Secrets of Southern Praying Mantis by Sapir Tal (On Demand)

Sifu Sapir Tal, with more than 45 years of experience in the practice and teaching of traditional Martial Arts, gives us a deep introduction to the secret and deadly Jook Lum Gee Tong Long Pai style, or the Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu style, taught by Grand Master Henry "Poo" Yee RIP. In this exclusive video you get a deeper look into this style and Sifu Sapir Tal's training methods, along with specific techniques taught by Grand Master Henry "Poo" Yee.

Along with the Basics (stances, the 4 gates, the 3 contacts, the Short Powers, Body motion & exercises), we will see the Sticky Hands, part of the Form & applications, empty hands applications, knife defense, body hardening and Chi Kung. We show different uses of techniques and principles of the style and how they can be used in real life situations. In Tong Long Pai, patience, mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, dedication and willingness to sacrifice are absolute requirements.

There is no fast track. Students begin to learn fundamental exercises that are meant to create muscle memory and structure, and to inculcate our fighting principles. The practice of movement, timing and repetition help develop understanding and finally reveal their intention. Progression builds on a solid foundation, and with a good basis everything is possible in Martial Arts.. - Our art form is unique, effective and efficient. Training strengthens the body from the tendons and ligaments, to muscles and bones. Learning while practicing, we seek contact with our opponent and use it to our advantage. We train forms and create blocks and attacks based on the fundamentals and geometry of our body.

Our Martial Arts system allows us to borrow the strength from our opponents and return it to them multiplied. The core of our style puts the emphasis on controlling the center line, keeping everything attached through the use of sticky hands and footwork. We do not anticipate the opponent's blows, but react to any attack, however it might be launched. The principle here is contact. The impact of our blows reverberates within the point of contact with the opponent's body magnifying the damage, and our Kung Fu becomes a bullet. As Sifu would say, "there is neither defense nor attack, only Kung Fu".