---
title: Seven Star Mantis (七星螳螂拳)
---

**七星螳螂拳 (Qixing Tanglang Quan / Seven Star Praying Mantis)** is the most widely-disseminated branch of Northern Praying Mantis. Named for its signature **seven-star stance (七星馬)** — a foundational structure said to resemble the Big Dipper constellation — Seven Star combines a **robust, structurally-stable frame** with the mantis family's signature hooking-and-trapping hands and seven-long-eight-short percussive striking. Through the **Shanghai Chin Woo (上海精武)** of the early 20th century and the **Hong Kong Chin Woo** afterward, Seven Star reached every continent where Chinese diaspora communities settled — making it the mantis branch most commonly encountered worldwide.

## Lineage

The traditional lineage, as preserved across multiple branch sources:

- **王朗 Wang Lang** — the legendary founder (Ming/Qing; see [Praying Mantis](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/praying-mantis) for the careful treatment of the Wang Lang legend)
- **升霄道人 Sheng Xiao Daoren** — Laoshan / Shaolin Daoist
- **李三剪 Li Sanjian** ("Li Three-Scissors")
- **王雲生 / 王榮生 Wang Yunsheng** — late-Qing
- **范旭東 Fan Xudong** ("the Giant") — Yantai, late Qing into early Republic; inheritor of the lineage manuscripts
- **羅光玉 Luo Guangyu** (1888–1944) — Sixth-generation; the Shanghai Chin Woo teacher through whom the line reached its modern outsized influence
- **6th-generation HK pillars** (Luo Guangyu's principal students at the Hong Kong Chin Woo):

  - **黃漢勛 Wong Hon Fan** (1909–1976), *King of Praying Mantis* — published ~27 books (the *螳螂拳術叢書* series), disseminator worldwide
  - **趙志民 Chiu Chi Man** — Wong's contemporary at HK Chin Woo, peer pillar
  - **林伯炎 Lam Pak Yim** — another HK Chin Woo senior
  - **黃錦洪 Wong Kum Hoong** (1917–1991) — took the line to **Penang, Malaysia**

<Callout type="info">
  **Wong Hon Fan and Chiu Chi Man were peers**, both 6th-generation Seven Star disciples of Luo Guangyu at the HK Chin Woo. They are the **two principal pillars of post-WWII HK Seven Star**, and the major contemporary teacher **Lee Kam Wing (李錦榮)** is in the **Chiu Chi Man branch** (Lee trained under Chiu from age 15 in 1962 for 10 years), not in Wong's. Both branches are co-equal in the modern transmission.
</Callout>

- **7th-generation:**

  - **李錦榮 Lee Kam Wing** (b. 1947) — Chiu Chi Man student; founder of the International Seven Star Mantis Lee Kam Wing Martial Art Association (HK HQ; branches in UK, US, Germany, Italy, Hungary, France, Australia, South Africa)
  - **Wong's own published disciples** continue across Hong Kong, Penang, Singapore, Malaysia, the US, and Europe

## What it looks like

- **The seven-star stance (七星馬)** — a foundational structure with one foot forward at an angle, the body weight balanced and ready to spring; the structural anchor of the branch and the source of its name
- **The mantis hook (螳螂鈎)** — sticking, hooking, pulling, redirecting at the wrist; the family signature
- **Big-Dipper striking patterns** — the canonical seven-star moves: hooking hand (七星刁手), filling punch (七星補捶)
- **Robust, weight-bearing frame** — Seven Star's body method is more *structurally substantial* than the rounder Plum-Blossom or the softer Six Harmony branches

## The curriculum

<Callout type="info">
  **Scripts & video for these forms.** Most of the forms below have an open, move-by-move **English script** — chiefly **Paul Brennan's translations of **[**Wong Hon Fan**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/wong-hon-fan)**'s books** — and many have **footage**. They are gathered, form by form, on the wiki's Mantis forms map (a handful are documented but still lack a clean open script or film, which the map marks):
</Callout>

<PageRef space="notes" slug="mantis-forms" text="Mantis Forms — the script-and-video map: for each form, where to find the move-by-move script and a good video" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="mantis-canon-english-translations" text="Mantis Canon — the full index of Brennan's open English translations of Wong Hon Fan's ~40 forms" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="mantis-video" text="Mantis Video — the footage index, by branch and form" />

### Foundational forms

- [**十四路彈腿 (14-Line Tantui)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-tantui) — every Seven Star student's first form (the [14-road script](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-tantui))
- **崩步拳 (Bung Bu Quan)** — the foundational mantis form, 48 postures; see the [Bung Bu page](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/bung-bu-quan)
- [**羅漢功 (18 Luohan Exercises)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/luohan-gong) — the qigong companion; the [eighteen named exercises](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/luohan-gong) (仙人拱手, 霸王舉鼎, 左右揷花, 枯樹盤根, …)

