Northern Praying Mantis

Northern Praying Mantis (Chinese: 螳螂拳; pinyin: tánglángquán; lit. 'praying mantis fist') is a style of Chinese martial arts, sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis after its province of origin. It is one of the best known styles of "Northern" kung fu and it encompasses of many styles, with the three main ones being the six-harmony style, eight-steps style and seven-star style.

According to common folk stories, it was created by Wang Lang (王朗) and was named after the praying mantis, an insect, the aggressiveness of which inspired the style. One version of the myth places the creation of the style during the Song dynasty when Wang Lang was supposedly one of 18 masters gathered by the Abbot Fu Ju (福居), a legendary persona of the historical Abbot Fu Yu (福裕; 1203–1275), to improve Shaolin martial arts. However, most legends place Wang Lang in the late Ming dynasty, or early Qing dynasty circa 1650.