Eight Step Praying Mantis (Chinese: 基本螳螂; pinyin: Bābùquán) is a style of Praying Mantis, commonly used as a valid and successful style to complement kung fu, taught to students after learning Jī Běn Gōng and Tán Tuǐ. While it is founded off of Seven Star Praying Mantis, it vastly differs in terms of the objective of the form. Seven Star focuses on agility, dexterity, and softening the body while Eight Step focuses on how to concentrate more power using your whole body, which aligns more with the interests of Bājiquán. This style executes the next phase of developing your body into a high-quality weapon: shaping. During this time, students are also expected to learn a two-man form called Pu An. After completing all these forms, you can either advance straight into weaponry or into other styles of Tánglángquán.
Eight Step Praying Mantis is one of the two styles that formally introduce the basics of Tánglángquán. While it is seen to be used seldom in the martial arts community, there are still many who look to it for guidance and Wu-Tan's interests align with its own Bājíquán style. There are places for when Qī Xīng Tánglángquán is needed and performed, but Eight Step Praying Mantis is taught more commonly to beginners after Tán Tuǐ since the previous form already loosens the body enough to where students can expect to develop more strength without being stiff. It also focuses on precision and clarity, so that the form looks like there is actual strength instead of hitting nowhere. Eight Step Praying Mantis still, in accordance with its name "Praying Mantis, utilizes several techniques such as hooks, chops, back-fist strikes, and uppercuts but are visibly distinct from many styles and rarely use the infamous "Mantis" hooks at all. Many of its movements are similar to Bājíquán and Wing Chun.
A Wu-Tan student can expect to follow a curriculum after showing mastery in Tán Tuǐ. The curriculum consists of mastering single techniques that will show up in forms and demonstrating their mastery in it. This usually takes up to one or more lessons. After taking the curriculum, the student is expect to first learn Jī Běn Tángláng for the basics. Qī Sǒ teaches students early-on ways to trip your opponent. Lì Pī will review what they had learnt in the first two forms and introduce more techniques, this time, exclusive to Eight Step Praying Mantis: sweeps, joint locks, and stomping. After displaying mastery on all three forms, the student will be tested with a form named "Tzà Chué" that reviews all techniques in a fluid yet clear motion that displays precision, strength, and speed all at the same time. This also prepares you for weaponry and Bājíquan. Tzà Chué demands rigorous physical strength and endurance in order to perform, which is why precision and strength should be more emphasized at the beginning of the student's journey. Afterward, Lián Huán would be an optional yet challenging form for many students invested in Bājíquán and is part of the more recent Bājí-Tánglángquán.
Origins of 8-Step 八步的起源[]
After Wang Lang (王朗) had overseen a praying mantis' ways of trapping its prey despite being smaller, his curiosity had peaked. Ever since then, Wang Lang created a style named "Seven Star Praying Mantis" in the Shandong providence after absorbing all the knowledge he knew. His style influenced Chinese martial arts throughout the 17th century up to this day. Since then, many styles have been created for the sole purpose of perfecting Wang Lang's Praying Mantis style. Six Harmony Praying Mantis, also known as Liùhéquán, was invented by Liùhé, who had argued that the Six Harmonies contributed to its flow and wouldn't be true kung fu otherwise. The six harmonies were divided evenly into two: internal and external. Internal harmonies focused on your mind with intent, intent with chi, and chi with force. Meanwhile, external harmonies focused on your shoulder with the hip, the elbow with the knee, and the hand with the foot. This would diverge the lineage into two: internal and external styles. Eight Step Praying Mantis was one of the external styles.
During his training, Jiang, now known formerly as Master Jiang Hua Long, had already studied Chángquán, Tong Bei from Wang Zhong Qing, and both Bāguà and Xìng Yì Quán from Chen De Shan. From his experience and knowledge of kung fu, he experimented with the Eight Step Praying Mantis style. There were originally six forms but other sets of exercises became included as well with this newfound style. There was recorded backlash against this style such as from Song Zide, a friend of Jiang Hua Long. He disapproved of the notion that another style was necessary, firmly stating that they should teach generations the same way it has always been taught. Nevertheless, Jiang Hua Long went to teach the style to a few people he knew since he had confidence in this newfound style. Among his disciples was Feng Huanyi, who he had quickly appointed to teach the style to others after his deeth. After his death, he would implement more techniques from other styles he recollected. The next generation had refined the sole principles, but in addition, would offer Chín Ná from Eagle Claw and groundwork techniques from Shuai Jiao. The living grandmaster of the 8-Step system would teach a few more disciples before passing all the knowledge down to Wei Xiao Tang.
who is practicing Di Tang, a style that develops groundwork.