### Core empty-hand forms (Wong Hon Fan published series)

| Form | 中文 | Postures | Wong's year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Charging Punches](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/cha-chui-quan) | 插捶 | 48 | 1944/1953 |
| [Eighteen Elders](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/eighteen-elders-form) | 十八叟拳 | 42 | 1944/1954 |
| [Dodging Hardness](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/dodging-hardness) | 躲剛拳 | 40 | 1944/1953 |
| [Interception Boxing](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/interception-boxing) | 攔截拳 | 35 | 1957 |
| [Plum Blossom Fists](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/plum-blossom-fists) | 梅花拳 | 55 | 1957 |
| [Plum Blossom Hands](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/plum-blossom-hands) | 梅花手拳 | 32 | 1947 |
| [Plum Blossoms Falling](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/plum-blossoms-falling) | 梅花落拳 | 53 | 1947 |
| [White Ape Leaves the Cave](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/white-ape-leaves-cave) | 白猿出洞 | 49 | 1958 |
| [White Ape Steals a Peach](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-steals-peach) | 白猿偷桃 | – | 1947 |
| [Drunken Luohan](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/drunken-luohan) | 醉羅漢拳 | 40 | 1947 |
| [Large Frame Postures](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/large-frame-postures) | 大架式拳 | 42 | 1947 |
| [Small Frame Postures](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/small-frame-postures) | 小架式拳 | 38 | 1947 |
| [Large Wheeling](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/large-wheeling) | 大番車拳 | 51 | 1971 |
| [Linked Brocade](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/linked-brocade) | 連環錦套 | 55 | 1972 |
| [Charging Four Directions](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/charging-four-directions) | 四路奔打拳 | 59 | 1973 |
| [Mantis Steals a Peach](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-steals-peach) | 螳螂偷桃 | – | 1972 |
| [Mantis Leaves the Cave](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/white-ape-leaves-cave) | 螳螂出洞 | – | 1972 |
| [Continuous Boxing](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/continuous-boxing) | 連拳 | 31 | 1972 |
| [Soft & Nimble](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/soft-nimble-boxing) | 柔靈拳 | 32 | 1972 |
| [Black Tiger Blocks Path](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/black-tiger-crossing) | 黑虎交叉 | 38 | 1972 |
| [Flying Goose Palms](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/flying-goose-palms) | 飛雁掌 | – | 1971 |
| [Descending Eagle Palms](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/descending-eagle-palms) | 落鷹掌 | – | 1972 |

*Linked form names above open their move-by-move ****script page**** on this wiki; unlinked forms are listed for completeness and gathered on the *[*Mantis Forms map*](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-forms)*.*

### Picked Essentials

- **摘要拳 六路 (Six Paths of Zhai Yao)** — see the [Zhai Yao page](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/zhai-yao-quan)
- [**八肘 (Eight Elbows)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/eight-elbows-form) — the elbow-centered set

### Weapons

- [**燕青單刀 (Yan Qing's Single Saber)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/yan-qing-single-saber) · [**六合雙刀 (Liuhe Double Sabers)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/liuhe-double-sabers) · [**螳螂六合棍 (Mantis Liuhe Staff)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/mantis-liuhe-staff) · [**子午劍 (Sundial Sword)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/sundial-sword) · [**五郎八卦棍 (Fifth Son's Eight-Trigrams Staff)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/fifth-sons-staff) · [**虎尾三節棍 (Tiger-Tail Three-Section Staff)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/tiger-tail-three-section-staff) · [**春秋大刀 (Spring & Autumn Halberd)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/spring-autumn-halberd) · [**軍中大刀術 (Large Saber for the Army)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/army-large-saber) · [**八卦單刀 (Eight-Trigrams Saber)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/eight-trigrams-saber) · [**九節地躺鞭 (Nine-Section Whip)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/nine-section-whip) · [**醉酒地躺單刀 (Drunken Groundwork Saber)**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/drunken-groundwork-saber)

## The CUHK Wong Hon Fan Special Collection

The complete Wong Hon Fan archive — **286 items** including all 71 published books (the *Praying Mantis Series*), 63 manuscripts (including the **范旭東 source manuscript**), 17 photo albums, and 132 newspaper cuttings — is held as a single special collection at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library:

- [CUHK Wong Hon Fan Collection](https://repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/collection/whf) — IIIF viewer; browser-only access

The single most important Seven Star Mantis archive in the world.

