The Complete Guide to Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu

The book is one of few books written and able to find on the subject of the praying mantis systems. The reader is given a basic overview of the art with some illustrations. I would reccomend it as a supplemental source of knowledge.

This book has some great endurance building exercises however I feel like there is more to be learned about praying mantis style that is not shown in this book there may even be stretches that are specific to it but there are 8 exercises which are shown, some hand positions and a few kicks it’s good enough for me none of the kicks are too difficult compared others that stretch your leg above your head. But it’s worth getting if you want to start training your body. there are other styles mixed in to praying mantis like monkey and it doesn’t go into detail about the styles so you would also have to study monkey from another book or source but he gives you some basics which you need to get started.

Exceptional all the way thru, I'ma martial arts expert of many ,just wanted to add on to my skills,and unfortunately I got to use these praying mantis skills recently and saved my life. This person was harassing kids,parents,me ,he was arrested and had warrants for drugs.so when I say praying mantis works on the streets,it does!!

This book is very good for beginners to this style. It has a clear, concise and above all -accurate- history that focuses more on fact than mythology; the principles of the style are all laid out, the warm-ups and their names so you can find the complete series elsewhere, the stances and why you should do them, the footwork methods and how they tail into the stances, as well as the kicking techniques. The book included the hand positions, but lacked the striking techniques, so I couldn't consider this a -complete- guide, but I definately recommend it for beginners in Northern Mantis Kung Fu and those who just like to read about it.There were a couple of formatting problems - some of the stances weren't completely explained and some names were used that weren't referenced anywhere in the book, but you could still figure out what to do from the pictures. About the usual quality for martial arts instruction books, though.-------------------------------So, looking back on this book a while after purchasing it, I can make a definite remark. The exercises are bogus. If you follow them as instructed, you -will- hurt yourself. Possibly quite a bit. I would recommend this more as a curiosity item than an actual training guide.

Great Mantis book for the price. Contains many exercises and stances that are very helpful for a budding Mantis stylist. The footwork section is a little confusing but decipherable. This book does not contain any info on strikes, although if you master all the stances and perform the very useful exercises you'll be off to a very good start with Mantis or Chinese martial arts in general.

With a title like The Complete Guide to Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, one might expect a large comprehensive volume detailing the intricacies of the style. Thus it is perhaps suprising to find that the book is only 163 pages long. Still, the reader could surmise that the author is perhaps quite efficient in his use of space. This volume is not such a work. To be sure, the author not only has noble reasons for writing the book (to preserve the teachings of two great masters largely unknown to the western world), but he also stresses the necessity of mastering the basic stances, footwork, kicks, etc. In this way, the book is a huge success. I could not agree more that newcomers to Northern Praying Mantis need to master the fundamentals. However, something still seems to be missing.The book is anything but "complete." There is no discussion of how the various systems of Northern Mantis correspond/differ from each other. For example, what is the difference between Seven Star Mantis and 8-Step? No such discussion is found in what is supposed to be a complete guide. Very little is mentioned at all about forms training. Again, I completely agree that the beginner should not start with forms training, but one would expect a significant discussion in a "complete" guide. Another suprising absence is any mention of weapons training. As a newcomer to Mantis myself, I would have benefited greatly from such a discussion. But it is wanting.In the final analysis, the title of the book does not correspond to the contents nor to the stated intention of the writer in the introduction (pp. 3-7). If the title had simply been different, perhaps this review would be unnecessary. But as a beginner to Northern Mantis, but not a beginner to Chinese martial arts, I expected much more than this book delivers. It is an excellent guide to the basics, but it is far from being the complete guide to Northern Praying Mantis.

what I would have like to have seen is a more in depth look at say maybe the basic forms of the northern mantis systems or perhaps the southern mantis system still all in all a very good read

As someone who has been in the martial arts since 1968, who has won championships and taught world class fighters and champions (both traditional and kickboxing) and, who has studied four branches of Praying Mantis Kung Fu (been co-president of a North American Mantis Kung Fu association and Canadian rep for another Mantis Kung Fu association out of China) all I can say is, don't waste your money on this book. I really don't like to speak ill of another martial artist or their work but I also would not want someone new to this art to think this book represents good Praying Mantis Kung Fu. The fact is, when it comes to martial arts books, this has to be the saddest book I have ever seen. The information is lacking and the pictures show very poor martial arts stances and postures. If the author is good at martial arts, and he may be, it sure does not come across in the book. If you are a beginner at martial arts or Praying Mantis Kung Fu specifically, then look elsewhere for information. If you are a seasoned martial artist, you will feel really duped, once you see this book, if you buy it.... that is how I felt.

Was worth it

J'ai adoré ce livre. J'aime travailler en solo et j'aime les livres. Étant doublement attiré par le TaiChi Chuan et par le Kung fu de la mante religieuse, j'ai trouvé ce compromis, une synthèse entre les deux. C'est clair, facile et les techniques sont très belles. Le tour d'horizon est assez complet. Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas le Tai Chi toutefois, il vaudrait mieux se munir d'un livre de référence car les renvoies aux différents mouvements de tai Chi sont nombreux et le néophyte s'y perdra. Autrement, un livre très bien fait.

Basical movment and exercises of Tang lang

The history and basic strategy or mantis is well explained here. The trouble is in explanation of techniques. He references tai chi constantly, while leaving out important mantis guidance such as hand techniques. He asks the reader to simply look at the kicking pictures really closely to understand hand techniques, but doesn't fail to bring up tai chi. An egregious example is on pg 37, on snapping where he writes 4 lines about it, then writes 8 lines about tai chi. Why?Lastly, I found the pictures to be difficult, because he wears black pants, making it impossible to differentiate them in any part where they cross. I assume I can use the names and look them up on youtube, but it would be preferable if I didn't need to.

The most complete book of martial arts and culture I have read. Kung Fu Praying Mantis is the best of