I’m fairly new to the Praying Mantis style. I’m curious to know how well it applies in street or even sparring combat. I know You may have heard this type of question before, regardless i’m still going to ask it. I’m only looking for opinions from those who have practiced Mantis, and have used it in a real fight.
Thank You
With a handle like that I would think that you would find out shortly how useful it is. 
bamboo leaf
I’m curious myself. I might be moving and there is a teacher that teaches 7 Star Mantis. This is basically the only CMA in the area. Wondering if it’s worth it to take it, or just drive a LONG way for training.
Hope you and I find the answers we are looking for! 
What area are you moving to?
it has worked for me.
I’ve done some sparring and chi-sau with some hard-core qixing tanglang guys. They were very strong fighters (in the sense of hard blocks, kicks and strikes) and the footwork was quick and dangerous. I enjoyed the chi sau because I could work with the force they gave me (I practise bagua & taiji). I didn’t like the sparring because I couldn’t defend the kicks too well without attacking too hard, and the strikes I missed hurt Sparring them made me defensive, which was no good.
The mentality of this club was also very hard - perhaps brutal. I think it gave them a certain amount of ego (they also did a lot of external conditioning exercises) but wasn’t good for their health (in the gym or potentially on the street).
My overall impression was that they would make good streetfighters to a point. Please note that I am discussing my experience with one club only
Enjoy your training.
ex. conditioning is a big part of mantis. constant two-man drills with conditioning help get rid of anxiety and pain.
Karate-Kat
Would you like to tell us about your PM school?
Of corse it is, however it is only as effective as the practioner. It doesnt really matter what stlye you train but how you train. If you were to take 2 exactly even skilled fighters then it would come down to the better style which would have the advantage, so the style doesnt make the fighter superior, the fighter makes the stlye superior.
you know it, john is my sher fu
John who? what school ? what stlye ? how long?
My kung fu brother
Earth Dragon,
He is talking about my kung fu brother John. We studied together in America and Taiwan.
Now, he has opened a school in Tampa.
Karate-Kat,
I thought he might be your teacher, but wasn’t sure.
Would you like to tell us what your doing in class these days?
basics, getting the wah lum out. gou lo tsai. also i think i met your sister a year or so back. i think she was, or may still be, pretty close to a friend from my old skateboarding days (josh).
PM is very difficult to apply when you first learn. What I’ve found is that you really need to have faith in your skills to apply it effectively. There is a tendency in sparring for novice PM people to rely too heavily on kicking when kicking isn’t what they train for. Therefore, they are at a disadvantage in a sparring situation (in open tournaments) where they spar against styles that practice kicking as their main source of defense.
After about 3 years, you gain confidence in PM. You have faith in the system and you close the gap. You rely on your superior hand skills, smothering your kicking style oponents with a relentless and undefendable flurry of hand strikes. They have no room to set up their kicks, and they cannot compete with Mantis hand techniques.
This is what I’ve found.
You can kick somebody’s ass with mantis.
Example : Someone punches. You pull them in with maits claw. Then you rip them appart at 0 range. Fight over.
It worked for me. Alternatively you can also do some of the mantis grappling moves. . .
Like what?
The leg takedowns.
Mantis works!
Being a Xingyi man, I have a huge respect for Pmantis, also Wing Chun.
Both are very street effective.
Much Kung Fu is based in reality, some isn’t. Disregard what is the latest martial fad or combative sports.
Pmantis has been around for a long time becuase it’s effective.
Earth Dragon
In another thread, you said that in UFC 6 and 7 an 8 step stylist won using mantis ground fighting.
I have heard that almost no one gets to learn that technique. Have you even learned it?
What’s up with that?
syre
here are some questions from another thread reguarding some one asking about low mantis
Earth D
I couldn’t find that article you were talking about. Can you tell me about the low mantis without comparison to BJJ.
How does it deal with the bottom position on the ground
Does it stress position first or attack first
Does it have an arsenal of submissions
Is its aim to finish on the ground or regain the standing position
These are just a few basic questions. I cant find any info over the net; you traditionals are always so secretive