K.S.Hsiung Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu from Calcutta,India

[LoveMeSomeSarcasm]

Just like Toph ^_^

[arsworld]

Nice tao, but please stop that music..

[krntiger81]

Your face shows determination and you show strength/power in your moves. I applaud you!!

[JFSpringer]

Nicely done sets ... the gentleman in the first part of the video demonstrates very good connection - whole body power production.

[Pakua4581]

@351brock,thank you ,opinions vary

[351brock]

2 words , form average

[egeniustv]

@blumey16 nothern mantis is based on long range fighting where as southern is based on close range

[hi8959]

Very skilled teachers and devoted martail artists. Good luck!

[artistickone]

I would like to know more about the "energy building" forms and what you know about prana and energy work, in general. thank you for your reply

[Pakua4581]

@artistickone The energy work in classical Chinese Martial Arts ( not the modern Wushu rubbish)is highly detailed,i.e you can not separate the chikung with the fighting aspects,the energy work is what powers the fighting aspects.The first form that is presented here is a perfect balance of yin/yang that is hard and soft energies,the body structure and breathing combined with the actions work on developing the chi.

[artistickone]

are you working with prana?

[Pakua4581]

@artistickone

The complete first form 'Kiu Bu Jun' demonstrated here is an energy building form,i.e training chi/prana

[abhijitb38]

I would like to know from which place this video is taken. Can I learn this art, which seems to be very different.

[pauldomino]

@abhijitb38 "Pei Moiy school in Tangra (Chinatown) of Calcutta,India"

[blumey16]

Whats the difference between northern and southern prey mantis fist?

[berg89dk]

@blumey16 Like most Southern vs. Northern cases, a lot can be explained in the mere physiological differences between the Southern and Northern ppl. Northern people were generally taller, and thus practice MAs with long range leg movements, and acrobatics, whereas Southern ppl tended to be shorter, their styles focus more on close quarter fast hand movement.

[henh32]

Nice video. Real kung fu.

[Pakua4581]

@SonarWavePulse

Quite right,thank you ,although Toph's style is Chuka Southern Mantis of GM Sammy Wong as taught by Sifu Manuel Rodrigues.

[roadragevirus]

I see this again and I figure that this may be an early branch of Jook Lum similar to the one that Lum Wing Fay taught,the 9 Step Arrow is the same as the Jook Lum Sam Bo Chin but played differently,more energetic internally.

[kivaavikkiva]

hi, I am a 35 year old kolkata based youth. I am very keen to learn Praying Mantis. Can you please give me the contact details of sifu and oblige?

Thanks & Regards

[JookLumSon]

please pm me whatever information you do not wish to share openly.

[Pakua4581]

@JookLumSon

I have sent you a PM sir.

[JookLumSon]

interesting the first form is some sort of hard/soft qigong and posturing mechanic routine right? the wrist together and tap motion perplexes me as does the bent wrist and locked elbows on the 3 power strike. Do you condition your fingers and body aka iron palm cotton palm etc?? Do you use dit da jow formulas? is there 2man form and sensitivity training?

[InitialDjay2]

Dam, he is good.

[sampochin]

seriously? wow

next time im in india possibly this year im coming to calcutta to train with you guys for a week or two!

[subratabanik]

love it! :)

[Pakua4581]

@subratabanik

Thank you!

[neilthevoditel]

thanx for such n awsome insight.......can u post any more incidents of inter style contests as u hav posted b4

[neilthevoditel]

1 thing i wud like 2 ask mr.bilgrami......i read in a post of yours or someone else related to this style that late grandmaster k s heung discouraged weight training? can u kindly explain a layman like me the reason?? did he also discourage calisthenics like push-ups,squats or abdomen crunches????

waiting for ur answer.....

with regards

Neil

[Pakua4581]

Dear Neil,

the late GM,K.S.Heung,discouraged not only weight training but calisthenics as well,this is due to the fact that the mechanics of the style are very detailed and in order for them to work at their optimum they need to work within the parameters of a very defined physical structure.

[Pakua4581]

The "physical structure" that is required is built up over a period of time by the novice student through the training,if the student were to add weight training /calisthenics etc then it would be a constant tug-of-war between the styles mechanics and the kind of physique that weight training builds.

kind regards

Yasser Bilgrami

[teemad]

@Pakua4581 I know very little about martial arts in general, but I did know that weight training and traditional martial arts like kung fu are not supposed to mix. Yet you also mention "calisthenics". This would exclude simple exercises like push-ups and sit-ups. What is the reasoning behind that?

[yunshen]

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

I have come across a few Hakka Chinese that grew up in India but now migrated to other countries. Although this is the first time I have seen Hakka kungfu performed by an Indian. It seems that there is quite a few Hakka Chinese in India.

