Taiji Praying Mantis Kung Fu Volume #1 (Taiji Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Taiji Praying Mantis Kung Fu)

For the first time in English (with facing Chinese) this series of two books covers the essence of the Taiji Branch of Praying Mantis. This style is also known as Taiji Mei Hua or Grand Extreme Plum Blossom style. Taiji Mantis was brought to Hong Kong in the early part of the 20th century by the very important instructor Zhao Zhu Xi. The book has small photographs but with excellent clarity. The Chinese/English text explains the names of the moves, the idea behind each form and some applications of the movements Volume One: #EPM76 BaDaMa (a beginning set covering the basic 8 stances), Wu Shou Chui (five sets of actions strung together), BengBu (the classic "core" set of the ShanDong mantis system, created by Wong Long himself) DanZhi MeiHua (Plum Blossom Movements for charging and entering) LanJie (blocking and intercepting aspects of Mantis with the hook hand emphasized) JieGen (this form concentrates on controlling the joints), A detailed description of the short weapons in the Taiji Mantis system.