Praying Mantis is a creature worth attention. Its incredible speed of reaction and the unbelievable power of its front limbs provided inspiration for the creation of a fighting style basing on the insect's movements.

According to a popular belief Praying Mantis is classified as an 'imitative martial art' (imitating the movements of the insect). Tang Lang Men however is not imitative, that is because it aims at capturing the warrior spirit of the insect, not copying its movements.

The Praying Mantis system was born in Shandong Province. Shandong means "East of mountains", which concerns the mountains in the Shanxi and Henan Provinces.

Before the unification of China and the establishment of the Empire, first centres of power, and culture as well as of the spiritual life of China were situated in Shandong.

Shandong contains a vast plain, where the Yellow River (Huang He) is making its way towards the sea. In the middle of the Province there are old mountains, which once formed the Shandong Peninsula. These mountains have always provided an obstacle for the Yellow River, forcing it to flow either to the South or to the North. After going through the vast swamp area and crossing the Imperial Canal, the river turns North, going around the capital of the province - Jinan. Next it forms a big delta, and falls into the Bohai Gulf, where the main port of the Province - Yantai (in past called Zhifu) is situated.

Yantai is a port city, situated on a peninsula surrounded by the waters of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Gulf. It was here, where for many years the Praying Mantis system has been developing.

The city of Yantai is situated in the Shandong Province, which used to be called Lu or Qilu, because in the past two kingdoms were situated on its territories: Qi and Lu. The legend says, that one day during the Springs and Autumns period (770-476 BC) king Zhuang Gong of Qi was visiting his lands in his carriage. Suddenly it stopped, because the driver saw a mantis (which is worshipped in China) standing on the road. Zhuang Gong got out of his carriage and gently, with respect, carried the mantis to safety. This event inspired him to develop a weapon, the blade of which imitated the front limbs of the insect. Soldiers wielding such weapons were called mantis warriors. About 1630 AD a Chinese martial arts master Wang Lang, inspired by that legend, invented a fighting style known as tang lang quan.

Another story says, that the creator of tang lang quan was a second generation abbot of a Buddhist temple of Huayansi known as Shang Shan Xiahe. It is a Buddhist name which was given to him after he became a monk, but his original name was Yuqi. He lived between 1609 - 1702. However, according to a widespread opinion the available literature, the Praying Mantis system was created by a man named Wang Lang.

So, in the end, who was the real father of tang lang?

Yuqi was a leader of a peasant uprising against the Manchu (Qing Dynasty). When the revolt was crushed, he was forced to seek refuge in one of the villages in the Laoshan Mountains (1133 m above sea level). Nevertheless, he was discovered by the Manchu Army and had to flee to a Huayansi temple nearby. The temple's abbot permitted him to stay, however, for safety reasons, his face was scalded with boiling water to make him unrecognizable to his enemies. Yuqi was later to become a true monk, and the creator of Tang Lang Men. Throughout the whole time he was in contact with the peasant rebel leaders, coming from all directions. The secret pass was a piece of paper, on both sides of which was written his Buddhist name: Shang Shan Xiahe. PPMKFS members near Yuqi's statue After folding the paper, the characters Shang and Xia combined to create the character Wang. This is why Yuqi used to call himself Wang. He would also say that his name is Deyizi, nickname Qian Sisan. Character Qian combined with Yi are read as Wang. The characters Deyi mean to add one or to add the symbol '一' , whereas Zi means 'son', 'boy', and another name for boy is Lang. That gives the full name Wang Lang. The rebel leaders, in order to avoid mentioning Yuqi, would say that they go to Wang Lang to practice the Mantis style.

This story can be heard from Daoist monks living in Laoshan. It is perhaps the most reliable story of creating the Mantis system, because there is a tomb of Yuqi in Laoshan and a monument to his memory.

During the uncovering of an old tomb in Ma Wang Dui in Jiangxi 32 pictures of techniques characteristic of Praying Mantis were discovered. There is a possibility therefore, that the Mantis could have been born in Han times (206 BC - 220 AD). Currently however, the access to the tomb is limited, therefore we need to wait to see if there are any similarities between techniques discovered, and the ones taught at present. Those techniques might have formed a basis for the tang lang style developed later.

According to sources available, the time of creating tang lang men could be moved to the times of northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Fu Ju, an abbot of the Shaolin temple three times sent invitations to masters of the eighteen styles, originating in army circles, to gather in the temple and exchange their techniques. After the meeting, all of the best ones have been saved in a book of 'Shaolin Quan Pu'. It can be traced that in those times the martial art of Wang Lang was already based on the list of those eighteen styles. In manuals devoted to martial arts it's not difficult to notice the features of the seventeen styles that were included in the Praying Mantis. In times of Wang Lang it was said however, that the mantis defeated its enemies, not showing its characteristics. The reason is simple: in qi xing tang lang quan manuals only the process of the creation was mentioned. Fu Ju's manual already included the other seventeen styles and unified the Mantis techniques. Now we are closer to the moment of the creation of the style. Although more research on historical sources are needed to pinpoint the exact date of birth of the Praying Mantis.

