Technique Application 9 - Bottle Assault

Refering to the illustration above: B tries to hit A's head with an empty glass bottle. A stops B's attempt with a left hand up-blocking move. Immediately, A's left blocking hand should mantis-hook(catch) B's right hand at the wrist. At the same time A take a step forward on his left leg towards the outer side of B's right leg. Once B's wrist is being hooked, A pushing it forward to the left. While A's right hand reach unto B's bent elbow and further pushing effort applies here in a slanting downward manner this time to cause B losing his gravitational balance.

Video - Perng Pu Quan

The traditional Taolu that I performed in the video above is the 1930's version of Seven Stars Mantis Boxing which was propagated by late Grandmaster Luo Guang Yu.

Traditional Wushu Syllabus for SJK(C) Yu Ying at Semabok Dalam, Melaka

1) Handworks, Stances & Kick

• Handworks : even punch, force punch, palm & mantis hook hand
• Stances : Horse Stance, Hill Climbing Stance, Tiger Stance
• Kick : Heart Piercing Kick

2) 1st Taolu : Gong Li Quan
3) Seven Stars Mantis Primary Handworks

• Supplementary Punch
• Chopping Punch
• Back Chopping Punch
• Hook-Grapple-Pluck-Punch
• Mantis Hook Hand

4) 2nd Taolu : Shi Ba Shou Quan (Eighteen Elders Boxing)
5) 3rd Taolu : Cha Chui Quan (Fist Thrusting Boxing)
6) 4th Taolu : Perng Pu Quan (Step Stomping Boxing)
7) 5th Taolu : Duo Gang Quan (Hidden Force Boxing)

What stated above were the syllabus for the one-week-once lesson in Yu Ying School.

Technique Application 8 - knife assault

Refering to the demo illustration above, A and B are standing facing each other with B holding a knife in his right hand. B stab the knife towards A's chest. A take a step to the left with the left leg, turning his body to the right to escape the knife assault. At the same time, A's left hand reach out towards B's right hand. Gripping onto B's right hand wrist. Then A's right hand reach out to the lower part of B's right wrist and push it up towards B. At the same time A's left leg stepping forward at behind B's right leg. 

Malacca Wing Chun Kung Fu Class

With "Ip Man 2" movie showing in the cinema now, the Wing Chun craze seems to be everywhere. So far I have seen 2 Wing Chun advertisement banner by the roadside. One is at the Pay Fong 1 Primary School, while the other is at the Bukit China roundabout. Anyhow, here are the details about the class except I do not know how much is the learning fee.

Traditional Wushu Style : Wing Chun (Hong Kong version)
Venue : Malacca Seng Cheong Society at Tengkera, Melaka
Day : Thursday and Saturday
Time : 8:00 till 10:00pm (2 hours/session)
Master : Dr. Yen
Contact number : 012-6389077

Widespread styles of Northern Praying Mantis Boxing

There are several styles , the best known of which are:

• Seven Star Praying Mantis Boxing (Chinese: 七星螳螂拳; pinyin: qī xīng tángláng quán). This style is the original form of praying mantis kung fu and is widespread in the Shandong Province and surrounding areas. Luo Guangyu (羅光玉) is known for having passed down this style to Hong Kong and other parts of Southern China, where it is still practiced today. Seven Star is considered by many as the 'hardest' of the Praying Mantis styles, however it still utilizes soft-hard principles and is classified as a soft-hard style.

• Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing (Chinese: 梅花螳螂拳; pinyin: méihuā tángláng quán). One of the oldest among all Northern Praying Mantis styles, it is widespread in Shandong Province, Jilin, Liaoning and South Korea. It traces its lineage directly from Li Bingxiao (b.1700s) to Zhao Zhu to Liang Xuexiang (1810-1895). Liang Xuexiang was the first master to use the name of Plum Blossom. Liang Xuexiang's disciples, mainly Jiang Hualong, Liang Jingchuan, Sun Yuanchang, Hao Hong and Xiu Kunshan are responsible for popularization of this style in the 20th century. In the early 1900s, it heavily influenced the development of Taiji Mantis of Cui Shoushan and Wang Yushan, Taiji Plum Blossom of Hao Family, Taiji Mantis of Zhao Zhuxi and Babu Mantis of Wei Xiaotang.

• Taiji Praying Mantis Boxing (Chinese: 太極螳螂拳; pinyin: tàijí tángláng quán). Today this style is represented by two distinct lineages. The first one is that of Cui Shoushan and Wang Yushan and is based on Song Zide and Jiang Hualong's Plum Blossom teachings in Laiyang, Shandong Province. It is popular in Laiyang, Yantai, Qingdao, Dalian, North America, Russia, France and Spain. The second lineage can be traced to Sun Yuanchang's Blum Blossom, who was yet another disciple of Liang Xuexiang. Its best known progenitor is Zhao Zhu Xi, who is said to have taught (both directly and indirectly) thousands of students during his lifetime in Vietnam and Hong Kong, who have since spread to all corners of the globe. He was given the Cantonese nickname Chuk Kai, meaning "Bamboo Creek", for a famous battle he fought with bandits at that location. This style has since become prevalent in places such as Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and North America.

• Taiji Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing (Chinese: 太極梅花螳螂拳; pinyin: tàijí méihuā tángláng quán). This style is, historically, a combination of two different lineages of Mantis: Taiji Mantis and Plum Blossom Mantis. This style is widespread in Yantai, Qingdao, Beijing, Dalian, Harbin, etc. What is now called Taiji Plum Blossom traces its lineage to Hao Lianru (郝蓮茹)—a disciple of Liang Xuexiang, his sons Hao Henglu, Hao Hengxin and his grandson Hao Bin. The later three combined both Taiji Mantis and Plum Blossom in the early 20th Century, creating the current style. Hao Lianru's five sons have since spread the style elsewhere. This style is well-known for its large, two-handed sword, and for being somewhat 'softer' than Seven Star Praying Mantis.

• Six Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing (Chinese: 六合螳螂拳; pinyin: liù hé tángláng quán). Known as the 'softest' or most 'internal' of the Praying Mantis styles, Six Harmony was passed down by Ding Zicheng (丁子成), whose students taught in Shandong Province as well as Taiwan. Six Harmony Praying Mantis has a very different curriculum, with unique routines not found in other Praying Mantis styles.

• Eight Step Praying Mantis Boxing (Chinese: 八步螳螂拳; pinyin: bā bù tángláng quán). This style was originally conceived by Jiang Hua Long, and was further refined by his principle disciple of the style, Feng Huanyi (馮環義), which was passed down by his disciple Wei Xiaotang (衛笑堂) in Taiwan. Which was passed down to his disciple Shyun Guang Long.