Northern Mantis vs. Southern Mantis

I was wondering what the major differences are between Northern & Southern Mantis. I have heard the differences...from Southern Mantis practitioners (i.e. people at my school), but I was wondering if there are really drastic differences or if they are just percieved differences...you know, so people can say "my style is better than yours!"

I imagine most of the Northern Mantis folks on this board are Wahlum students, so I was also wondering if visitors are allowed to visit the temple in Orlando? I've seen it online...looks very nice and I think I would love to move to Florida if my job takes off (our headquarters is in J'ville, I believe).

Also has anyone ever met Mimi Chan? I kinda have a bit of a crush on her... well, at least she takes nice glamour shots.

There's definitely a difference between northern & southern mantis, but it's not a "my style is better than yours" difference at all. Jook lum originated in a different region, and although I haven't seen it up close in person, I've read it has a different look, feel & focus than northern mantis. We've got at least 1 other SPM practitioner on the DL.

“	was also wondering if visitors are allowed to visit the temple in Orlando?	”

Yes, you can visit during regular operating hours which are posted on the site. Best time to visit is close to when an adult class starts -- maybe 30 minutes before, because more instructors are there to talk to and you can watch the class. Saturdays are kind of crazy so if you can visit on a weekday it's better.

Sifu Mimi's a great instructor. But -- sorry guys, she's married.

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

“	Originally Posted By: Sammygirl Sifu Mimi's a great instructor. But -- sorry guys, she's married.	”

DOH! Oh well...I'd still like to check out the school sometime. I have a long way to go with my Jook Lum, I'd just like to know more about our cousins from the North.

Oh well, maybe one day I'll move to Orlando area if my new job goes well... our headquarters is in that area. I miss the ocean...I guess sal****er runs through a sailor's viens forever...

that the bad word filter would pick THAT up in a word! lol

What type of Southern Mantis are you doing prince? Is Southern Mantis your focus of study?

Jacksonville is a couple hours away from the Wah Lum school in Orlando.

Jacksonville is about 3 hours or so. You just hit 95 and go north...cant miss it.

Oh, I'm one of those things where as long as we have a physical presence in the state, we can service that state sort of thing. I could go to Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, etc. I just need to get some experience under my belt and some more money in my bank account, but I would love to be near the beach again.

I'm doing Jook Lum. I started out with Wing Chun, but couldn't really find any schools around Nashville after I left San Diego. I'm enjoying Mantis, though.

I also do a little Tai Chi in the park a few days a week with an accupuncturist that I met at my kettlebell class. We haven't gotten into the form yet, just lots of standing stuff.
We have a free club going, but out of the 15 people that signed up online, we're the only dedicated members showing up.

that happens alot...what do you do for a living?

I just got out of the Navy and am going into group coverage life insurance. I was with a smaller company that sort of did group coverage policies before I joined the military, so I'm just waiting for the state to issue me a new license in the next few days so I can finish my contract and get back out in the field.

so am i right in saying that wah lum and jook lum are two totally seperate arts

or do they have noticable similarities?

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Well, what I've been told is Northern Mantis is purely external and completely different from Southern Mantis. According to Gin Foon Mark, Jook Lum is internal, but is trained as an external art in the beginning and has almost as many kicks as Tae Kwon Do.

I was always under the assumption that Northern styles had lots of kicking, southern styles dealt more with hands and controlling the centerline (SPM,Wingchun, White Crane).

I have also learned not to make any assumptions and just find someone that does a style I'd like to know more about and learn what they think of their art, so if I'm ever asked, I can say,"well...my friend that studies that style says that at this point in his/her training that it is like this..." versus me giving my own biased opinion that can be totally wrong.

Well, the more I train, the less I think of any martial art as being purely external.

Wah Lum has some significant differences to other Northern Mantis styles as it is a hybrid of an NPM style and a tan tui style (tan tui=seeking legs). So you will see a lot of dynamic leg work -- kicks, super-low stances, acrobatic moves -- that you would not necessarily see in, say, Seven Star NPM.

The "more kicking" idea is a generalization of northern styles, just like "less kicking, more centerline" is a generalization of southern styles. Neither is entirely correct. I always hold up Choy Lay Fut as a southern style with lots of kicking and long techniques. And "classic" NPM is a northern style where one plays close to the vest, has a lot of "inside" techniques and a centerline concept.

There is a YouTube vid out there of the late great Brendan Lai showing some Seven Star mantis applications, well worth looking for. I gotta go to work now, though.

__________________
"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

Well, one thing that Share Lew says is that all Chinese martial arts have emerged from the same source and the practitioners aspire toward the same destination, only traveling different roads. I got excited about Jook Lum when I heard that there were a lot of kicks in the system...I'm always hearing how kicking isn't practical or whatever, but I feel more comfortable kicking someone and keeping them out of my range to grab me...I guess that's just cause I've always been somewhat small and started out learning Tae Kwon Do when I was a kid.

Really, I think there is a Jook Lum way to handle a right cross, a WahLum way, a Wingchun way, a Yang Tai Chi way, or a Hsing Yi or Gao Bagua way, but eventually (with lots of practice and dedication) one just deals with a right cross...oh, I moved out of the way and let them fall on their face...You know, sort of the stuff attributed to Bruce Lee but was actually implied about reaching the pinnacle of any style.

Either way, I want to take a trip down to Orlando when business is good and check out the Wahlum Temple... I'd like to meet the Sifu from Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit's school that posts here too.

Overall, how is Florida for MA? I'm a bit disappointed with Middle Tennessee. Most of the Karate/TKD schools are concerned mostly with developing athleticism and teaching stunts, and CMAs are pretty hard to find around here. I'm grateful to have found a cool teacher and a great art and I have no plans to open a school, but I would like to be somewhere with a variety of schools.

I look at Martial Arts like fruit. I love oranges. I'm studying Jook Lum SPM. Sometimes I want a tangerine, sometimes I want a grapefruit. Every now and then I will peel a lemon and eat it. Other times I might wanna have apples and pears, but I'm gonna always want an orange with my apples and bananas. I'd like to be somewhere where I can hang out with the Bagua guys and test my mantis against some Bagua. I'm doing a little Tai Chi, I'd like to see how Tai Chi can help my Mantis with a group of Tai Chi folks. I'd like to see how many Mantis postures are shared in Northern and Southern.

Oh well, this <QR> turned into a bit of a rant. But hey, I love martial arts. I want to learn all that my teacher can teach me, but then I'd like to go somewhere else where I can actually learn it...kinda like getting a black sash or belt...you've "learned" the curriculum, now you have to learn the art.

Oh yeah...anyone know where I can find a new hot MA lady to have a crush on since Crista Wagner and Mimi Chan are taken hahahaha

You're always welcome to head north about an hour to Bowling Green and do some Hung Gar and/or CLF if you want

There's a WL school in Knoxville. Not sure how far that is from you but the sifu is top-notch.

__________________
"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...