This is actually for a friend. He is thinking of taking Praying Mantis. He said the instructor is name Jon Funk. Is He legit??
Hi Tekarius,
Your conern for your friend is noble. As to the question ligit or not it is really relative. I can share with you some facts I know of the man and give his url and you make your judgement call.
I have met him on a few occassions and at one of Al Chang (his Sifu) training sessions while he was there. It was back in the early 80s. That would give his almost 20 years of experience at least.
He can provide you a good account of his lineage.
He has been active in many matters concerning martial arts including regular contributions to the Black Belt Magazine Offering his views and visions.
I have never trained with him; therefore, can’t provide any further detail on his method. I think if you would visit his site you’ll get a better picture of him
IMHO, his is sincerely involved with his beloved art.
Peace
Mantis108
Contraria Sunt Complementa
Jon Funk is a legit sifu. However, his skill is not that high. I’m not sure how he runs his school but he’s very involved and throws huge tournaments all the time.
Thx guys for the info. 
Does Jon Funk know any chi gung???
I find it very amuseing that people would actuly question the ablity of some well known Sifus.
Even more inceadable is the confermantion of said ablity by who?
If you want to know about some one either vist the school, directly or call. And voice your concerns.
enjoy life
bamboo leaf
My friend has visited the school and has talk to that instructor. It doesn’t hurt to ask more then one opinion right?
My amazement comes from people who do not have any profile details even as to the place where they live, style they play or length of training and then asking about the ability of some well known and very respected people in the martial comity.
Each preying mantis org. has a list of who can repseant the style they are teaching and most of the Sifu know each other, if they don’t then they probably know of the Sifus teacher.
So no; it’s not wrong to question but the manor and direction of the question, (is he legit). Your words. Some of these teachers have spent their whole lives training and teaching, apparently much longer then some of the members of this form have been alive.
I have found the best way is to ask the teacher himself or one of the leading members of that style; we have some of those people here in this forum. In any case the only way that anybody can know for sure is to watch a class and try it out.
Good luck to your friend, Sifu Funk has done a lot to spread the word on 7* preying mantis and he is very respected in the mantis comity.
enjoy life
bamboo leaf
Thx for all the help guys but if there any other things about this sifu plz tell me.
Funk is respected only because he is spreading the art. Is he any good? I don’t think so. He uses way too much power and is very very stiff. His kung fu movements have that karate flavor where they use a ton of power, too much stiff power.
Now you talk about the mantis community. Who is the mantis community? I only know 2-3 good mantis sifus and the rest are today’s mantis “sifus” who’s skill are only average. So which ones do you consider in the community? More likely than not, your list of sifus in the community does not match mine.
my list
Sifu Albright
Sifu Ortiz
Sifu lai
Sifu poi
Sifu R nelson
Sifu spencer Gee
Sifu keller
Who’s on your list of Mantis Sifu’s
Victor
I have proof
The saying…Kikin Mo Funk Than a Shalin Monk directly refers to him being able to kick mo Funk. Now if he is kikin more than a shaolin monk we can safely say that his abilities are better than the average Shaolin Monk’s. Who else has tee-shirt companies talking them up??? Thats right no one besides bruce lee. Since Bruce Lee is on T-Shirts and people call him a GrandMaster and Jon Funk is refered to on T-Shirts then we can also conclude that Jon Funk is a GrandMaster. Now where can I get a T-shirt with his face on it…never mind bad idea. Many musicians were so impressed by his abilities that they took on the “Funk” name for respect. Several Grandmasters of Funk have appeared on the music scene and the Red Hot Chili Pepers claim that they play “funk” coincidence? Clearly they have heard of his legendary ability and wanted to have that kind of name recognition as a symbol of quality. So to answer you question..“Is Jon Funk legit?” I can truthfully say, “maybe”
I hope this clears up any misinformation
8Step Sifu
8 step,
what the hell are you talking about? VIctor
I agree with Lai and Poi. They are apart of the mantis community. You are missing a couple underground sifus who aren’t in the limelight.
which underground sifu
Sifu Albright is right now on the top of my list.. have you had the pleasure of meeting or seeing him move..
Who else would you add word… 
John Funk
I have sudied under the instruction of John Funk.
He is the only instructor I have had so I accept that this may make me biased. In reference to the first post, He is a legit instructor.
To address your points,
He does the eigtheen Lohan hands which from my understanding is the basis of Shaolin Chi Gung.
He does three classes; begginer, intermidate and andvanced.
Beginners are introduced to the mantis principles and are taught basic drills for kicking and punching combo’s. They are also taught some joint locks or chin na. The first form learnt is Buck Yuen Tow Toe. Once this has been learnt and practised sufficently they are tested for yellow belt and then advance to the intermidate level class.
He emphazies four main principles.
- ambidextrous co-ordination
- balanced movement
- linked supple movement
- dissolving skills
Hope that answers any questions.
I have most enjoyed my time under his instruction and the class is run in quite a relaxed atmosphere.
I see it has been a while since the original posting. Has your friend started class??
Legit? what’s in a name…
I used to attend open workouts in the 80’s where Jon spared with karate/kung fu students. If I hadn’t seen his sifu perform before I probably would never have thought mantis effective. Go to the Traditional Kung Fu Training Center - T.C. Mantis school in Surrey. #116 12465 82nd Ave. Surrey, B.C. Canada V3W 3E8 Looks alot more legit!
R
Carnival Shoes,No my friend is still doesn’t really know what to do yet.
Reply to R
Without wanting to spark to much debate on the subject of sparring. It is not the be all and end all in Kung Fu. Self Defense? situation assesment, the best way to avoid confrontations, Guarding traders caravans travelling around ancient China. I bet the bandits didn’t wear gloves and shin guards.
You state you saw him in the 80’s. How good was your ability twenty odd years ago??
20 years ago…
The question being asked isn’t what my skill was like but rather whether Jon is “legit”. Legit means many things. Would it really matter whether I was better or worse than him then or now? I lived in his “neighbourhood” before he became “famous”. I really don’t want to slag him off but I have seen his instructor sifu Al Cheng and other instructors to compare him with. I think that Tekarius is asking whether I would reccomend Jon as an instructor. I have reasons for my opinion but hey that is all it is…my opinion FWIW.
As mantis 108 said Jon has done many admirable things but if you want to make simple comparisons would you train with the top skilled local mantis guy or go with the guy who was most politically adept? Me I’ld rather learn from the guy who could rip my face off (and hopefully be able to pass that knowledge on to me).
So don’t take offense. My post was meant to direct the student to what looked to me to be an excellent mantis kwoon in the area. You probably know plenty of Jon’s good points and he is lucky to have a dedicated student to defend his name.
R
[This message was edited by R on 11-08-00 at 05:46 PM.]
Good point
I guess your right..Good point