There is a whole lot of drama going on here under who is a legit praying mantis teacher.
Will you guys just get some hold on yourselfs and fess up on who is legit and who is not!
That which does not kill you will only make you stronger, and if does kill you, then you sucked to begin with!!
LEE KAM WING IS REAL . I WOULDN’T SAY HE’S REALLY GOOD BUT HE’S OKAY. RAUL ORTIZ IS FAKE. JON FUNK IS REAL BUT HE’S STIFF. BRENDEN LAI IS REAL. HE USES TOO MUCH POWER BUT HE’S BETTER THAN LEE KAM WING. CHUI CHE MAN WASN’T THAT GREAT OF A PRACTIONER BUT HE DID LEARN MORE MATERIAL THAN WONG HON FUN.
I guess that settles it then. Word and his “Sifu” are the best! Word send me your school address, I want to join asap!.. Not!!! 
NO ROAD IS AS LONG OR FILLED WITH AS MANY OBSTACLES AS THE ONE TRAVELLED BY THE CHINESE BOXER. FEW ATTEMPT TO TAKE IT . THOSE THAT REACH IT’S END ARE EVEN FEWER.
Word, could you please tell me which video series on seven star mantis would be the best for me to buy? You do not seem to be too impressed with any of the sifus who currently have videos available.
Jon Funk’s videos give good INSTRUCTION. He teaches the movements slowly and with good explanation. Most other videos, like RAUL ORTIZ, just play the form in slow motion and expect you to learn it. Lee Kam Wing has videos coming out and I’m sure they are better than Funk’s. They are probably okay to start with. If you want to get good at mantis, don’t expect it from a video. Don’t expect to get good at anything frm a video , even if there are good ones.
Thanks, word. However, some people claim that Jon Funk’s level of skill is not very high. Peace.
Funk’s videos don’t teach high quality kung fu. i said they give good INSTRUCTION. I have seeen one good video. It’s a wing chun one by sifu chung k chow. He’s good and explains everything also. Videos are 30$ in various kung fu magazines.
Word what’s the best Jon Funk Video you’ve ever seen? And have you ever seen the eagle claw videos by Leung Shum or Gini Lau?
Thanks for clearing that up, Word. Peace.
you can’t get good from a video?
you can’t get good from a video? i have to disagree with that completely. if they’re good videos, you can get as good with a style as if you had a regular teacher. many of the teachers who make videos are world-renowned, and i would rather learn from them than have learned from someone who didn’t know what he/she was doing. these good videos are few and far between, but if you find them, you will be glad you did.
it seems that the people who say those things about videos have never actually watched/learned from a good one, and only say that to reaffirm that the money that they spend on lessons is well-spent, and to make them feel superior. the fact of the matter is, that a good teacher can let out his information to the masses and be confident in his abilities, letting himself open to criticism. in retrospect, i regret learning from my old teachers, because they didn’t possess the ability to completely explain movements and applications, and that rendered many of the forms useless. just like finding a good teacher, you need to find a good video series, recommended by others.
if a video doesn’t have a complete analysis of the movements, then it’s not a good one. send it back.
Have to disagree with you PS. You can learn “some” things from a video but very little. Do you realize how many times instructors have to physically correct their students when going over new techniques and even old ones ? Even the more advanced students and the more talented have to be corrected from time to time. You may think you are doing something right and it may be off but you will never know because that person on the video cannot reach out to tell you. Even some Sifu will from time to time visit their own Sifu to review old material. You can attempt to learn off videos all you want but you are just deceiving yourself if you think you are going to get to a high level of skill through that medium. Actually, all you will be doing is simply imitating what you see on the screen. Videos are good for reference, entertainment, and to see what a particular style may look like or something like that but that’s about it.
NO ROAD IS AS LONG OR FILLED WITH AS MANY OBSTACLES AS THE ONE TRAVELLED BY THE CHINESE BOXER. FEW ATTEMPT TO TAKE IT . THOSE THAT REACH IT’S END ARE EVEN FEWER.
stop it now
Ok, this is very simple. How good you can get from a video depends on how good you are at understanding how and why the movement is done.
All students don’t get corrected by the teacher!
You can even learn from a good textbook. Don’t get cocky because you have a techer.
There is no perfect system and there is no perfect way of performing it. Our joints are different such as many other things about our bodys. The teacher will teach you the way he was taught. And if you only listen to your teacher and not think for yourself you won’t be as good as you can be. You will also prevent the art from evolving.
