Eight Elbows (八肘)

八肘 (Bā Zhǒu / Cantonese Baat Jang, "Eight Elbows") is the elbow-centered specialist form in the Seven Star Praying Mantis curriculum. Where Bung Bu and Cha Chui build the mantis vocabulary at large, Eight Elbows narrows the focus: eight distinct elbow techniques drilled through a continuous sequence, training the elbow as a primary striking weapon rather than a transitional support.

The eight elbows

The form's eight named elbow techniques cover the full range of elbow action:

• 疊肘 (Diē Zhǒu, Piling Elbow) — overhead chopping elbow, full body weight committed

• 拐肘 (Guǎi Zhǒu, Smashing Elbow) — horizontal slamming elbow into the partner's torso

• 頂肘 (Dǐng Zhǒu, Crown Elbow) — straight forward-driving elbow

• 挑肘 (Tiǎo Zhǒu, Lifting Elbow) — upward elbow strike from below

• 掃肘 (Sǎo Zhǒu, Sweeping Elbow) — horizontal sweeping elbow at face/neck height

• 後肘 (Hòu Zhǒu, Rear Elbow) — backward elbow against an opponent behind

• 盤肘 (Pán Zhǒu, Coiling Elbow) — wrapping elbow that follows a circular path

• 滾肘 (Gǔn Zhǒu, Rolling Elbow) — elbow that turns over to strike with the other side

(Exact names of the eight vary slightly between lineage transmissions.)

What it trains

• Elbow as primary weapon — at close range, after the opponent is inside punching distance, the elbow becomes the strongest available strike. Eight Elbows trains the practitioner to not retreat to longer-range hands when the gap is closed, but to commit fully to elbow work.

• Hip-and-shoulder coordination — every elbow draws power from the hip rotating into the strike with the shoulder driving it; the form trains this as the default movement pattern.

• Variety of elbow angles — eight distinct paths means the practitioner is comfortable elbowing in any direction the situation requires.

Place in the curriculum

A specialist form in the middle of the Seven Star curriculum — practiced after the foundational forms (Bung Bu, Cha Chui, Eighteen Elders) when the practitioner already has the basic body method, but before the more advanced applications work (the Picked Essentials).

Eight Elbows pairs naturally with the elbow-heavy material in Bung Bu — the Crowding Body, Smashing Elbow (靠身拐肘) and Kneeling Stance, Piling Elbow (入環疊肘) postures of Bung Bu are Eight Elbows techniques inserted into the foundational form.

Primary source

• Wong Hon Fan, 八肘 (Hong Kong) — the published manual. Held in the CUHK Wong Hon Fan Special Collection. (Not yet fully translated in the open Brennan corpus as of 2026; located but pending.)

Video reference

• The Wong Hon Fan family channel @pemawong4871 hosts demonstrations of elbow-heavy Wong-line material (1979 super-8 archival).

See also

Praying Mantis (螳螂拳) — the style overview

七星螳螂 Seven Star Mantis — branch context

崩步 Bung Bu — includes representative elbow material

插捶 Cha Chui

十八叟 Eighteen Elders

Mantis Canon — full Brennan index

Sources

[1] Wong Hon Fan, 八肘 (Hong Kong) — the published manual; Wong's titles list at Ravenswood Academy.

[2] 螳螂派黃漢勛 family lineage site (hfwong-mantis.com) — official Wong-line material.