Hello from Mantismaster

Ninebird8

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Nitedragon, I will be out in California with my wife next March because my Ying Jow Master's annual birthday party (and his 35th anniversary teaching in the US) will be in LA this year in Glendale under the auspices of Sifu Benson Lee, my Sihing in that style. I am hoping to see John Cheng, Kisu, and some others while we are out there! It might be cool to get together and I can show you some of it if you wish, and I have time...LOL!!
 

Ninebird8

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Yes, I have. Also found out that Ken Edwards knows John Cheng and Kisu very well when we talked a couple of days ago. In fact, that whole weekend, the Hilton Glendale will be filled with Ying Jow eagle claw masters, instructors, and students as Leung Shum's birthday and 35th anniversary teaching in the US is celebrated! I hope to see John for the first time in 10 years (1999 at the Wushu trials in Houston run by my sifu here, Jeff Bolt), and visit Kisu as he makes the movie based on his Airbender series on Nickelodean.

Will keep you apprised. To answer another comment, preying mantis has a great deal of wonderful locks and grabs in its system. The index finger extended can be used as an initial parry and pressure point attack with the rest of the fingers locking and pulling in for a very effective bridge into further attack. Mantis uses its version of chi sau to bridge using these locks and grabs. It is real fun for me to spar a mantis practitioner using my eagle claw and nine birds, where we evolve into a locking and movement funtime. White crane very good at this too!

Remember, my friends, protect your bagels, put lox on them!! Sorry, an old joke for my goyim friends!
 

Ninebird8

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Yes, I met Kisu at the Tai ji legacy in 2002 when my eagle claw brother and myself were there judging. Kisu is great, straightforward, no nonsense, and his kung fu is great as well. I believe he is still near Hollywood Hills. FYI, besides his Airbender creation, he and his students were heavily involved in the Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. His senior student was the son in the movie of the great leader, and died on the bridge shooting arrows at the soldiers. I hope to see him when I am in LA for the YIng JOw gathering for Leung Shum in March.
 

Ninebird8

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First, to the two people inquiring about John Cheng and Jeff Hughes...if you go to the Eagle claw locks topic on this same page, you will see I have given a pretty good background of both people on this topic. John is Raymond's senior, plus studies under Mantis Master's teacher, and also under Henry Chung as well. I have known him since age 12 in Texas, he is also an orthopaedic surgeon, so if he breaks you he can fix you...LOL!! And, he looks like Jackie Chan, and his spear/saber techniques are incredible, to go along with his tong long. Jeff Hughes is I believe #2 in Raymond Fogg's org, and lately he has been training in one of my three CMA arts, Ying Jow, under the other branch (mine is the Ng Wei branch with Sigung Leung Shum as his senior, and Ng Wei was the senior and godson of Lau Fat Mon, father to Lilli, James, and Gini). Jeff is in Austin, is a great mantis person and like John learned it the old way. He is a very good fighter! And, I believe his wife is also a mantis sifu?!

Mantismaster, one question for you: historically, tong long based its footwork primarily upon monkey style movements adapted to the mantis locks/grabs/great front kicks, etc. Is this true in 7 star as well? If not, other than the front foot of 7 star being faced up to the sky, what foot movements are employed? Do these movements differ in the other 11 systems of the mantis form/style? If eagle claw is usually recognized as the base locking/grabbing jow da cum na style, where did the origins of the mantis concept of locking come from? Since I personally believe eagle, mantis, and white crane have the highest level of integrated chin na, was the mantis locking system developed independently or part of the overall development with eagle and white crane during that time period?

Thank you, as always, for any insight.
 

Nitedragon89

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Ninebird, mantis kung fu has only been around 400 something years, and system of locks came from eagle claw kung fu some 2000 years ago.
 

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