Kung Fu - The Taoist Mantis

Most any Kung Fu school will have several forms in their curriculum, as a reference to the style, vocabulary of techniques and choreographed sequencing of the moves. After a student has learned the moves of a form, they are expected to study the moves individually and then make the form their own before they may be graded for their next sash level. Each student may have their own way of interpreting and executing the forms, depending on their experience and understanding of the form ans its sequences. Following are some thoughts on how you may progress in your form training.

Varying Execution Speed

Speed	Character	Explanation
Slow	Breakdown	Execute each move carefully. Check for accuracy of every move, posture, hand positions, starting and ending stances and the direction of the body and face. Complete every move before transitioning to the next one. Notice where questions arise as to the purpose of the move or its execution, and get them answered by a senior student to improve your form.
Medium	Fluidity	Link the moves together into a flowing form while maintaining correct postures and still finishing every move completely. Focus on large movements and low stances while finding the appropriate the breathing patterns and techniques that allow or call for expression of power in order to improve on your form.
Demo	Power	“Execute as fast as you can with full expression of power without losing form -- while maintaining proper posture and clearly executing all techniques”
Fast	Speed	Execute the form as fast as you can. Notice the difficult points where you are short-cutting and then work on those spots separately to improve your form.

Proper Breathing

Breathing during a form should be natural. That being said - the execution of a form consumes energy and the heart rate inevitably does increase. You have to find the proper breathing pattern to avoid arriving winded at the end of the form.

Every form has its own character and purpose. In Golden Harmony Kung Fu we have forms that have an even flowing character (such as Siu Lim Tang Lang) -- quickly switching directions with continuous flow. Other forms are more demanding and require the student to really manage their breath while doing more expressive jumping kicking techniques (such as Golden Harmony Form 1). Generally, there are moves in every form where a student should express power and moves that are more transitional in character. During a transition you should take a deep breath, and exhale during power moves (quick exhale) or sequences (slow exhale). The correct breathing patterns can be found while you are executing the form at medium speed. Use exaggerated breathing to underline expressly what is going on. Play with the voice by making a Bruce Lee power-noise on expressive techniques. Then test the breathing pattern at demo speed.

Changing Emphasis

Sometimes a student will go through periods of stagnation - you find yourself just executing the forms unmotivated without any particular focus. Or going through the forms always with the same focus basically just repeating the steps. There is very little merit in this way of practicing as there is no real improvement. One can even argue that this type of repetition is counter-productive, without Fu. At this point a practitioner should migrate their mindset from “memorizing the sequence” to “refining the form”. This transition of mindset takes some time on its own.

When going through the form, emphasize on a different aspect with each execution:

Emphasis	Explanation
Alignment	Are you properly aligned? Move through the form with a straight spine, chin tucked in, pelvis tilted straight, shoulders relaxed, feet and face pointing in the right direction. Are you double-weighted at any point? Look at it with a fresh perspective.
Stances	Move through the form emphasizing low stances and proper footwork. Are the heels off the ground while stepping forwards? Are you well balanced in challenging stance positions?
Kicking	Execute the form with emphasis on high, sharp and powerful kicks. Are you kicking with the heels? Is the spine still straight when kicking high?
Extension	Are your punches straight and extended outward? Does your technique stop at the target or projects through it? Do you properly extend the waist and get reach out of the kicks? When doing a spinning kicks - is the kicking foot straight out and in a vertical plane? Check on typically extended techniques such as Lo Han Fists and crane-style moves.
Flow	Do the techniques connect in a sequence and do they make sense as a flow? If there is a point that feels like a hard stop, is that a power expression point or should it continue to the next move quicker?
Application	Execute the form while visualizing the techniques as they are applied to virtual opponents. If you cannot see the application -- what is the technique for?
Power	Are you expressing power where the form calls for it? Is the chi being projected outward or are you stopping it short?

In sharp contrast to the way in which most Karate forms are generally executed - in Kung Fu forms all techniques are not power techniques. Every form has specific moves that need to be executed with power. These are the power expression points in the form, where the following questions should be considered:

Breathing - normally exhale with some level of tension.
Chi - gathered from the ground, issued from the center and expressed in the limbs. Check direction and shape.
Intent - outward focus
Spine - straight when issuing power to avoid injury
Rooting - sunk and rooted when issuing power

Move through the form and analyze where these power techniques are located. Discuss with other students and experiment on objects.

Relaxation

Relaxation is a crucial component in the formula for speed and power. When interacting with an opponent, ability to detect your opponent's next move is dependent on your level of relaxation. When executing a form, your physical relaxation determines the level of flow, speed and power you can achieve. Your mind has to be relaxed to for the body to be relaxed. There are many levels of relaxation.

Relaxation begins with accepting things exactly as they are. Breathe deeply and clear the mind prior to starting the form. Loosen the shoulders and the hips. Throughout the form - the shoulders should be relaxed and the limbs should move loosely and fast, like a rope. Even when relaxed -- avoid slouching or losing substance behind the form. Punches should tighten only at the exact point of impact, like a metal ball attached to a rope. Don't waste energy. Don't treat kicks different from punches.

Structural Alignment

Kung Fu training challenges the body and takes it to the limits of what your body can achieve in terms of flexibility and power. When executed carelessly, it is very easy to injure yourself during execution of a Kung Fu form. Many students take physical health for granted when they are still young, only to find out later that it is imperative to execute each form with proper structural alignment for maintaining good physical well-being. That is already a good reason why you should be concerned with alignment.