## Major English-language resources

**Paul Brennan has translated 40+ of Wong Hon Fan's books to English** — *the* single most comprehensive open-access English-language Seven Star library, with all original Chinese preserved alongside:

- [brennantranslation.wordpress.com/category/books-by-wong-honfan/](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/category/books-by-wong-honfan/) — the complete category index

Highlights:

- **崩步拳** (1947) and the 1954 verse edition — [English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2020/01/26/avalanche-steps-boxing-set-beng-bu-quan/) · [verse English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/bengbuquan-poems/)
- **Secrets of Mantis Boxing Art** (1946, Wong's flagship treatise with the 8 forbidden strikes + 8 hard / 12 soft + 18 lineages) — [English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2020/08/31/secrets-of-the-mantis-boxing-art/)
- **Forty Years** (1972 anniversary commemorative) — [English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2022/12/23/forty-years/)
- **Collected Mantis Boxing Articles** (1951, 56 essays from Chin Woo wall posters) — [English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/collected-mantis-boxing-articles/)
- **The Eighteen Luohan Exercises (羅漢功)** with all 18 named — [English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2021/09/17/the-eighteen-luohan-exercises-according-to-wong-honfan/)
- **Mantis Tantui (十四路彈腿)** — [English](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2025/04/28/mantis-tantui/)
- All major weapons forms — see the category index

(Brennan's English translations are in copyright; the original Chinese they preserve is PD. The codex's policy is to link, not re-host.)

A complete catalog of the Wong Hon Fan published series is maintained at [Ravenswood Academy — Index of Wong Hon Fan's Works](http://theravenswoodacademy.com/index-of-wong-hon-fans-works).

## Major continuing schools — Hong Kong, Malaysia, USA, Europe

| School | Location | Lineage | URL |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| International Seven Star Mantis Lee Kam Wing Martial Art Association | Hong Kong (HQ) + UK, US, Germany, Italy, Hungary, France, Australia, South Africa | Chiu Chi Man → Lee | [HKCO listing](https://www.hkco.org/en/Other-Members/International-Seven-Star-Mantis-Style-Lee-Kam-Wing-Martial-Art-Association.html) |
| 螳螂派黃漢勛 (Wong Hon Fan family lineage) | Hong Kong | Wong direct | [hfwong-mantis.com](https://www.hfwong-mantis.com/) |
| Penang Tang Lang Martial Society | Penang, Malaysia | Luo Guangyu → Wong Kum Hoong (founded 1978) | [penangtanglang.com](https://www.penangtanglang.com/) |
| Penang Chin Woo Seven Stars Mantis | Penang | Wong Pak Chong | [profile](https://goldenharmonykungfu.com/portfolio/wong-pak-chong/) |
| Malacca Chin Woo Seven Stars Mantis | Malacca, Malaysia | – | [blog](https://melakawushu.blogspot.com/) |
| Wright's Seven Star Kung Fu | USA | Lee Kam Wing affiliate | [wrightskungfu.com](http://www.wrightskungfu.com/grandmaster.php) |
| Master Yun's Studio | – (English diaspora) | Wong direct | [masteryun.com](https://www.masteryun.com/martial-arts/praying-mantis-kung-fu) |
| Boulder Kung Fu Academy | Colorado USA | Wong-line | [boulderkungfu.com](https://boulderkungfu.com/boulder-kung-fu-lineage/) |
| Northern Shaolin 7 Star (Chiu Leun Sect) | New York | 趙麟 Chiu Leun (Toisaan → NY) | [chiuleun.com](https://chiuleun.com/) |

## See also

<PageRef space="notes" slug="mantis-forms" text="Mantis Forms — scripts &amp; video for every form" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="praying-mantis" text="Praying Mantis (螳螂拳) — the style overview" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="eight-step-mantis" text="八步螳螂 Eight Step Mantis — the 20th-century synthesis branch" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="bung-bu-quan" text="崩步 Bung Bu — Seven Star's foundational form, 48-posture script" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="zhai-yao-quan" text="摘要拳 Zhai Yao — Seven Star's six-path Picked Essentials" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="wong-hon-fan" text="Wong Hon Fan (黃漢勛) — biography" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="luo-guangyu" text="Luo Guangyu (羅光玉) — biography" />

## Sources

**[1]** *Northern Praying Mantis*, Wikipedia ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Praying_Mantis)) — lineage overview, Seven Star characterization.

**[2]** *黃漢勛*, Chinese Wikipedia ([zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/黃漢勛](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%83%E6%BC%A2%E5%8B%9B)) — biography and published series.

**[3]** *Wong Hon Fan Praying Mantis Special Collection*, CUHK ([repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/collection/whf](https://repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/collection/whf)) — the canonical archive.

**[4]** *螳螂派黃漢勛* family lineage site ([hfwong-mantis.com](https://www.hfwong-mantis.com/)) — official lineage publications.

**[5]** Paul Brennan, *Books by Wong Honfan* category ([brennantranslation.wordpress.com](https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/category/books-by-wong-honfan/)) — the open-access English library.

**[6]** *Index of Wong Hon Fan's Works*, Ravenswood Academy ([theravenswoodacademy.com](http://theravenswoodacademy.com/index-of-wong-hon-fans-works)) — title catalog.