007 - Replace and Attack

Sometimes when you've crossed hands, instead of using a pak sau to blow down their defense and make an opening for your punch to enter, you can instead place the pack sau on their arm to replace the force and not give them the signal that you're moving. Think Indian Jones replacing the golden idol with a bag of sand. They apply pressure, and you just sneakily transfer that pressure to your other hand, freeing your primary hand to attack or maneuver.

006 - Roll off; Don't Collapse

When an attack threatens to collapse your bong sau or tan sau, roll it away without allowing it to get closer to you. Don't collapse the block, don't push it awy, and don't throw it off. Just turn the body and redirect the attack along your circle.

005 - Three Energies

One art. Three kung fu brothers. Three different styles of fighting.

Stanley is classic Hung Gar: his internals are so intense that when he's moving forward, he's unstoppable. It's like he's hydraulic. His way of bridging is very subtle and very sophisticated. He can break your defense, get a leverage advantage, and attack your weak points and while you can see it happening, it's very hard to compensate for it.

Jerome is like change in motion. He soft like water until he decides to hit you. He doesn't muscle you. He takes whatever opening you give him and adapts his fighting immediately. His philosophy is listen just enough so that you know their energy, but don't let them actually get off any techniques. You don't care to see them.

Alix is about maximum sensing and control of position. He feels like he's using strength all the time, but it's more like he's constantly loading his offense with your energy to allow him to spring forward. He doesn't believe in meeting somebody soft--to him it's an opening. He meets you hard and solid, but under that he's still hyper aware and listening. If tai chi is metal wrapped in silk, Alix is spring steel--hard but pliant.

I feel like I have a lot to learn from Alix. Jerome can do that because he sees all. He knows what you're trying to do and bails to compensate and attack on a new angle or whatever. I can't get away with that all the time. I use it in the most primitive way, which is bail when you sense a battle of strength beginning or when you're getting tied up.

Learning Alix's technique will all me to be more discriminating about when to bail and what to do to respond to different attacks.

004 - Gon Sau Tan Sau

When someone pulls down your arm, recover your line by relaxing your arm, then turning in your wrist to bring up a tan sau. Do not pull or push... just rotate and rise to recover your centerline and defense.

003 - Zero Sum Power

Alix's defense is oriented around exactly matching your opponent's force. No matter the distance, do not push or yield because both give your opponent energy they can manipulate. Meet them and cancel or redirect their energy without pushing them away or letting them in to your space. When they are light, you are light. When they are heavy, you are firm. When they are overwhelming, you are redirecting--not collapsing.

002 - Triangle Splitting Force

Build your chi by standing in a neutral stance and slowly extending your Taan Sau or Fook Sau. Start with your hand at your sternum and extend the Taan Sau as slowly as possible--a 100 count is a good starting point. During the entire exercise, focus on the following three things:

1. The structure of your Taan Sau and your stance
2. Feeling your body expanding--squeeze your fingers together and feel them streching out toward a distant target. Feel your chi behind your elbow pushing your arm forward.
3. Feel the splitting energy: the two points of your feet bracing your buttocks and channelling energy forward into your hand like a funnel.

001: Monkey Footwork

The legend has it that Northern Mantis is made of mantis hands and monkey footwork. Monkey footwork. Monkey. I've seen a lot of mantis videos both on YouTube and on tapes that I've bought from various instructors including the Mantis Conference DVD set from mantisquarterly.com. I'm not sure I see the monkey-ness in the footwork.



Does Northern Mantis have a characteristic footwork style? When I watch videos, people usually plod along on their legs. Their hands are fast, but their legs are a sluggish afterthought. In monkey videos, the legs and body move rapidly, rushing over the ground, stepping lightly, and lashing out sharply and violently. Should the lower half of the body in Northern Mantis be as quick and deadly as the upper half?

Let's try it!