Grandmaster Wei Xiao Tang would revolutionize the 8-Step system throughout his years alone afterward. Before he was passed down the knowledge, he was instructed kung fu by his father, which he soon had grown a reveling interest in. His father had taught him Wu Tai Chi, Di Tang, and three sets of Praying Mantis. Once he met Feng Huanyi, he had been given a preview of what his teaching was like. The master asked to spar the body, just to see what he's made of. While the boy did put up a better fight than expected, Feng had soon knocked him to the ground. Their first interaction was when the boy refused to get up, hoping Feng would approach closer to utilize Di Tang. Instead, Feng would ridicule the boy stating that "an honorable man fought from his feet". Ever since, the boy had trained with him for four years. During that time period, he developed exceptional speed and strength and became familiar with the essence of the 8-Step system. After staying in Korea, he would move to Taiwan, become the undisputed best martial artist in Eight Step Praying Mantis, and had spread the knowledge of its presence in that country.
Jī Běn Tángláng 基本螳螂[]
Basic Mantis, also referred to as Jī Běn Tángláng, may be taught first in Praying Mantis systems. The students are taught this form after completing the basic exercises as shown from the first chapter. Basic Mantis is split into six different sections, as to help ease students into the form without overwhelming them. The six divided sections differentiate one from another but attempt to teach many of the same principles. Throughout all of the form, it attacks from different levels of elevation. Because Mantis is designed to attack higher and lower fluidly, this teaches students that including variety in elevation with your attacks will help throw your opponent off what they usually expect. As such, this is more of a mind game, which keeps the opponent guessing and thinking while you keep attacking.
During the existence of Wu-Tan Bājíquán, teachers used to just teach Qī Sǒ and beyond. However, Marlon Ma felt that the concepts of pressing, chopping, and arm swings needed to be more emphasized and will help refine techniques from the Eight Step Praying Mantis. David Chiang would later reinforce Marlon Ma's form and would do a simple yet effective job on teaching the basics of the 8-Step system. Some teachers would ignore this form but others would also include it in their Wu-Tang system.
1st Section: This section of the form introduces presses and chops. After chops, the section teaches students one way to follow up after a chop.
2nd Section: This section of the form introduces the importance of sliding into Ma Bu. While sliding, there is also emphasis on pulling back one hand to generate more power through your other hand.
3rd Section: This section of the form introduces arm swings that pulls towards you. The attack also includes a way of striking back in case pulling back your arm doesn't strike.
4th Section: This section of the form introduces a new variation of a kick. It involves grabbing a part of the body and kicking downwards towards the knee or shin.
5th Section: This section of the form introduces forward arm swings. They are nicknamed "Rolling Fists". After the rolling fist, the section also introduces the concept of moving away from your opponent but also attacking with a kick. This happens by grabbing someone's arm while sliding into Ma Bu and jumping away from the person to slide into Ma Bu. The first two moves are very similar to the 1st section, but there is no force that the hip uses.
6th Section: This section of the form introduces a key factor of generating power, known as stomping. Stomping allows you to reposition faster and generate more power from your whole body. The section also includes a different way of sliding into Ma Bu, known as "Ma Bu Push". Instead of facing your body towards where you are striking, you face yourself away and push the opponent with your back.
While easing into the 4th section, the student practices kicking and grabbing for one whole session before actually learning the section. The 5th section also requires the student to practice forward arm swings and a new kick for another session. The 6th section is taught first without stomping. Instead, the student goes into a stance while mimicking holding a ball of air. Then, they step onto the ground and punch. Once they can do the 6th section fully and confidently, the student is taught about stomping.
Qī Sǒ 七隻手[]
Qī Sǒ, also referred to as Seven Hands, is a form taught after Basic Mantis is done for a certain amount of times and the student has shown their mastery. This is the first full form where the students don't learn by sections. Instead, they are taught the form as a whole. While it is shorter than Basic Mantis and Tán Tuǐ, it requires the student to memorize more rather than memorizing it as sections. Qī Sǒ is infamous for its ways to trip your opponent through joint locks. It is not inherently useful on its own, but its significance will be realized when they reach the level of Bājíquán. Qī Sǒ is also the first form to introduce a new stance: Bànxūbù, a Xūbù stance with the front foot fully on the ground. Master David Chiang prefers to call the stance "heavy Xūbù". To complete the form, you have to do it for a repetition of four times before doing the fifth side partially to end out the form. Every time you complete a repetition, alternate your moves, as in mirror the moves from your previous repetition.
