What is Cockroach Fist?

Mantis Boxing is a kind of Elephant Fist. It is one of the main punches in China's martial arts movement, and has a history of more than 300 years. According to the information available, the main spreading place of Mantis Fist is Laiyang and Haiyang counties in Yantai City, Shandong Province, and then it spreads all over the country and overseas.

The basic hand shape of Mantis Fist is modeled after the front claw of the praying mantis, which is similar to a diao hook, and is called the "Mantis Claw". The main techniques include hooking, embracing, picking, hanging, spiking, wrapping, chopping, pressing, collapsing, and stabbing, etc. The main steps include the false step, the four steps, and the four steps. The main types of steps are the false step, the four-six step, the unicorn step, and so on. The main steps are Sliding Step, Heeling Step, Stepping Step and Thumbing Step. The basic stance requires the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips and buttons. The stance requires the waist and upper limbs to be flexible, and the hips to be stable, which is called "shaking the branches and rooting the roots" and "only moving the waist, not walking the hips". The strength method emphasizes soft entanglement, rigid hair, brittle and fast shaking and popping. Generally, it is a combination of winding and shaking. The strength is generated through the front waist and arm shaking, which is shaped in the fingers. Its movement is characterized by taking the mantis to block the car without fear, the meaning of courage to go forward, more short-handed and quick to fight, moves in a chain. It is a short-handed, quick-fighting style with a series of moves. It is a style that follows the momentum of the fight, seeks out the gaps in the fight, fights in the air, fights out of the hand, and fights back with the hand, and fights as a guard, and chops and smashes hard.

Mantis boxing in the process of circulation, constantly absorbing the techniques of other types of boxing, the formation of the six Mantis, seven star Mantis, plum blossom Mantis, wrestling Mantis and other schools. In addition, there is the "Southern Praying Mantis Fist", which is said to have been created in the south of China by Zhou Yannan, a native of Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty. Its basic techniques are the same as those of Nanquan and should be categorized as Nanquan.

Praying Mantis Fist is divided into Northern Praying Mantis and Southern Praying Mantis. The Northern Praying Mantis is said to have been created by Wang Lang, a native of Jimo County, Shandong Province, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It was first introduced in the Jiaodong area of Shandong Province, and then gradually formed different schools, the main schools are as follows: ① Seven Star Mantis Fist (also known as Luohan Mantis). The basic stance of this school is based on the Seven Star Steps, with a brittle, horizontal and straight force. The practice is divided into 3 parts: the first is the basic skills, including waist, legs, shoulder work, standing stakes, patting work, etc.; the second is the set of techniques, including insertion of the pounding, turning the car, jumping step, intercepting, removing the helmet, the mantis nine eighteen falls, the white ape out of the hole, etc.; the third is the dismantling of practice, including touching the pile, kicking and punching the sandbags, rehearsal of the twelve body pounding, sparring, and so on. Plum Blossom Mantis Fist (also known as Taiji Mantis). It emphasizes the handful of moves, the connection of moves, the three changes of a move, and is mainly based on living and meandering. The fish scale steps are flexible and changeable, just like plum blossoms. In terms of strength, the style emphasizes smoothness, cleverness and softness. The content of the practice is similar to that of Seven Star Mantis. The routines include Plum Blossom Route, White Ape Stealing Peach, Eight Elbows, Passing Technique, Summary and so on. ③ Six Harmonies Praying Mantis (also known as Horse Monkey Mantis). It is more different from the first two schools, with movements and jing methods tending to be more soft. The fist mainly draws on some of the fist theory of the internal triad, the external triad of the essentials, emphasizing the intention of change lead to shape change, the intention of the body to follow the body to the people's strength for the strength, the introduction of the fall of the air, the requirements of the living like a machine wheel, round like a ball of steel, up and down, inside and outside of the unity. The strength is divided into five strengths: rigid, soft, bright, dark and slippery. The main routines are Short Punch, Double Seal, Fairy Hands Run, Six Harmonies Summary, Ninety-three Hands, etc. The Southern Praying Mantis is also known as Zhou Family Praying Mantis. Southern Praying Mantis, also known as Zhou Family Praying Mantis Boxing, is rumored to have been created by Zhou Yannan, a native of Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty. Its techniques and theories are completely different from those of the Northern Praying Mantis, which was passed down from Shandong, and are extremely similar to those of the Southern Praying Mantis. In addition, on the basis of the Northern Praying Mantis, it has been practiced for many years or combined with other styles of boxing, resulting in the Tongjia Praying Mantis, Wrestling Praying Mantis and Light Board Praying Mantis, etc. The Zhou Family Praying Mantis has been practiced for many years. Although there are many schools of Mantis Fist, they all emphasize on the following: to take the meaning from the image, to take the meaning; to give equal importance to rigidity and flexibility, to be strong and extremely flexible, to be elastic everywhere; to have both short and long, to alternate up and down, to connect inside and outside, to keep the integrity of the postures everywhere; to have the techniques, the footwork, the legwork and the bodywork to be close and clever, to be steady and flexible, to seek for the quickness in the live, to seek for the stability in the quickness, to seek for the refinement in the stability. Its action requires quick eyes, quick hands, quick steps, quick body, quick style, a move into three moves, both short and long, imposing, unpredictable; force, fast and sudden, loose and tight combination, rich in elasticity, so that just and not stiff, soft and not soft, brittle and not short, fast and not gross. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Praying Mantis Boxing was listed as a national martial arts performance and competition.