Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis)
螳螂拳A northern Chinese style from Shandong imitating the mantis's hunt. Its signature is the hooked hand that catches and pulls; the southern mantis is a separate lineage.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis)
About Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis)
Tanglangquan, northern praying mantis, arose in Shandong province and tradition attributes it to master Wang Lang in the 17th century. The story says he devised it after watching a mantis fight a cicada — historically unattested, but the style really does copy the way the insect catches prey. Its signature is the hook. The hand bends at the wrist and the fingers close together, producing a grip that does not seize the opponent's arm in a fist but drags it and leads it aside. There is no blocking: the incoming limb is stuck to and taken away while the other hand is already attacking. The other half of the style is footwork. Shandong monkey steps supply low, fast displacements and frequent changes of line, so the mantis moves in a way quite unlike what the striking of the upper body would suggest. The main northern branches are seven-star, plum blossom, six harmonies, taiji mantis and secret gate. They differ in the balance of hard and soft and in the range they work at. It is important not to confuse it with southern mantis, that is Chow Gar and Chu Gar. That is a separate Hakka lineage from southern China which shares the name with northern mantis but neither its origin nor its technique.
Styles & Branches
The softest of the mantis styles. Unlike the hard Seven Star and Plum Blossom branches, it favors internal work and has its own set of forms.
A fusion of bajiquan and praying mantis boxing created by Taiwanese master Su Yu-chang. Today it is taught more in Europe and the Americas than in China.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.