The form commences with the stance, "Bánxūbù" with both fists uppercutting. After starting off strong, the student would hook and sidestep to throw off the opponent. Once they are thrown off, the student would be out of their vision while striking them. The main lesson of Qī Sǒ, however, is teaching the student to trip. Qī Sǒ educates the student about concepts such as "scissoring", "joint locks", and "sweeps". These two basic techniques are featured throughout all methods of tripping. The student will perform a chop, stomp, block, and do a flat kick before going on to the next repetition.
There are three basic techniques a student this level has to know in order to trip someone.
Scissoring - A technique where you cross your leg next to their foot and then push their body to where they are forced to drop to the ground. You can cross your leg against one or two feet, but make sure to avoid the common mistake of crossing one and a half legs. Crossing one and a half legs will not only release the grasp of the front leg but the glutes and the Gluteus Maximus are extremely easy to rebalance. The leg can only cross one or two of your opponent's legs. Make sure your leg is bent to prevent injury to your knee. After your leg is successfully grasped onto the other leg, you need to involve your arm during the process. If your leg crosses in front, position your arm behind the opponent and perform the arm motion. If your leg crosses from the back, position your arm in front of the opponent and perform the arm motion, likewise.
Joint Locks - A technique where you inhibit the mobility of a certain joint to where they can no longer hold their stance and fall. There are a variety of joint locks ranging from common to situational. Pulling off a joint lock will allow you to put them in a position where they are easily vulnerable to falling or weaken them to where they will be off their balance.
Sweeps - A technique where you directly attack the legs by sweeping with your other leg, pushing it to an unnatural position so they are off balance and drop to the ground. To properly sweep, make sure to hit the arch with the foot and pull slightly upward since the foot is surprisingly exhausting to sweep. Instead, make contact with the ankle. It is more exhausting to sweep a supposed heavier person, so this is only recommended for opponents your weight or lower. However, sweeps are the easiest ways to trip someone and are sneaky when performed. You won't find sweeps in this form, but you will find it in Lì Pī. But before moving on to that, you have to know the two types of sweeps that are utilized in the Wu-Tan system.
An unknown man performs a sweep while testing for Lì Pī. During this time, Tony Yang observed his form. His picture was later used for the profile picture of Wu-Tan Bajiquan on Facebook.
'Spoon-Type' Sweep - A sweep that involves you standing up while doing a low kick on the ankle, then bending the leg and pulling it up so the leg is off-ground and the opponent is thrown off balance. Make sure to not relax the ankle that will elevate so the leg is more likely to arise.
Spinning Sweep - A sweep that involves going to the ground in Pu Bu and exerting enough speed on the leg that's sweeping so that the opponent is thrown off balance. Make sure to drop your hands to the ground 90 degrees more to whatever direction you're sweeping to generate more speed. Time the leg so that it goes slightly upward to hit the ankle.
Lì Pī 厲批[]
Lì Pī is a form taught after Basic Mantis and Qī Sǒ is done for a certain amount of times and the student has shown their mastery. This is the first full form where the whole form is only performed once before closing out. Along with reviewing the principles learned in Basic Mantis and Qī Sǒ, it introduces more concepts such as sweeps, finger chops, joint locks, grounded scissor trips, and more utilization of stomps. It is a less intensive collection of Tzà Chué and everything Eight Step Praying Mantis has to offer. While the style certainly focuses on strength and precision, Lì Pī has a certain fluidity that actually makes it easy to speed up whereas other forms can be a bit awkward to speed up in. This is why, during this time around, students are expected to factor in speed along with the other two factors that the 8-Step system focuses on. Lì Pī also shares segments of the form with Qī Sǒ that are not only similar but are interchangeable. This leads to some students performing Lì Pī to copying movements from Qī Sǒ. Part of the difficulty is rewiring your brain to advance to one out of many sequences instead of what you're used to. Regardless, Lì Pī ends up being one of the more advanced forms that are still strikingly similar to other basic forms. Before students are taught Lì Pī, they can expect to take up a lesson or more for mastering sweeps, especially since the form demands a double sweep in succession.
A snippet of Master Tsou recording himself performing Lì Pī in the forest.
The form commences with the student pushing down to the right, which is to represent a method of counterattacking a kick. The student then hooks, presses, and rushes forward to punch. Next, the form makes a turnaround, which represents that this form can be used for defending against two opponents attacking from opposite directions. The student then strikes with the wrist and swiftly blocks by stomping. After the student throws two fist strikes, the student's arm that the opponent is grabbing is cleared with the other arm. Once the student does a chop, the student performs a forward arm swing, repositions with a stomp, and does a finger chop. They sidestep out of the way, perform a new grounded trip, and slap the face. The hand that slapped it goes back to the hip while the student elbows, performs a forward arm swing, does another turnaround, and hooks onto the opponent's shoulders to do a flat kick. The students proceeds to perform one of the joint lock methods and then another. After more fist strikes, the student stomps to generate force in the uppercut. Next, they perform another trip, do two arm swings, grab the opponent with two hands with the help of the wrist, and perform a double sweep. After sweeping, they uppercut once more before blocking downwards, throw more fist strikes, and grab the opponent to kick them while sliding into Ma Bu. Once the sequence is done, they perform two more hooks before closing out of the form.