True power comes from the ground, issues from the spine and shoots out via the extremities. The pulling and pushing friction of the feet on the ground will enable the waist to direct that power through the body towards the exact target. Perfect structural alignment from the feet through the waist and the entire body at the moment of issuing power has to be achieved in order to maximize impact. Every serious martial artist is always searching for this level of structural alignment. This quest for rooted power starts when a student begins to notice indications in the Sifu's execution of Kung Fu. For some students this questioning starts within the first year of training, for some students it might take another ten years before they realize they are missing something.

You can take a horse to water - but you can't make it drink...

Move through the form and connect yourself to the ground with engaged feet (from heel to toes). Initiate and analyze transitions consciously from the interaction between waist and feet. Identify the beginning and the end of a move and maintain structural alignment to the end of every technique. Examine what a good posture feels like and check with senior students and your Sifu to confirm whether your understanding is proper.

Liquidity

Liquidity and Relaxation are related topics, because Liquidity depends on Relaxation. The most serious impacting techniques are the “wet” techniques, such as The Splashing Palms, where you move like water smashing into the rocks. These are not necessarily “drunk” techniques.

Liquidity in a form depends on the capacity to transition from one move to another without stopping the flow. Each move has to end before the other can begin, yet there is no time in between the end of the previous move and the beginning of the next. Liquidity also depends on executing the techniques with a relaxed physique, not being rigid. Move through the form visualizing how water will immediately change its path upon hitting a stone, the ultimate in liquidity.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.

-- (Bruce Lee)

Visualization

Sometimes when you practise a form it might help you to think about fighting attackers so that you understand what the techniques should accomplish and where the power should be expressed. You should also expect junior students to ask you what these techniques are for. It is good to think about these things so you have an answer ready. 🙂

HOWEVER, don't make it a habit to visualize an attacker scenario. This puts you into a closed frame of mind and limits your progress. The forms teach you way more than just the martial aspect of movements. Sometimes just practice your form with a mindset of awe of nature and movement and human capacity to create. If you are a spiritual creature, practicing a form this way will bring you closer to the original energy of creation.

Nine Psalms Visualization

The Nine Palms Mantis System as created by Si Gong Rob Moses can be applied to form training to allow the student to progress far beyond the limits of martial thinking into the realm of geometrical flow analysis. Within the Golden Harmony system, the student is encouraged to experiment with form once a certain level of proficiency has been achieved. Here are some examples of how Nine Psalms can benefit your form training.

Palm	Explanation
Line	Identify linearity in the moves and where dealing with a linear projection on the approach.
Casting	Project outwards, turn fast and shift balance to issue casting energy.
Vortex	Focus your energy to converge a single perfect point outside the body or visualize how your energy diverges from a single point on the spine between the shoulder-blades.
Gyro	Wind and unwind your center to issue power. Turn the small internal gyro in into an external windmill.
Upstream	Play with drunken execution of techniques and visualize you're doing the form in a flowing river. Execute the form on a hill.
Hurricane	Increase the dynamic of the form until you are the hurricane - sweeping through any obstacle! Visualize the chaotic nature of a large scale battle and place yourself in the middle of it.
Shadow	Become aware of what's happening around you and behind you and use your shadow on the floor and walls to correct your form.
Empty	Mantis forms are filled with gathering and releasing movements you can play with. Gather emptiness rather than enemies to obtain a healthy meditative state of mind. Or look at the empty space in your mantis hook where you would fit the opponent's wrist.
Implosion	Experience with Fa Jin as you build up and release energy from the extremities outward into the world.

Animal Attitude

The Praying Mantis was the last animal system to come from Shaolin after Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake and Dragon. The Praying Mantis system has thus been able to extract the most applicable essence from various other systems, the most obvious being Monkey for its quick and efficient footwork. When going through a form you can experiment with the different animal attitudes. Some examples:

MONKEY -- The Monkey is playful and fools around before attacking with rapid overwhelming techniques. The monkey's base is low and rooted but it has no problem jumping up, climbing the opponent and executing aerobatic techniques. The monkey will fool the opponent through fakes and erratic movements and then strike with fatal precision. The monkey does not think ahead but adapts to any circumstance and has the agility to be dangerous from any posture. Embody that attitude when going through a form.
TIGER -- The tiger has sublime awareness and agility. The tiger is a hunter and will stealthy stalk its prey patiently biding its time for the perfect opportunity. You can't sneak up on the tiger from behind but you will never hear it approach you. The tiger fights from a withheld defensive posture which allows for fast forward leaping attacks. The tiger is completely aware of its opponent's options and will cut these off before they occur. The tiger is sneaky and will play with its prey until it's bored then it's time for the kill. Embody the tiger attitude when going through a form.
PRAYING MANTIS -- The praying mantis is a bug, it has no emotions and does not reflect or anticipate. It moves with super-efficiency straight to the kill. It attacks much larger animals without any hesitation. Even within a split second before it attacks, there is no indication whatsoever of its intent to strike. The praying mantis uses its claws to cling to its prey and uses the waist to re-direct incoming attacks. Project that attitude when going through a form.

Breaking down the Ego

Every Kung Fu student has to confront the breakdown of their ego in order to advance. This is true for partner work, where you need to “Invest in Loss” if you want to establish a breakthrough. The ego can also form a major obstacle in form training.

As you advance in Kung Fu and execute a form the same way as last examination - that is now considered under par and there is more critique from senior students. In order to progress your Kung Fu, you have to dig deep and start every day form training with the mindset of improvement. You should be content with what you have accomplished but also not dwell on your success. Do not compare your form to others all the time and do not waste cycles feeding a sense of entitlement. My Sifu made it clear to me: