Praying Mantis Lineage & History

THE NORTHERN SHAOLIN SEVEN STAR PRAYING MANTIS SYSTEM OF KUNG FU

Praying Mantis Kung Fu is known for being one of the most effective fighting systems of the traditional Shaolin styles. Developed for use against experienced martial artists, it combines the hooking and locking movements of the praying mantis as well as the agile and efficient footwork of the monkey.

Just like the praying mantis is able to best a much larger foe, so can a mantis kung fu practitioner overcome a larger attacker.

Northern 7-Star Praying Mantis is a complete fighting system, with both hard and soft techniques, as well as several traditional weapons. After only a short time, a new student will have simple routines and techniques to practice at home or with a partner.

THE LINEAGE OF OUR STYLE: Our lineage can be traced directly back to the original Shaolin master who developed the Praying Mantis System.

THE FOUNDER OF MANTIS: Wong Long was the founder of the Praying Mantis System. He was born in the Shandong Province. Many Chinese martial arts historians pinpoint Wong Long to have lived between the late Ming (1368-1644 AD) and early Qing (1644-1911 AD) dynasties. Other sources, however, also claim that Wong Long and mantis boxing had existed much earlier during the period of the Northern Song Dynasty (969-1126 AD). In any case, very little is known about Wong Long except from the legend about his creation of mantis boxing as told by later successors of the style.

THE ORIGIN STORY LEGEND: Wong Long studied hard to become adept at the Shaolin fighting skills. However, he could never best his senior brother, monk Feng, in sparring practice. At about this time his senior brother monk decided, as was the custom of Shaolin Monks, to travel throughout China for a period of three years. He told Wong that when he returned they would spar again and see if Wong had improved.

One day Wong sat down to study, was interrupted by a noise nearby on the ground. Two insects were engaged in a duel, a praying mantis attacking a cicada. Within moments the praying mantis had killed the cicada and, holding it in its strong forearms, began eating. Wong was intrigued by the fierce attributes of the praying mantis insect. He was impressed by the way it had moved in and out and used its forearms to trap and draw in its prey.

Since his losses in sparring to monk Feng, Wong had been driven by a desire to improve his Shaolin kung fu skills. Wong saw in the fierce insect's predatory ability a way to improve his own combat adeptness. Wong used a small stick and played with the praying mantis, observing how it used its skills as a predator to escape harm.

After examining the praying mantis insect's methods of combat, he adapted the insect’s movement into his martial arts knowledges. The footwork of his new style was adapted from the Monkey Style of kung fu. This addition gave his new style a quickness and agility never before available to him.

When monk Feng returned from his 3-year journey, he and Wong sparred again. This time Wong won easily. He explained to his surprised elder brother about his discovery, and thus the Praying Mantis System of Kung Fu was born.

2^ND GENERATION: SHENG XIAO DAO REN: Praying Mantis was originally only taught to the disciple monks of the Shaolin Temple. The Monks referred to the style as the "treasury to guard the mountain" and they did not teach it to outsiders. Shen Xiao Dao Ren was an herbalist and surgeon looking to consult with other herbalists there.

When Sheng Xiao Dao Ren first arrived at the temple he observed a fighting style he had never seen before and he asked the monks practicing if he could have a friendly match with one of them to test the effectiveness of their strange style. At first, they declined; however, after he began to ridicule their art as being ineffectual, they agreed to a friendly session.

When he began to spar with one of the lower level monks, he quickly found himself on the ground, looking up with no idea how he got there. He jumped up and declared that it must have been an accident. He asked if a more senior monk could spar with him. He met with the same result.

When Sheng Xiao inquired what this new type of Kung Fu was that had defeated him so easily, he found that it was the Praying Mantis Style, and that it was only taught to the monks as a higher form of kung fu. This piqued Sheng Xiao's interest and he spoke to the chief abbot of the temple. After some discussion, the abbot agreed to let Sheng Xiao learn the style. Shen Xiao Dao Ren one day became the Head Monk of the Shaolin Temple.

3^RD GENERATION: LI SAN JIAN: Li San Jian was a Taoist Monk who helped Sheng Xiao Dao Ren defeat the temple from bandits, after which their friendship grew. Sheng Xiao later taught Li San Jian the complete system of Praying Mantis.

After mastering the system, Li San Jian established a security service that would guard a caravan of valuable goods for a fee. Li's security service became well known throughout China for its reliability. The local bandits dubbed Li San Jian as Dian Shou, or “Flash Hand”, as no one was able to defeat him. Caravans carrying his flag during transport were often completely avoided by bandits.

As Li grew older he became concerned that he had not taught the art of praying mantis to anyone. He felt that the art that had brought him so much prosperity would die out. Not having children, at age sixty, Li San Jian decided to travel and find a worthy individual to inherit the art of praying mantis. He went to Foshan in the Shandong Province, where he accepted three disciples, one of them being Wang Rong Sheng…

4^TH GENERATION: WANG RONG SHENG: When Sifu Li San Jian arrived in Foshan, Wang Rong Sheng, in his early 20s, was already a local martial arts champion in the Chang Quan (Long Fist) and Di Tang Quan (Ground Boxing) Styles.