The key concepts that were newly introduced in Lì Pī are exclusive to Eight Star Praying Mantis. They are specifically: finger chops, sweeps, joint locks, grounded scissor trips, and stomping to quickly reposition.
Finger Chops - A finger chop is a technique that involves grabbing, optimally, just one finger and moving your body away from the opponent so they move due to their fingers being held onto. Afterward, you hit it with the side of your hand.
Spinning Sweep - A spinning sweep is a type of sweep that involves exerting strength from your sweeping leg to hit the opponent's leg just enough that they will be off-balance. For more details, read the section "Qī Sǒ" where it talks about sweeps.
Joint Locks - The joint lock presented in Lì Pī is an elbow lock. To do it, grab the opponent's arm tightly. Then, press and grab down one or two inches away from the elbow. The closer the arm is to you, the more likely it is that they can't get up. Make sure that your thumb of the hand is pressing near the elbow instead of the four fingers. This will provide a tighter and more secure grip.
Grounded Scissor Trip - The grounded scissor trip presented in Lì Pī has you chop the opponent's leg with your arms while your legs are locked behind theirs. This is what makes a scissor. Once you exert enough force, they will fall.
Stomping - While stomping was introduced in Jī Běn Tángláng to generate more force, stomping in Lì Pī, while it does admittedly do that, also provides a new use for it and that is to reposition. When needing to flip sides, oftentimes, a full step may be too long and evasive. Taking the offensive in the 8-Step system is a stomp that allows students to reposition whatever side their body is facing, which can prove useful for a multitude of reasons.
Tzà Chué 推進錘[]
Tzà Chué, also referred to as "Thrusting Hammer", is the final essential form taught after doing Basic Mantis, Qī Sǒ, and Lì Pī a certain amount of times and the student has shown their mastery. Tzà Chué, unlike all of the other forms, is way more physically demanding like Bājíquán. Certain students that inhibit a physical disability may qualify for bypassing the form. However, it is still required to complete another form of equal challenge to advance. To perform Tzà Chué, you'll also want to perform the seven stances from Jī Běn Gōng correctly since you can injure yourself badly without proper knowledge of how to do it correctly. Tzà Chué is a tad bit difficult to explain in words, so you can watch the video by clicking the link if you need a briefing on what it looks like. In theory, the form focuses on continuous explosive power, as Marlon Ma explained it, like a roller coaster.
Many people visualize that with more power in each hit is a loss in speed, which helps the opponent defend correctly. Tzà Chué focuses on recycling the body's energy on each hit, like a roller coaster reusing its energy after the first drop. However, just like your breathing, or the drops on a rollercoaster, it is important to time such energy. Knowing when to transform passive energy into kinetic energy and vice versa can set you apart from a mediocre performance to a great performance and so on. Acknowledging these physics can empower you to become a better martial artist and can squeeze every bit of potential from your physical strength.
The form, along with the concepts its predecessors introduced, advanced more concepts such as having continuous uppercuts, mid-air elbow lock, alternating arm swings, Ba Shi kicks, sweeps, and double kicks. The first move of the form is often the most puzzling to get so students can expect to take a lesson or more to understand the mid-air elbow lock. All in all, while it is flashy, they are inherently revamped concepts used from its predecessors in a more fluent way. After Tzà Chué, students move on to weaponry or other styles after doing this form for a certain amount of times and has shown their mastery in it.
Lián Huán 連環拳[]
Lián Huán, also referred to as Interlinked Boxing, is an optional form that you can perform if you choose to invest your journey into Bājí-Tánglángquán. It is taught long after Tzà Chué, weaponry, Xiǎojià, and Dǎ Bā Jí. This is the chained and more advanced version of Lián Bù, which is a fundamental set of Shaolin kung fu. According to its origins from a Shaolin temple, Lián Huán connects the links between different forms. Lián Bù is one of the few basic forms practiced from an ancient Dragon style, likely relating to Tán Tuǐ. Whereas Shaolin forms regularly focus on fluidity, Wu-Tan Bājíquán emphasized more of the moves for a breath or more to fully represent the force of each strike.
