Tanglangquan - Northern Mantis

Tanglangquan, or Praying Mantis Boxing, is characterized by the ferocious hands of the praying mantis combined with the light nimble step of the monkey. The style was developed in Shandong Province, China.

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Praying mantis boxing can trace it's origins back to a man named Wang Lang, of Shandong province. Wang had trained in martial arts and was schooled in Shaolin Boxing.

While in Laoshan mountain, Wang witnessed a fight between a praying mantis and cicada.  Wang combined 17 of the best techniques from General Qi Ji-Guang's military manual and combined it with the hand techniques of the mantis. Along with this, Wang included the footwork of the monkey to his system. This new system would be called Tanglangquan, or Praying Mantis Boxing.

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Originally there were no distinction between styles in the Tanglang system. Generations after Wang, his decendants would develop new sub-styles of Tanglangquan. Among the most well known systems of Mantis are Meihua (plum blossom), Qixing (seven star), Liuhe (six harmony), Babu (8 step), and Mimen (secret door).

 

The Praying Mantis forms taught at Wu-Tan are selected forms from Qixing, Babu, Meihua, and Liuhe styles. Our Tanglang systems come directly from Grandmaster Kurt Wong and Grandmaster Su Yu-Chang.