Enter the Mantis: Interview with Will, a traditional kung fu practitioner

My name is Cristiano and I’ve been living and working in China for ten years. In my spare time I love writing and outdoor exercise (PM 2.5 permitting).

I met Will Wain-Williams three years ago, and we immediately became friends. Will is a vigorous martial artist, as well as a tea expert. One of our favorite pastime was spending long hours sipping Chinese tea while discussing about travels or, sometimes, bitching about China.

Will runs Monkey Steals Peach, a website full of information on China, where he talks about his experience with traditional kung fu and his passion for Chinese tea.

Today, in this first article I publish for SDC, I’ll interview him.

Will, you have been training in kung fu for several years. Is this the main reason for which you moved to China?

Yes it is, I had been learning Wing Chun in the UK for several years, and from a young age had always been fascinated by Chinese culture. In 2007 I signed up for a volunteer program in Xi’an, which is where my China journey started.

You train in a particular style called “Mantis” (Tang Lang Quan, 螳螂拳. Can you tell us more about it?

Mantis is a native style to the eastern peninsula of Shandong. It was born in the rural county of Laiyang, between Yantai and Qingdao during the Ming dynasty. Much of its early history is shrouded in mystery, but it can be said to be a combination of the best strategies and techniques of many indigenous martial arts to the region, which has seen its fair share of war and bloodshed throughout history.

The Mantis style has little to do with actually mimicking an insect, instead it takes the principle of how a mantis catches its prey. It uses lightning speed to strike out, and then latch its claws onto the opponent. So we use the principles of Nian (sticking), Feng (sealing) and Gou (hooking) when defending.

As for attacking, we focus on deception, feinting high to strike low, or using a strike to set up a throw. We can use any part of our body as a weapon, such as the head, knees, elbows, even shoulders and hips. The style trains many weapons, common to all Chinese martial arts, such as sabre, spear and staff. However our specialty is the double handed sword, which requires a high level to utilize.

After a period of wandering through China, three years ago you settled down in Yantai to train with a famous master called Zhou Zhen Dong. How was this experience?

I had trained with many people in China, but the one thing that struck me about Zhou Shifu was the fact he will say “I don’t know”, rather than make up some crap to keep face. This gives much more credit to the things he does know.

Zhou Shifu is the sole inheritor of the Taiji style of Mantis passed down through Master Cui Shou Shan, one of the two fighters of Shandong province in the Kuomintang period.
Source: http://www.saporedicina.com/english/enter-the-mantis-interview-with-a-kung-fu-practitioner/