History of Praying Mantis

[ChangWuJi]

Ba Bu Tang Lang Chuan

 

"The history of the Praying Mantis Style of Kung-Fu (T'ang L'ang Ch'uan) began in Gimore County in the Shantung Province, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). From the oral tradition and the writings of later Mantis masters, we know that the founder and patriarch of the style was Wang Lang. Wang Lang was the smartest and most talented child of his family, and from an early age had developed a great interest in the martial arts. He had travelled widely through China to learn the various arts, and soon became well known for his skills. Despite his mastery, Wang Lang felt that something was missing from his technique and decided to test himself.

 

As it is well know, there were no better martial artists than those that were to be found in the temples of Shaolin. So, during the mid-Autumn festival, Wang Lang set out for the Lao Shan mountains to challenge the monks of the Shaolin Temple. Upon his arrival, the first thing he saw were taoist monks practicing the art of boxing in the main plaza of the temple. Wang Lang counted some sixty positions and styles that he had never seen before. Sensing that this was the perfect place to test his abilities, he challenged the monks but was ignored. Time and again he issued his challenge, but the silent monks would have no part of it. It took much time and patience for Wang Lang to persuade the monks at the temple to test him, but eventually they decided that he would fight a lower level student. Wang Lang had trained hard for many years and was confident in his abilities. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

 

The fight was set. Wang Lang and his opponent of the famous Shaolin Temple were face to face. Wang Lang fought hard and with great swiftness but was defeated, for the abilities of the monk were far superior. There was much for him to learn.

 

Wang Lang returned home. Determined and dedicated, he practiced very hard. After two years of continuous training, Wang Lang was in the best shape of his life. The time had come to test himself once again at the temple.

 

Wang Lang returned to Shaolin, much more powerful and fierce than before. Once again he faced a student of the temple. This time Wang Lang was victorious. His rigorous training had paid off and his improvement became more and more evident as he moved higher through the ranks of monks. Wang Lang fought one monk after another until he was face to face with the head abbot of the monastery. Wang Lang had fought many fierce opponents and had proven himself a courageous fighter, but this was the true test. Wang Lang fought his best but was easily beaten by the abbot.

 

Humiliated and aching, Wang Lang realized the depth of the abbot's martial skills and immediately left the temple. He had trained hard, but having tested himself he realized he would have to have much better technique as well. As Taoist masters have recognized, the answers to many questions can be found in nature by those who observe. It was in just this way that fate stepped in and changed the life of Wang Lang and the future of the martial arts.

 

Resting his tired body, Wang Lang sat for a moment near a willow tree on the wooded slopes of the Lao Shan mountains. As he pondered on his unsuccessful fight and the reasons he lost it, his mind came to focus on his surroundings. He heard some curious sounds which grabbed his attention. Finding the source of these sounds, Wang Lang was amazed at the sight of two insects battling for their lives--a cicada and a much smaller praying mantis. The movements of this praying mantis were astonishing. With its strong legs and amazingly strong arms the mantis waited, ready. Drawing its opponent in, then striking with devastating power and fast, instinctive movements, the mantis was able to defeat its much larger and fiercer opponent. Wang Lang had discovered the key to what he had been missing.

 

Astonished by the skills of the insect, Wang Lang captured the praying mantis and carried it with him on his return home. Having built a cage for his new friend, Wang Lang had decided to keep the mantis and study itÕs movements. Using chop sticks, Wang Lang spent much of his time battling with his tiny opponent, and very carefully watched to see which actions the mantis would take in order to defend itself. Wang Lang took these techniques and incorporated them into his training. Having learned the techniques of the Praying Mantis and having trained much harder, Wang Lang felt the time had come to test himself once again.

 

Wang Lang could not forget the beating he had received last time, but he was dedicated to truly perfecting his skills. His defeat was all the more reason to return, and it was further evidence he had indeed chosen a worthy test. Wang Lang returned once more to the Shaolin Temple.

 

The monks recognized Wang Lang and agreed that he should be able to test his skills. Once again he stood face to face with the head abbot of Shaolin Temple, but this time Wang Lang was victorious. Everyone was perplexed by this strange new form of fighting. How did he learn such skills, where had they come from, they asked.

 

Wang Lang had defeated some of the Shaolin Temple's most fierce monks but now he had faced the fiercest and most skillful of all and had beaten him. The monks could hardly believe what they had seen. They could not let Wang Lang leave until they too learned these techniques. Wang Lang did not want to stay with the Shaolin monks so he left quietly in the night. The monks were left only with the memories of what they had seen Wang Lang use.

 

Back home again, Wang Lang continued his training. He had discovered a very effective style but wasn't about to leave it at that. Wang Lang had fought many opponents in his lifetime and now he had faced the best in the world. Wang Lang now had the experience needed to develop and refine a fighting style that would be effective over any style or level of fighter. Wang Lang then dedicated himself to further develop the Praying Mantis system of fighting throughout his lifetime.

 

Although his Praying Mantis techniques were very effective, Wang Lang realized a large part of his failure in his first fight with the head abbot of the Shaolin Temple was due to a lack of footwork. Once again an answer was to be found in nature. Carefully looking for the for the stepping techniques needed to complete his system, Wang Lang discovered the fast and deceptive footwork of the monkey. Their movements were swift and agile, skillful and tricky. The stepping and jumping techniques of the monkey were a very effective addition to what Wang Lang had developed, so he decided that he would incorporate them. During the rest of his life, Wang Lang further refined his Praying Mantis techniques until it was easily considered one of the most effective and fierce martial arts styles that had ever been seen.

 

The art of Praying Mantis had become very famous, everyone had heard of its incredible effectiveness and many sought to learn, but despite all this the Praying Mantis system was kept very secret. Almost no one saw the techniques performed and little was heard other than the legendary stories and accounts of great men performing this elusive and secret style of fighting."

 

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