[sampochin]

@yunshen is there southern mantis masters in india?

[Pakua4581]

@sampochin

The best known ones are from our lineage, the late Sifu's Chen Kiu and K.S.Hsuing and the current masters,Sifu's Abhijit Mukerji and Lee Kuo Sen.

[indyprns]

@Pakua4581 I remember Sifu K.S. Hsuing said his master was Tseng Kiu

[Pakua4581]

@indyprns Yes,Sifu Hsuing's teachers name was Chen Kiu,who was very famous in the Tangra/Chinatown area as a fighter.

Sifu Chen Kiu learnt the system while he was a sailor somewhere around 1905 to 1910 from a gentlemen named Yaap Muun.He taught Sifu Hsuing during the early 1950's.

Were you also a student of Sifu Hsuing?

[indyprns]

@Pakua4581 Yes, I was. I practiced there along with Ah Lam, Sham, yourself aswell.

[indyprns]

@Pakua4581 Yes, I was. I practiced there along with Ah Lam, Sham, yourself aswell.

[indyprns]

@Pakua4581 Yes I was.  I practiced along side with you, ahLam, Kuo, Sham, Manoj brothers. etc

[anhkhoinguyen]

@warhammer1 LOL Both were not made to mimic the mantis, only the northern school does that, and the reason you didnt see "mantis type techniques" is becuz THERE IS NONE!

Southern mantis doesnt mimic the mantis it just a nickname of the style due to its aggressiveness....its actual name is Hakka kune..

dumbass.....

[anhkhoinguyen]

@warhammer1 At least research before you open your mouth and end up looking like a idiot!

You dont see mantis techniques because Southern Mantis doesnt MIMIC the insect only the Northern style does you fool! LMAO

Unlike the Northern Praying Mantis, which have a special hand technique that is directly attributed to a Praying Mantis strike, for example, the tángláng gōu, the Southern Praying Mantis do not have similar special hand techniques named after the mantis nor does it mimic the mantis.

[thecj29]

This reminds me of Goju

[Pakua4581]

Thanks for your comment,please do write in more detail.

[tonglongkid]

Nice to see a set that is not rushed through.

[Pakua4581]

Hi,

I assume youre talking about the first form demo (Ki Bu Jin),we actually had to "speed it up" as the form requires at least 12 minutes to perform! :-)

[TheHuiwen]

wow that was really good! do you have any other vids to share?

[devmantis]

not as yet!!! planning to come up with one more soon!! will inform u!!

[snakeeyes007]

This system is from Moiyang village in Guangdong province brought to India by Sifu Chen, this is not chow or Jook lum.

[Yasmin801]

Very noble! Amazed at the strength, intensity and flexiblity of the style

[Yasmin801]

Very noble!!! Amazed at the strength, intensity and flexiblity of this style.

[jamesliao1234]

Amazing!!!

[devmantis]

the first 4 or five months are just spent on learning stance training and punches. there is a lot of intricacy involved in the footwork. it usually takes 1n half to 2 years of basic training before one can start ki-bu-jin.

[devmantis]

the style only has about 4 forms however it takes a beginner about 8-10 years of continuous rigorous practice to learn all the 4 empty hand forms. the 1st form is ki-bu-jin. the 2nd is actually a division of the last. it consists of the 1st 8 movements of fa khian. those 1st 8 movements have not been performed here in fa khian. fa khian, the last form begins where pai-sith, the 2nd form ends. the 3rd is called sine-su.

[Tyjobuou812]

Great to see another branch of the Southern Mantis tree.

Please continue to share your art and open our eyes to the various expressions of this fantastic system.

Thank you for sharing, Best regards

[cspeti007]

whats the name of the song?

[Pakua4581]

Its "the Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel.

[roadragevirus]

coldnt u play sumthing more dramatic

[devmantis]

just didn't have the right resources. n we had very little contacts to actually make people believe in us. so we were a little apprehensive. all thanks to mr. yasser bilgrami who came down all the way from dubai to india to see our style.

[roadragevirus]

why do u care wat people beleive or not,if sum guy can travel so many miles to see you then wat u have must be very gud,beleive in yerself and yer kung fu.

[roadragevirus]

WTF!!! where did this come from? and why have these guys been hiding fer so long

[devmantis]

the names of the forms performed are ki-bu-jin ( nine step arrow) and the other one is fa-khian. this was a style taught by sifu k.s.heung in tangra kolkata. the style has seen three generations in kolkata itself. starting with sifu chen kiu who learnt it from a master by the name of yaap mun while working in a ship. the style was passed on to sifu hsieung khan seong who died in the year 2000. hsieung sifu had learnt it in the late 1940's from chen sifu who had been staying in kolkata.