There is an advantage though, since a teacher will give you feedback you will learn faster.
<font color = “#000033”> [b]D[b]reamer</font>
dreamer, you said it all!!! I couldnt agree more. 
also agree.
your level really detrimes what you can learn, be it from a teach or video.
of course its always better to learn from a good teacher.
enjoy life
bamboo leaf
well…
mebby all students arent physically corrected.
mebby they should be.
There is absolutely no way that learning from a video can be the same as learning from a quality instructor. There is a difference between “learning” a system by memorizing a sequence of movements and then performing that set from memory, and actually being shown the technique and its application firsthand. Demonstrated technique by applying it to the student so that the student knows how it feels to go flying thru the air, as well as what it feels like to be the one doing the throwing cannot be reproduced on a video.
But alas, this is an old arguement. But I dont know how anyone regardless of skill level can pick up the subtle hidden techniques within each form. There is a lot more to Kung Fu than learning how to “dance” around. And with no ego whatsoever involved, I would say with a lot of confidence that any person with the same “level” of experience with mantis as myself, that they learned strictly from video, I would be able to take, no question. Because I better understand the techniques in my toolbox than someone who watched TV.
Dont get me wrong this isnt some macho challange. It is my opinion. I dont DO machismo. But this is one of the few times where I have to say that I feel the people who feel they can learn as much from a video as they can from a good instructor are straight up wrong. They are fooling themselves.
Namaste.
Live Instructor vs Videos
I would have to agree that a teacher is indispensable, especially in the first few years. Some would argue that there are, for example, scholars who learned their fields exclusively from books, but rarely are these in the fields of physical sciences, such as the martial arts.
More to the point, before launching on their independent studies they usually had teachers who taught them to read, to spell, as well as such things as philosophy and history. With these firm foundations and the advantages of personal correction they later launched on their independent studies with a greater ability to appreciate the work of others without the same direct contact they needed as early students.
The same is necessary of a martial artist, and the less experienced you are the more you need the personal correction of a live teacher who can focus in on your specific weak points.
However I think it would be wise to remember the old chinese proverb “If I rely only on teachers, better I be without teachers. If I rely only on books, better I be without books.” In these days that saying could probably be expanded to include “If I rely only on videos, better I be without videos”.
Neil Alexander
New York City
word–please explain???
word could you please explain your comments re sifu’s chiu chi man and lee kam wing. i train in 7* mantis in perth western australia,my sifu is jimmy tsui–ex student of chiu chi man and kung fu brother of lee kam wing.i find him to be a really good teacher, however i have only limited experience in this particular style,so would appreciate your feedback.i do however have a lot of experience with quality teachers,although in other styles of martial arts.i’m not pissed at your comments,just curious re what you base your opinion on.–inyo–oossuu??? 
Ortiz is fake?
What is the basis for this statement?
Well, i agreed with Word’s post 80% and i have had seen Branden Lai , Jon Fonk and Lee Kim Wing in action … i wasnt impressed with them at all. Mostly my comment based on my exprience with Chu Gar Tonglong, sometimes it require an opened mind and some experience to see things a little in dept–by all mean not to say we dont respect others, it’s just an honest opinion…i hope everyone could consider it as friendly discussion between two MA rather than some politics…
To agree 80% with (word) doesn’t say much for your viewpoint.
And yes its good to have an open mind.
The question of legitimacy has many facets.
In one case it could mean the one authorized to teach a system by the systems association.
In another facet it could mean the way someone actually performs the system in accordance with the systems properties.
Many of the names mentioned have been playing mantis for a long time, and are recognized within the mantis circles. In short the family is not very big and people know each other.
It seems that many people here confuse looking or seeing something on a video? and making a judgment on the abilities of the performer. These judgments might mean something if they where from some member of the commity who was a recognized expert. Or from some who has touched hands with the persons that they comment about.
We never hear that I touched hands with this person and I didn’t really think his/her mantis was that good. Or I talked with this person and he/she didn’t know anything about mantis. We don’t even hear (I think that) this or that is wrong because.
What we read is / I saw some video / and this person doesn’t know (what ever) a judgment by some one who never qualifies their judgment other then having access to
The Internet.
good to keep an open mind.
enjoy life
bamboo leaf