History of Bamboo Forest Temple Mantis
A young Master Wong
with Grandmaster
Yang Yin |
Bamboo Forest Temple Southern Mantis Kung Fu
was founded by Red Eyebrow Taoist during the Ming Dynasty,
around the year 1523 AD,
and was first practised in the Kong Sai Bamboo Forest Temple.
The history of the style is as follows : during that time, 2 kung
fu
brothers known as Red Eyebrow and Pakmei (White Eyebrow), both
Taoists,
were both known to reside at the temple. It should be said that
during this time, both Taoists and Buddhists trained together,
and
it was for this reason that Taoists were found practising in
a Buddhist temple. Pakmei was the senior of the two kung fu brothers,
and in
martial arts contests between the monks in the temple, Pakmei
would
always be victorious and Red Eyebrow would always be defeated.
Because
of this, Red Eyebrow was always searching for new techniques
with which to defeat Pakmei, but all were unsuccessful. Red Eyebrow
was
in charge of looking after the temple and maintaining it, and
Pakmei
was given the task of preaching outside the temple.
It was during one such time when Pakmei was on one of his preaching
missions, that Red Eyebrow founded his system of Southern Mantis
Kung Fu. Red Eyebrow had gone into the surrounding Kwong Sai
bamboo
forest which engulfed the temple, in order to achieve a state
of serene peace which would allow him to deal with the temple's
many
problems. While lying down in the shade of bamboo tree, he was
struck on the arm by a mantis whose claw had made a small gash
in his flesh,
which then began to bleed. Naturally, by instinct, he pushed
the mantis away with his other hand, and attended to his minor
wound.
He was surprised at such an attack by an insect just 3 inches
in length, but even more so by the way in which the mantis had
assumed
a defensive posture after being pushed aside. It did not run
away and hide but was prepared to fight. Red Eyebrow then returned
to
the temple, much intrigued by the courage and power of the mantis.
The Founding of a Style
During one of his subsequent outings in the forest, Red Eyebrow
again saw a mantis. This time he watched as the mantis fought and
killed another insect, known to the Chinese as a cicada. It then
proceeded to consume it limb by limb. Red Eyebrow was much impressed
by the skill and strength with which the mantis had defeated its
opponent, and by the power of the mantis claw, which in one strike
had cracked the cicada's protective armour. Red Eyebrow then proceeded
to trap and capture the mantis, and then returned to the temple
with the insect in his possession. Then he played with it, prodding
it with a stick and studying its reactions, taking careful note
of them. From these, he developed new techniques and the making
of a new system. Pakmei returned after 1 year of preaching, and
a new martial arts contest was arranged. This time, using his new
techniques, Red Eyebrow defeated his older Kung Fu brother and was
at last victorious. Pakmei, seeing the merits of this new style,
proceeded to help his brother to build up his skill and power, and
over the years Red Eyebrow refined and improved his system. However,
it was decided not to teach the system outside the temple, as it
was too dangerous, aggressive and lethal. It was adopted by the
temple for its own defence and that of its monks. That's why, nowadays
in the Pakmei kung fu system, a lot of the techniques, e.g. the
Phoenix Fist are similar to the Mantis style. In that time the Bamboo
Forest Temple Southern Mantis style was only taught to the temple,
and nowadays it is only taught to people who speak the Hak Ga dialect.
This means that the style is not being taught openly to all the
public. Even the fact that you are Chinese, doesn't mean that you
can learn. Master Wong experienced this, that's why he feels really
honoured. If something is too easy to obtain, people will not treasure
it. Just as when you go to a karate or tai kwon do club, and there
are 50 or 60 people in the class, how can the instructor look after
them more individually?
The Sharing of Knowledge
Long after the death of both Pakmei and Red Eyebrow, once the
system had been completely developed, a man called Chung Yui Ghung
entered the temple as a monk and learned the Bamboo Forest Temple
style from another monk known as Buddha Lee. After many years training,
he finally mastered the system and left the temple to teach the
new style to those who became his students. Among them was a man
named Wong Yu Gong, who later taught and promoted the style in Hong
Kong. After his death, one of his top students, to whom he had taught
all the secrets of his mantis system, Master Yang Yin, moved to
Great Britain, bringing his great knowledge and vast experience
with him. It was here that he taught Master Kim Law who in turn
taught Sifu Simon Wong the style of Bamboo Forest Temple Southern
Praying Mantis Kung Fu. This system can also be found in America
where one of Cheung Yui Ghung's students known as Grandmaster Lum
Sang settled and founded his own branch of the system.
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