just out of curiousness does WC or Southern Crane (the Fujian one) have any kind of similar excercises?? I can only think of Chi Sao from WC and that is only slightly similar due to the stickiness.

for you guys who like to read this thread, heres a clip from Mind, Body, and Kickass Moves that you might have seen featuring Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OdlvgIc5hgk

Heres some more clips
Chow Gar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzztNI4xIqM
usually its the 2nd form that you're taught, just me doing a little demo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFySwF7VSC8&mode=related&search=
this is one of the higher level forms, called Fut Sao or Buddha Hand. Lots of "ging" or short power that is used

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6mDkP9mjBU&mode=related&search=
the current grandmaster from above giving a demo in Hungary, a slightly closer look at Fut Sao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXFFitr1OkM&mode=related&search=
from a movie, aparently its Southern Mantis which is kind of cool since its nonflasy-ness keeps it from making it to the big screen in most cases.

my gung fu famlily comes from a southern chinese temple boxing called tai lui chuan fa (Suu family), with-in the disipline there are 5 hands & 5 animales eagle, mantis, bear, tiger & leapard, eac with its own grand master, our mantis has 7 forms all very deadly and not taught until you have reached instructor level. I will say that it differs quit alot from the videos clips, the tention form seamed to be a chi secreation form. where as all of our forms the breath is natural and continues. since the temple was formed my ten masters in the late 14th century, we come from a differnt begining. I have much respect for all the southern mantis practioners I have incountered in my time. all have been a very apt in combat and knowledgable in anatomy.

oh wow, the stuff you practice definitely sounds pretty cool. All the breathing in the forms and such are there to help develop chi, or course no one would really breath like this while fightin or anything...i dont know maybe there are? But thanks for the comment, do you have any clips or anything online thats from your family of arts?

Sure the is a web page is dedicated to one of my sifus he is the current grand master has been since 78

www.tallbearstailiuchuanfa.com

there is not alot of info on this sight (its new)about the animals of tai lui, it mostly has info up to black belt. but if you contact Sigung he will answer all your questions. If you are interested in the art post on it and ask about instructors in your area, most of the instructors dont teach in schools.

huh, interesting that you're kungfu has southern mantis in the system. Your art kind of sounds like an umbrella art that Shaolin is. Like you learn kungfu but do some tiger, some mantis, some monkey, etc etc kind of thing.

what exactly do you do for you're mantis section??

In the past, I have tried to incorporate a little 8 Step Praying Mantis into my fighting. I believe 8 Step is a northern Mantis style but not sure. Are the basic differences the same between Northern and Southern Mantis as they are with other Northern and Southern styles? I have followed Grandmaster James Shyun of the 8 Step system for years now and I do like the system but since I have never formally trained in Mantis, some of the subtleties escape me.

Scottie

Tai lui chuan fa
has a very large bace, its techneces are medium to soft. external and internal. thier are five fingers and five animals. the five fingers are 1) Master hand (to control and redirect) 2) poisen hand ( to attack the nerves and vastular systems, redirecting) 3) quicki hand (spontanius reaction, how to draft power from your attacker) 4) servival hand (to distroy the nerves and vascular systems) 5) death touch or de muk hand ( to end your attackers life at once or with delay) the five animals are Eagle, Mantis, bear, tiger, leopard. as for the training your fist 5 years or so are spent learning the first 3 fingers with the core being master hand and the first 20 of 50 poisen hand techneces, with this fondation you have reached high brown to black belt level. it is at this level you may start learning the animal forms, you will have a very stronge understanding of body mechanics, anatomy and chi.
each animal has its own forms the eagel has 9 the mantis has 7 ect. all forms in tai liu are based on 9 attachers except one and that one has 12 becouse it is based on a real battle. the eagle and the mantis are the deadly ladys of our system and are taught by sigung as he see's fit. I am currently working on mantis form 3 and i have 7 of the 9 men. also each man in a form or manster hand tech will have 5 to 12 combined tech to make one fist method. this is a true southern temple art. that works with body mechanics not strenght so it is good for all body styes and sex's

Keep training (pain is joy)

Razorfoot:
check out the clips in the earlier posts, thats what Southern Mantis looks like. And as for Northern Mantis? well thats probably 90% of the praying mantis that you'll ever see.

Tailiugug
thanks for expanding on you're art
but what do you exactly do in the mantis section?? Any of it similar to the video clips that I posted up earlier?? I'm just curious as this is probably the first time that I've heard of you're art as well as Southern Mantis being part of something else. I'm wondering if any of what I've practiced is similar or the same as what you have practiced.