---
title: Luohan Gong (羅漢功) — the Eighteen Luohan Exercises
---

**羅漢功 (Luóhàn Gōng, "Luohan Skill")** — the **Eighteen Luohan Exercises** — is the **conditioning and body-method foundation** of [**Seven Star Praying Mantis**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/seven-star-mantis) in the canon of [**Wong Hon Fan (黃漢勛)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/wong-hon-fan), Luo Guangyu line. Drawn from the classical Luohan / Yijinjing tradition of the Shaolin temple, its eighteen named exercises (仙人拱手, 韋陀献杵, 鐵牛耕地 …) build the rooting, breath, and whole-body strength on which the empty-hand forms rest — the "internal" half of the curriculum that sits beneath [Bung Bu](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/bung-bu-quan) and the rest.

## The set — the eighteen exercises (拳譜)

The exercise sequence as set down in Wong Hon Fan's manual (第一路 … ), each Chinese name with a plain English gloss:

| # | 式 (中文) | English |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 仙人拱手 | The Immortal Salutes with Cupped Hands |
| 2 | 霸王舉鼎 | The Tyrant Lifts the Cauldron |
| 3 | 左右揷花 | Inserting Flowers, Left and Right |
| 4 | 枯樹盤根 | The Withered Tree Coils its Roots |
| 5 | 夜叉探海 | The Yaksha Probes the Sea |
| 6 | 推窓壳格 | Pushing Open the Window |
| 7 | 韋陀献杵 | Weituo Presents the Mace |
| 8 | 老僧入禪 | The Old Monk Enters Meditation |
| 9 | 鐵牛耕地 | The Iron Ox Ploughs the Field |
| 10 | 青龍擺尾 | The Green Dragon Swings its Tail |
| 11 | 左右騙馬 | Mounting the Horse, Left and Right |
| 12 | 燕子啅水 | The Swallow Skims the Water |
| 13 | 虎逩人身 | The Tiger Charges the Body |
| 14 | 陳團大困 | Chen Tuan's Great Slumber |
| 15 | 父子請禮 | Father and Son Exchange Courtesies |
| 16 | 鯉魚打挺 | The Carp Flips Upright |
| 17 | 張遼献袍 | Zhang Liao Presents the Robe |
| 18 | 金鈎掛瓶 | The Golden Hook Hangs the Vase |

<Callout type="info">
  **Script and full text.** The name list above is the set's skeleton, from Wong Hon Fan's manual. For the **complete move-by-move text** — Wong's explanation (說明) of each exercise, with the original photographs — see Paul Brennan's open translation, which the wiki links rather than reproduces:
  - **Script:** Paul Brennan, [*The Eighteen Luohan Exercises according to Wong Hon Fan*](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2021/09/17/the-eighteen-luohan-exercises-according-to-wong-honfan/)
  - **Video:** none lineage-credible located yet (see the [Mantis Video index](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-video)).
</Callout>

## See also

<PageRef space="notes" slug="seven-star-mantis" text="Seven Star Mantis (七星螳螂) — the branch this set belongs to" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="mantis-forms" text="Mantis Forms — the script-and-video map of every form" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="bung-bu-quan" text="Bung Bu (崩步拳) — the foundation form" />

## Sources

**[1]** **Wong Hon Fan (黃漢勛)**, *羅漢功* (Seven Star Praying Mantis, Luo Guangyu line) — the source manual for the exercise sequence and its numbering.

**[2]** Paul Brennan, [*The Eighteen Luohan Exercises according to Wong Hon Fan*](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2021/09/17/the-eighteen-luohan-exercises-according-to-wong-honfan/) — the open English translation of Wong's full text (in copyright; linked, not reproduced). The name list here is given under fair-use citation with the wiki's own glosses.