Official Page

Authentic Hakka K.S.Hsiung Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu taught by 6th Generation disciple Sifu Yasser Bilgrami  in the U.A.E.

“True Kung Fu is rooted in the feet, developed in the legs, is directed by the waist and functions through the fingers.”

A maxim of K.S.Hsiung Southern Hakka Praying Mantis Kung Fu.

History

The K.S.Hsiung Branch of the Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu was brought to India by Sifu Chen Kiu around the turn of the early 20th century. Sifu Chen had learnt the system from Sifu Yaap Mune who was allegedly a disguised monk working as a cook on the ship on which Sifu Chen was engaged in the profession of a merchant marine. It is speculated that Sifu Yaap Mune’s teacher may have been Wong Leng who along with Lee Siem See were the two disciples of Saam Dart (Red Eyebrow priest) who is credited with the creation of the Southern Praying Mantis system. It is also speculated that the monk Lee Siem See  and Sifu Chen Kiu knew each other at a later stage of their lives as the monk had visited Kolkata with his disciple in order to repair some temples (timeframe unknown).

Sifu Chen eventually moved to India and settled in Kolkata’s Chinatown(called “Tangra”)where he started teaching students of Hakka descent only at the premises of the Chinese Press Club as well as privately.

He passed the system on to his disciple Sifu Khian Seoung Hsiung sometime in the 1950’s who carried the torch forward and eventually (in his broad mindedness) opened the style to all nationalities in 1975.The class was then relocated to the premises of the Pei Moi School.

Sifu Hsiung taught till his passing in the year 2000 and was of the 4th Generation of inheritors and therefore he was the contemporary of Sifu Lum Whing Fay of Juk Lum Mantis and Sifu Ip Shuei of Chow Gar Mantis (amongst others).

Sifu Hsiung entrusted the system to three 5th Generation disciples, one of whom was my late teacher, Sifu Abhijit Mukherjee(my Sihing and I are 6th Generation disciples of Sifu Mukherjee).

The system is referred to as Thong Long Quet Tsot(Hakka Moiyang dialect meaning “Praying Mantis Martial Art Style”)or as K.S.Hsiung Southern Praying Mantis and has been preserved virtually intact with an active history of 80 years or so of being taught(albeit secretly)in India alone.

The style has five main empty hand Sets these being:

1. Kiu Bo Jin : meaning Bridge Step Hands or 9 Step Arrow, this is the main training Seed of the system and is conceptually similar to the various 3 Step Arrow, Sam Chien,San Chin,Jik Bo etc. power development Sets of other lineages.

2. Pai Sith : meaning 8 Steps, this is essentially a stance training method which is aligned to specific offensive and defensive hand forms of the system.

3. Sine Su: meaning West Hands, or Four Hands this Set has an energy development method and teaches the meshing and expression of the derived power through various empty hand forms.

4. Fa Khian: meaning Plum Flower Fist, this Set introduces devastating finger strikes that are aimed at the body’s vital pressure points.

5. Chaap Fu: meaning Subduing Tiger, this Set elaborates on the concepts introduced in the earlier four training Sets.

6. The weapon Sets taught are those of the Staff and Sword.

All the empty hand Sets are a pre-requisite of the training of Shiem Kung(“Spirit Kung Fu”).

Concepts and body mechanics from the “Kiu Bo Jin” Set

In traditional Chinese systems the first Set that is taught is also usually the main representative Set of the system with it being the embodiment of the systems main principles and core methodologies. The Kiu Bo Jin is one such Set, and it inculcates the body mechanics and the framework required for generating the systems signature Gen or ‘Shock Power’.

In Hakka Kung Fu systems the concepts of "Float/Sink/Swallow/Spit" are extensively inculcated through the training methodologies, this power chain ends at the finger tips and starts from the feet through

precise footwork that is derived from the method that the Hakka used to pull rice with their feet is applied conceptually with the lead leg initiating the movement in a semicircular manner and culminating in relaxed feet that ‘slap’ the ground (this ‘slapping’ method is similar to the Xan Bu Step found in Internal Chinese Kung Fu).This slap of the feet initiates the power that travels up and through a uniquely held body alignment and exits through the finger tips, it is essentially power that is derived from rooting is channeled through the legs, directed by the waist, through a curved “C” shaped back and out through the fingers. The scapular control and push the arms outwards and forwards thus relaxing and extending the shoulders for further reach. The body issues power through the interaction and exchange of two ‘Bows’ or two C’s with the first being the vertical C which is formed by the curving of the back (“weavers back”)and the next being the horizontal C which is formed by the two extended arms and a concave chest(“monkey chest”).The placing of the hands and arms throughout the system is always within the parameters of the practitioners eyesight( this trains the reflexes).

A story of Sifu K.S.Hsiung

Once before class time, sometime in the early 90’s,Sifu Hsiung had misplaced the key for the cast iron padlock of the class hall, in irritation he proceeded to hit the padlock with a single ‘Khian Thang’ strike which forced the padlock open! this was witnessed by my late Sifu as well as a host of other people at the time.

The ‘Khian Thang’ (nicknamed ‘Khian Khan’ by my late Sifu) is a downward falling Phoenix-eye fist strike.

Conclusion

The lineage teachings of the late K.S.Hsiung are kept alive by a handful of practitioners training quietly in a few locations around the world.