A heartfelt tribute from my teacher Dr Wang Xiaohua to his late father, Taiji master Wang Yongsheng of Hangzhou:

10th Anniversary Memorial

I had the good fortune of visiting Mr Wang in Hangzhou over 20 years ago. He was a great man and major influence in my teacher's life, setting him on the martial path - also linking him with Qixing Tanglang master Li Zhanyuan in Qingdao in the 1980s. I am indebted to him for his role in producing the man who went on the be so influential in my own life. May his memory live on.

Respect.

Good luck to brother Adem 'Phoenix' Yilmaz for his upcoming bout against current Lethwei (Burmese Boxing) World Champion, Dave Leduc in Tokyo on April 18th.

For those that don't know, the brutal sport of Lethwei is similar to Muay Thai, but with only hand wraps worn instead of gloves and with headbutting allowed. Lionheart Adem recently took on the previous and long-reigning champ, Tun Tun Min, in his first ever Lethwei bout with no previous experience in the sport, putting on a gutsy show and going out on his shield. Adem's preparation for this fight has been solid and he's in peak condition and more than ready to go to war.

Best wishes Adem. One love from the Mantis Boxing Society, Phoenix Gym and all of your family and friends back home. Go hard kid!

Live stream available on the night at: www.fite.tv/

I'm pleased to share this very informative interview with my teacher, Qingdao martial arts luminary -  Master Li Qiyu:

www.mantisboxing.com/li-qiyu.html

Enjoy!

Taiji Tanglang aficionado Will Wain-Williams of www.monkeystealspeach.com was kind enough to interview me on the subject of Seven Star Mantis and Mantis Boxing in general. Apologies in advance for my overly long answers but as you may know, its a subject that's close to my heart and I could go on for days if left unchecked. Big thanks to Will for his interest and for sharing my perspective. Thanks in advance to all those who take the time to read.

monkeystealspeach.com/interviews-of-masters/415-2/

Please feel free to check it out, leave a comment, share at will and maybe to continue the discussion elsewhere. Also check out the rest of Will's site and Facebook page of the same name for more interviews and a wide range of information on martial arts and travel throughout Asia.

Cheers all!

Brendan Tunks

Here's an early Christmas present to all of our followers, friends and family. I am pleased to present my latest interview with professional MMA coach and proud Yu family Qixing Tanglang representative, Brother Piotr Jeleniewski of Warsaw, Poland: 

PETER JELENIEWSKI

Enjoy!

Adem Yilmaz (Phoenix BKK) goes to war in Tokyo on Thursday 27th of October with Myanmar National Lethwei Champion Tun Tun Min at the Lethwei GP Japan.

For those that are unfamiliar with the Burmese art of Lethwei, it is basically equivalent to Muay Thai, minus the gloves (competitors wear hand wraps only) and with the addition of headbutting and rules that allow combatants to be revived after KO, with the option to continue fighting. Bouts can only be decided by KO, by referee stoppage, submission or fighter's corner throwing in the towel. Matches at this event will be 5 x 3 minutes with 2 minute round breaks.

About this event (in Japanese): www.boutreview.com/2/schedule/lethwei/161027lethweigp.html
About Lethwei: www.thaing.net/kachin-system-of-burmese-martial-arts/lethwei/

On behalf of myself, the Tunks and Ho families, the Mantis Boxing Society and Phoenix Gym, I wish Brother Adem the best of luck for this battle. Although it's pretty much just another day in the office for you, you're doing things most men can only dream of - so make sure you enjoy every second of it and put on a magnificent display of 'beautiful boxing' for the people of Japan (and put Tun Tun's lights out in the process).

War Adem!

A short clip just to test out some blog functionality. Some more random clips and interviews coming shortly.

Peace!

2006 was the first of three unforgettable trips to Poland to teach Mantis Boxing alongside my brother Shifu Slawomir Milczarek of the Polish Praying Mantis Kung Fu Society in the forest of Urle. Daily training consisted of two long sessions of several hours duration (each morning, incorporating all jiben gong/fundamental exercises), averaging approx. 6 hours a day. The camp was attended by both Polish and Finnish practitioners with a couple of others making the trip from elsewhere in Europe. I came away extremely impressed by the work ethic, determination, skill and toughness of all attendees.

I am eternally grateful for the opportunity and will always treasure my days in both Poland and Finland working hard with my Northern brothers.

The following clip contains some snippets of the large amount of material that was covered in our time in the Urle camp. You can see a few examples of sweeping and 'knocking' throws, takedowns off kicks, a section from a series of progressive Bi Shou (闭手) - 'Closing Hand' / Zhan Nian Shou (粘黏手) - 'Sticking Hand' drills, followed by Zhan Nian Tui Shou (粘黏推手) - 'Sticking and Pushing Hands', all of which can aid in the development of sensitivity and enhance reactivity.

I've only recently been able to edit the particular file type of the footage taken during the first couple of camps (2006 and 2007), most of which was originally filmed by Shifu Milczarek. I'll put a few of these short compilations together in coming months if I happen to come across anything worth sharing.

Enjoy!

Greetings!

Nothing much to say at this stage. I thought I might post a few clips that I consider as excellent examples of Seven Star Mantis Boxing - mainly as a test of this Blog function. Those who follow my Facebook page will have already seen me share some of these clips. For those that haven't, enjoy!

The late Master Yu Tiancheng - Warsaw 2000
Fanche (the late Master Yu Tianlu - Yantai)
Pi Chui (Huang Weixiu -Taipei/Yantai)
Bai Yuan Tou Tao (Qin Guihua - Qingdao)

Blog virginity broken!

BT