When Li met Wang Rong Sheng, he asked him for a demonstration of the skills he had used to become a champion. After watching him perform, Li San Jian remarked that the techniques he exhibited should not have won him a championship. Wang Rong Sheng grew angry, and attacked Li San Jian, however, all he met was thin air. The master just seemed to disappear, and no matter how relentlessly Wang Rong Sheng attacked, Li San Jian evaded seemingly without effort.

Wang Rong Sheng bowed down to humble himself and asked to be accepted as Li San Jian's student. Wang Rong Shen spent the next three years learning all that Li San Jian had to teach him and spent the rest of his life developing the art to an advanced level with other Kung Fu Masters, eventually passing the art to Fan Xu Dong…

5^TH GENERATION: FAN XU DONG: Fan Xu Dong had extraordinary skills, and was nicknamed as "King of Mantis Boxing". As he weighed over 280lbs, he was also known as "Giant Fan". Fan Xu Dong became known for his legendary Iron Palm skill, after an incident with two bulls. One day as Fan Xu Dong was crossing a field, two bulls charged him. In defense he kicked the first bull and used a palm attack to strike the other bull. Both bulls perished, greatly angering the farmer who owned them. Fan pointed out that he was merely defending himself. The farmer reluctantly accepted this, and word quickly spread about Fan Xu Dong’s skill.

Fan Xu Dong lived to be 95 years old, and taught many students throughout his life, one of which was Luo Guang Yu…

6^TH GENERATION: LUO GUANG YU: Master Luo Guang Yu is known for practicing every form in the praying mantis system daily. His skill level was extremely high. He taught and developed the style for ten years within The Shanghai Central Jing Wu Sports Association, which is partially the reason for mantis’s popularity today.

Master Luo Guang Yu's favorite form was Tang Lang Tou Tao (Praying Mantis Steals the Peach). This form is performed with quickness, and is excellent for developing fighting skills. Luo was also know to spar only using defensive actions, as he feared his Iron Palm technique would seriously injure someone.

Luo Guang Yu is arguably the most well-known Praying Mantis master in history, due to his participation in the Jing Wu Association, which promoted camaraderie between martial arts schools in China. Before he died he took on Wong Hon Fun as his disciple…

7^TH GENERATION: WONG HON FUN: Wong Hon Fun worked as a janitor in the Jing Wu Association (circa. 1932) He was caught spying on the classes, and Master Luo Guang Yu took him on as a student. He trained to become an instructor himself, and throughout his long teaching career, Wong Hon Fun published over forty volumes on Praying Mantis Kung Fu. These would serve to be a guide for future generations of the Northern Praying Mantis System.

Wong Hon Fun wished to spread mantis and share as much of the art as he knew with the world freely. He felt that the best way to preserve the theories and techniques was to openly share them with everyone.

8^TH GENERATION: CHOW CHI FUNG: Grand Master Chow is recognized globally as one of the last active teachers of Seven Star Praying Mantis System of his (8th) generation in the world, making him the highest-ranking teacher of Praying Mantis in Canada. He was the first of our lineage to travel and explore Martial Arts outside of China and Hong Kong. His business in selling tea and medicinal herbs led him to various countries and exposed him to many various styles of martial arts, and like his teachers before him, he made contributions and innovations to the system based on his new experiences while keeping the core foundation of the system pure and unchanged. Grand Master Chow taught publicly for over 60 years. Before he retired from open-door teaching he awarded the rank of Master to only three of his top students. Sifu Rob Atalick was one of those three.

^9tH GENERATION: ROB ATALICK: Master Atalick is a life-long martial artist, and is known for having the largest school of mantis under the lineage of Grandmaster Chow, and having the most amount of active mantis kung fu students in Canada!

He opened Niagara Kung Fu Academy in 2005, and since then, he and his team of dedicated instructors work tirelessly to bring authentic kung fu to those looking to master themselves. Master Atalick teaches that in order to master kung fu, you must master life, and vice versa. 

10th Generation: BRE GIBBONS

Bre has trained under both Chow Chi Fung and Rob Atalick for over a decade. In 2011, Bre dove head first into martial arts, training 5 - 7 days a week and apprenticing under Sifu Atalick to learn the art of running and managing a martial arts school.

In 2013, she became the Program Director and Orientation Specialist at Niagara Kung Fu. She particularly loves teaching large groups of people and planning and running large and fun events.

In Spring of 2018 she achieved her 4th Degree Black Sash in the wake of losing her mother to suicide, just one month before the test date. She attributes focusing on her goal to keeping her from falling into an overly dark place right after the shocking loss. This tragedy eventually led to a journey of healing and understanding mental illness and how to help herself and others feel a sense of purpose,  peace, empowerment, enjoyment, and connection.

Bre has brought her lifelong passion for recreation and fun to Kung Fu. She believes it can be used as form of healing, therapy, and a path to deeper and more meaningful connection to self and others. 

She teaches a wide range of levels, from brand new students to Black Belt Students; from as young as 3 and as old as 73.