Here are the names of the masters of the styles and their contributing techniques as written by Fu Ju:

1. Tai Zu - chang quan (long fist of the first emperor of Song)
2. Zheng En - chan feng (enveloping, closing)
3. Ma Ji - duan da (close contact fighting)
4. Huang You - kao shen (sticking to the opponent's body)
5. Jin Xiang - ke shou tong quan (shattering, opening hand)
6. Liu Xing - gou lou cai shou (hook, intercepting, punch)
7. Yan Qing - zhan na die fa (sticking, grabbing, throwing)
8. Meng Sheng - qi shi lian quan (seven linked positions)
9. Han Tong - tong bei (Tong Bei style as the Mantis's core)
10. Wen Yuan - duan quan (short fist)
11. Sun Heng - hou quan (monkey style)
12. Mian Sheng - mian zhang (hand slap to the face-speed!)
13. Huai De - lan cai ying beng (block, pluck, chop)
14. Tan Fang - gun lou guan er (pushing away, pulling down, ear strike)
15. Lin Chong - yuan yang jiao (Mandarin Duck kick)
16. Cui Lian - wo li pou chui ('nest cut' strike)
17. Yang Gun - kun shou (binding hands - enable a straight attack)
18. Wang Lang - tang lang zeng di (Praying Mantis defeats its enemies)

Numerous schools and styles have been developing within Tang Lang Quan. Istnieje też część północna i południowa. Południowa szkoła uformowała się dosyć późno. Została utworzona za czasów dynastii Qing przez, pochodzącego z Guangdongu, Zhou Yanana. Istnieją: zhou jia tang lang (styl rodziny Zhou), mi jia tang lang (styl rodziny Mi) i inne.

The northern group divides into three main styles: qi xing, mei hua, liu he. The oldest variety (lao jia zi) is the qi xing tang lang quan (Seven Star Praying mantis). There are two versions of the origin of the name seven stars:

• the first one refers to the ancient times, when seven stars were meant to symbolise seven elements: sun, moon, fire, water, wood, metal and earth. In martial arts we talk about using seven parts of the human body: head, shoulder, elbow, hand, hip, knee and foot. 'Classics' of martial arts say that it is essential to use all the seven parts in combat;
• the second one refers to the seven star stance (qi xing bu), which is very similar to the stance from taiji quan (chuan zi zhuang). Seven star stance is one of most important stances of the Seven Star Praying Mantis.

The style provided basis for other varieties, and although they all come from the same source, every school has its distinctive traits.

The legend about creating the Praying Mantis style

Wang Lang studied kung fu in the Shaolin Temple. One day he faced a master of tongbei quan - Han Tong. He couldn't defeat him (some sources claim that Wang Lang was defeated by a Laoshan temple abbot). During a lonely stay in the mountains Wang Lang noticed a mantis fighting with a cicada. Cicada, although bigger, didn't stand a chance with the mantis. Wang Lang was fascinated; he caught the insect and carried it to the temple. He watched the movements of the insect's front limbs and adapted them to his own techniques. After three years he developed the basics of the Mantis system so well that he was able to defeat the temple abbot.

It's difficult to say if this legend is true. It's possible that there were two people called Wang Lang. The first one was living during the Song dynasty, the second one during the Ming and the Qing. The second one, basing on the notes left by the first one, developed the tang lang quan.

Qi Xing Tang Lang Men inheritance line

Great masters of Praying Mantis

The first generation successor of the Praying Mantis style is considered to be a Daoist monk named Sheng Xiao. Actually he was most probably a Buddhist monk as his name lacks a surname, a practice characteristic of Buddhist monks. Moreover, even though Sheng Xiao is considered the succesor of the style created by Wang Lang, he couldn't have been his direct disciple. Even taking the life span of about 80 years for a martial arts master and bearing in mind that he didn't accept his own successor before he was middle aged, there is still a many-year gap between Wang Lang and Sheng Xiao. Probably, before Sheng Xiao, the style had been developping exclusively within the walls of the monastery.

The successor to master Sheng Xiao was master Li Zhizhan (Lee Sam Tsien), who had two disciples himself his nephew Li Taibao and Wang Yongchun. Li Zhizhan known as Li Kuaishou (Li 'fast hand') was born in a village in the Pingdu District in Shandong Province. One day he visited a chang quan school, where 22 year old Wang Yongchun (1854 - 1926) was the master. Seeing the level of his skills master Li Zhizan ridiculed his kung fu. Wang, humiliated, challenged master Li to a duel. Master Li knocked him effortlessly three times to the ground. Wang Yongchun accepted his defeat and asked to become master Li's student. Li Zhizhan lived three years in Wang's house, teaching him qi xing tang lang quan. According to some sources Master Li Zhizhan and Master Li Bingxiao were one and the same person. This would further prove that Praying Mantis has one common ancestry.

Some sources maintain that Wang Yongchun was the father of Seven Star Praying Mantis. During the early years of the Qing Dynasty he was one of the last 'ke wu ju', or Ming Dynasty army instructors. He came from Fushan (Shandong Province), at the age of 15-16 he studied longfist form a Daoist named Li, later studied didang quan form Wendeng. In the 14th year of Gaungxu emperor's reign he commenced his training of Praying Mantis under master Li Zhizhan.

Master Wang Yongchun's best student and the successor was master Fan Xudong. He was a big man - weighing about 120 kg he earned a nickname 'Fan the Giant'. And because he was also a rich silk merchant he could afford to teach kung fit for pleasure. Around 1875 master Fan took part in an open fighting tournament in Syberia, where he defeated all his opponents. He earned a name when one day, while crossing a meadow he was attacked by two bulls. He grabbed the first one by the horns and broke its neck with a single strike of the hand - he killed the other with a stomach kick. Usually his school was run by one of his students - Yang Weixin. Other three students of master Fan Xudong went down in history; Guo Jialu, Lin Jingshan and Luo Guangyu.