[roadragevirus]

looks like temple Jook Lum to me,yer Kiu Bu Jin looks like Jook Lum Sam Bo Chin and Chow Gar Sam Bo Chin+ Fut sao,both have same roots,guess the Kiu Bu Jin may be the closest to the root .

[devmantis]

i think it could be an original jook lum temple form because sifu yaap mun had learnt the style from a temple in southern china though we do not have any information on the name of the temple. he was probably a monk who escaped when some temple had probably been destroyed. then he was working in the merchant navy as a cook wher sifu chen met him.

[panthermantis]

That is Chow/Chu Gar. Not Jook Lum.

[Pakua4581]

Lao Suei does not figure anywhere in the lineage nor does Wai yearn.The style is from Moiyang Village and its currently in its 5th generation.The actual lineage is also closely recorded.

We dont really care if its Chow/Chu Gar or Jook Lum,we'll leave this argument to the future generations to bicker over.

[panthermantis]

Just replying to devmantis when he commented that it could be jook lum. It doesn't matter, its all good stuff. I knew someone who did Chow Gar and had the 9 step arrow form in their system also. Best of luck with your system.

[devmantis]

hey thanks!! i think the other system u r talkin about is perhaps one taught by bruce liu's father. the style is still practiced by a few people in the u.s. like chris daniels and bruce liu. the style came down from the same lineage with similar mechanics. it was taught to bruce liu's father in the 50s or 60 wen he was staioned in india while workin in the merchant navy. however bruce liu has also trained in chu gar. thus the system now also has chu gar characters.

[panthermantis]

i replied before but did not get in. I know Bruce Liu, small world. I used to train with his Chu Gar teacher like10 to 11 years ago and met him then. He showed us the 9 step arrow form he learned from his dad but it was a little bit different. He had told us that his dad did Chow gar. Thats why I had commented on that.

[devmantis]

like our style which was just called tong long khian throughout, chris daniels told me dat they had named it liu family chu gar since the style had never been named before.

[Pakua4581]

The Chu Gar Bruce Liu learnt is the style taught by Manuael Rodrigues,Chu KA of Sammy Wong,he mixed his fathers style with this Chu Gar,some Chow Gar from Paul Withrod and Jook Lum of Henry Poo Yee,nice chop suey mantis!

[BruceCDO]

Ok, let's set the record straight. I learned 9 Step Arrow from my father when I was younger. He doesn't remember much of the material, however. I met Rodriguez Sifu in '98 and studied Chu Ka under him. I did teach a 9 Step Arrow seminar at his school, and I mentioned that though I did not know which family it belonged to, it did resemble the Chow Gar. I studied with Whitrod Sifu in 2005-06. I have never studied Jook Lum under Poo Yee Sifu. -Bruce-

[Pakua4581]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the clarification,Ive just returned from a training trip to Calcutta and may have just seen the picture of your fathers training group,with him as well.

[devmantis]

i didnt say that the form isjuk loom. it could be a much older style also, a precursor to modern day juk loom and chu gar or may be not. the reason i am saying this is because the style has seen only about 4 generations in the last 100 to 150 years.

[Pakua4581]

thank you my friend,its an interesting reference you have made it will be a learning experience for us in investigating this link to chow gar.

[TheChiFlows]

NOT JOOK LUM IN THE LEAST . Strange looking mantis system though,i suppose when S.P.M. is tossed around from family ,to family teacher to student . Somewhere it gets really messed up looking !

Sorry but this is the weakest from of SPM i have ever seen. Not a combat oriented S.P.M thats for sure . Not like jin foon marks system .That kicks ass!

[devmantis]

1st of all sir, we never said that it is jook lum, and always maintained that there are lots of possibilities. but it is in a very pure form and hasn't been made a chopsuey as yet. neither did we try to compare it gin foon mark's jook lum, which is indefinitely good as i have seen in videos. but as for you sir you are most welcome to drop in sometime and check out whether this is combat oriented spm or not. you know you could perhaps show us some not messed up combat oriented spm.

[Pakua4581]

The sifus demonstrating are direct 5th generation lineage masters,just like Gin Foon Mark is5th generation for his lineage.

The Southern Mantis family is very large,Jook Lum Mantis has many branches as well.

Your comment only reflects your ignorance ,we will gladly cross hands with you if you would like to experience our systems combat effectiveness.

[breakloose999]

@TheChiFlows You dont know how to read SPM practice/forms at all.

[devmantis]

this style was taught by sifu heung khan seong in tangra kolkata. the style had never been named as such. it is a southern mantis style that has not been named. sifu abhijeet mukherjee the one performing the ki-bu-jin form and sifu lee-kuo-sen (seen performing fa-khian) are the masters of the present generation. i have been a student of the system for the last 10 years.

[SifuPat]

interesting what for of south mantis is this