal martial arts, but others did not know the original intent of the art, and continued to spread the empty shell they were handed.

These factors helped contribute to the spread of misinformation, making it difficult to validate much of the material being practiced outside of the ‘standardized’ sets. The Chinese fighting arts were also fast approaching a century of existence without the practical combat usage of the fighting techniques housed inside the forms being transmitted as part of the art.

Without the trial by fire checks and balances that a martial fighting system uses to hold its validity; such as - 'fail to do this technique correctly and you get punched in the face, tossed on your head, or pushed off a platform' - an environment was effectuated that was ripe for esoteric practices, myth, and legend to take over. To include, but not limited to; mysticism, numerology, archaic medicine, fancy legends, mystical energy, and the most contagious of them all…pseudo-science.

While the combat effectiveness waned, the health benefits of modern taijiquan remain steadfast and clear. There have been many studies by qualified medical professionals around the world substantiating the health benefits of routine tai chi practice in one’s daily activities. However, these health benefits are not unique to tai chi, and may be attained through most almost any form of physical exercise such as, but not exclusive to - running, swimming, cycling, dance, tennis, raquetball, and numerous other sports.

There remains though, a primary advantage of tai chi over some, but by no means all other forms of exercise. A low-impact form of physical exercise accessible to those unable to perform rigorous exercise. This is especially important to senior citizens, or those with debilitating injuries who can benefit from movement, but are unable to participate in high impact sports mentioned above.

Modern tai chi, while no longer a martial art is a form of exercise or martial dance, that can be taught to people of all ages, allowing practitioners to move, think, and have fun as a social activity anywhere they go. Whether it be those looking to improve balance, circulation, stress reduction, bone strength, or those who think they are too old to work out, or too “out of shape” - all can find a welcome home in studying the soft styles of tai chi in its modern representation.

Conversely, if one is looking for a martial art for the purposes of practicing and perfecting methods of violence in its traditional sense, then the modern representations of tai chi, or taijiquan are likely not to be pursued.

What we can all stand to discard, are the esoteric pseudo-science methods transmitted by charlatans and those looking to manipulate others for financial gain, or illusions of power.

LEARN MORE…

If you enjoyed this article you may also find the following articles of interest -

• Research Notes: Praying Mantis Boxing vs. Supreme Ultimate Boxing

• What Can BJJ Teach Us About Qing Dynasty Martial Arts

Personal Quest

Alongside teaching tai chi movement for well over a decade, my thirst for the combat applications of these moves/forms overshadowed my ability to teach people without discussing, showing, demonstrating, and instructing people in the combat methods inside the tai chi forms as I unraveled them.

I realized, my goals and desires were no longer aligned with the middle aged, and senior audience that was partaking in my classes for the benefit of health and wellness. Rather than cause injury to people who were, intrigued, but not committed, conditioned, or enrolled for such a class, I amalgamated these combat methods into my mantis boxing classes so I could continue to teach them to a captive audience who is there for such knowledge and skill, and would like to put these into practice for their skill set.

While I retired from teaching tai chi for health and fitness in 2016, I remained steadfast in my quest to unlock these combat applications lost to the annals of time. If you would like a small glimpse of the results of decades of work in reverse engineering these amazing combat techniques that are half a century old, check out the following page to see videos of a few of the moves.

Tai Chi Underground - Project: Combat Methods

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Bibliography

Wile, Douglas. T'ai-chi's Ancestors: The Making of an Internal Martial Art. New York: Sweet Ch'i, 1999. Print.

Kennedy, Brian, and Elizabeth Guo. Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 2005. Print.

Wile, Douglas. Lost Tʻai-chi Classics from the Late Chʻing Dynasty. Albany: State University of New York, 1996. Print.

Kang, Gewu. The Spring and Autumn of Chinese Martial Arts, 5000 Years = [Zhongguo Wu Shu Chun Qiu]. Santa Cruz, CA: Plum Pub., 1995. Print.

Smith, Robert W. Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1974. Print.

Fu, Zhongwen, and Louis Swaim. Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan. Berkeley, CA: Frog/Blue Snake, 2006. Print.