Sifu Jon Funk? (7 Star Mantis)

Do any of you know of him, or know any thing about sifu Jon Funk He apparantly teaches 7 Star Praying Mantis in Canada. He has a Mantis training video series that I am curious about but I have only been able to find out very little about the man from online research. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Ive seen him in magazines.
He looks pretty legit to me and comes though a solid linage, the articles i read by him where also well written and great reads.
I cant say from first hand experience and ive not seen him move but he certainly has a decent reputation to my knowledge.

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Up and down, forward and backward, left and right, its all the same. All of this is done with the mind, not externaly.
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a very good site for those interested in northern praying mantis lineages is
http://www.geocities.com/mantiscave

It covers the many branches of northern mantis.

Visit Sifu Funk's website at www.mantiskungfu.com

I have half of his video tapes and I will attest that he is a good guy. Granted, you won't get all that you could get from video tapes as compared to an actual class, but Sifu Funk does give extensive applications of EVERY manuever in the forms he teaches and does a very good job of demonstrating each manuever.

Of all the videos I own his are the best. And he'll actually answer your questions if you email him. I had several question on Bung Bo and he responded within one day and was very helpful.

I apologize if this sounds like an add, but I really do feel as though Sifu Funk is a good choice if looking to study mantis kung fu.

Hope that helps!

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Thank you for your opinions and imformation. I already knew about those two websites and found them both good referances. I just wanted to see if I could find out any additional information and to hear all of your opinions. If any one else has any more imformation I would be glad to hear it.

Sifu Funk is the real deal, I also have read some of his articles and liked them very much, I also have a video on video that a friend recorded for me on Gim Sau-sticky hands and sparring stratagies, I like it very much, if you choose to learn from him it is a good choice.

For other Praying Mantis Sifu look up


Chan Pui
Brandon Lai
Raul Ortiz

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There are but three ways,
the way of the Heavens,
the way of the Earth,
and the way we must follow,the Tao.

Lin Tui

I can say that he has endlessly promotes martial arts and mantis.

I was able to personally meet and talk to him at the Great Lakes Kung Fu Tourn. in Cleveland Ohio few years ago when I showed for masters demo with my Sufhu. He lacks any humor and was incredibly stand-offish with anyone that didn't bow and grovel when talking to him or give him the complete attention of every word he said. This is personal experience but I do not give any leeway to arrogance and position of power.
Anyone can die or be beaten, so don't be a snot about your status and skills. Unfortunatly most "masters" and instructors don't realize this and are very deluded about themselves and how the world revolves around their opinion.
That's personal opinion but almost everyone that was there saw his reaction when I basically explained this to him after he got nasty with me for being realxed during the masters discussion when we were all discussing rules and such for the tournament, which I judged in.

All this points to how be handles himself with interpersnal relationships and his ego but this is one teacher's opinion as a warning in how he behaves. He could be nicer or more relaxed now, but I don't see teachers changing that much when they can support and keep stablized the environment that promotes such ego. He might be an incredible teacher, that is a fact, but I never learn from people that corrupt their teaching message with ego also. Just personal philisophical choice and reasoning. Maybe you should try it though for yourself as any chance to learn is good but just remember others experiecnes and keep it in the back of your mind. I hope everything works for the best and my experienes are not repeated with anyone else. It is terrible to meet old school promoters you grew up seeing and respecting as martial arts images of why you got involved and then they are totally oposite of what the arts are supposed to promote.

I met him(funk) in '94 at the First Lee kune Hung invitational. A bit of a peckerwood if you ask me. Brendan lai is a 1000 times the master funk is and Lai is a nice personable guy. Funk has no reason, beyond his ego and inadequacy, to act like he does. I asked my sifu about him. He just said very plainly, "he's not all that".