劉雲樵大師 八極連環拳(Baji Lian Huan Quan Grandmaster Liu Yun Qia )
The form commences in the stance of Xūbù as the student reaches out. The student then stomps forward and concentrating each force into a single strike. The student repeats for two more repetitions, each repetition alternating the side the body is facing. Then, the other arm that isn't striking pulls back to the hip and strikes. After that, the students sneakily strikes back with the inactive arm while sliding away into Ma Bu. The student side steps and performs a push. The student stomps in the direction they are cruising towards and performs an elbow lock, as shown in Lì Pī. This is done one more time before pulling the striking arm to the head. Then, the student performs the double stomp from Dǎ Bā Jí before turning around and doing another elbow lock. Then, the front arm pulls back and stomps into a strike. They return into the stance of Xūbù, push downward, and striking with the wrist like in Lì Pī. The student grabs with the emphasis of pulling on with the fingers of Mantis and creating an upward circular motion before leaning into Ma Bu. After that, the student returns to the second stance of Jingang Ba Shi. The student strikes and pulls two more times before closing out the form.
While it shares almost identical qualities to Bong Bu, performing the form correctly requires advanced understanding and mastery of Pīguàquán and Tánglángquán. This is shown by utilizing precise movements generated by the shoulders, hips, and legs in harmony. The form works through rigorous control of your body's movement and how to optimize that movement into a small surface area, since a small surface area has more pressure than a larger one. Ultimately, this is to prepare students for the level of being "combat-ready", and induces the next phase of the body: sharpening. Along with its external factors in what makes the form so strong, its internal factors such as Jin (勁) helps concentrate the mind on the intent of such force. Without the three internal harmonies, the whole notion becomes sloppy, which is why although Eight Step Praying Mantis is externally focused, a combination of the two makes for the best of both worlds. It requires an advanced understanding and mastery of Míng Jìn (明勁), which consists of: Sanjin, Xujin, Cunjin, and Neijin. At this point, you'll start to see that all biomechanics of Bājíquán work because of the understanding of kinematic physics and anatomy of the body. Achieving this level could take 5+ years of training after showing skill and mastery in both Chángquán and Tánglángquán.
Chín Ná 擒拿[]
Chín Ná is offered in addition to Eight Step Praying Mantis and is an assortment of sets added from Eagle Claw after Feng Huanyi implemented it. All sets of Chín Ná aim for one objective: to counterattack an opponent grabbing you. It is referred to as the most painful technique in the 8-Step system, since while some don't technically cause any physical health problems to your opponent, the amount of pain caused by this technique is far too irresistible to ignore. It involves mostly "joint locks", a way to neutralize the opponent's fighting ability by locking their muscles, tendons, or bones. While sets do vary such as ones being standing-oriented, while others work on groundwork, it is important to note that there is no universally agreed upon Chín Ná system and no set is the best out of all. It is especially tedious to decide when 108 sets of Chín Ná from Eagle Claw exist. Chín Ná sets, however, have been agreed upon to categorize into five groups.
Fenjin - A category that focuses on dividing the muscle, tendon, or both.
Cuogu - A category that focuses on forcing bones into incorrect positions, usually applying to joints.
Biqi - A category that focuses on sealing the respiration, which are the muscles surrounding the lungs and windpipe.
Dianmai - A category that focuses on sealing the vein, artery, or both.
Roudao - A category that focuses on activating certain nerves, which cause pain, but are deemed safe in terms of physical harm.
Roudao is safe for sparring and training purposes, but exercise the techniques from the other four lightly.
Bājí-Tánglángquán 八隻螳螂[]
With the help of Liu Yun Qiao, Su-Yu Chang's Secret Door Praying Mantis has now made way to not just learn two separate styles, but combining the best of both into a unique style of Bājí and Mantis. Students are now able to transition into Bājí easier with Mantis styles closely resembling Bājíquán. The style itself has also assisted in transitioning to this newfound fusion style with forms such as: Bong Bu and Lián Huán. There have also been instances where Wu-Tang institutions also opted to do "Continuous Infinite Baji Boxing 八極羅漢戳脚拳" (English: Baji Arhat kick-punch). This happens when you combine continuous strikes with the depth of Bājí and rapid footwork from Praying Mantis styles.
Su-Yu Chang has brought many types of Praying Mantis styles into the field of Wu-Tan Bājíquán, such as Qī Xīng Tánglángquán, Bābùquán, and Liùhé. Since most Wu-Tang institutions have vowed to not establish any more forms, it begs the question of what Bājíquán will transform into at Wu-Tan after Mí Mén Tánglángquán (Secret Door Praying Mantis).
