Pray for the Preying Mantis

Of the many versions, the basic story was that Wang Lang was hiking through the mountains where he sat to rest on a log. There he saw 2 mantid battling (some versions use different creatures). Studying how the mantis feigned, prodded, and struck lightening fast, he developed the Praying mantis Kung fu system. 

Nature observations:

In observing the mantis in the wild, the mantis has 2 main forms of hunting, “wait and sit” and the slow stalk method. The mantis deceptively waits in a praying manner until prey comes within reach and then is stuck with lightening fast accuracy. “In a district with NAGANO, people call a mantis TAIFUSAN, or OTAYOSAN, the meaning of a Shinto priest.” [1]  Or the mantis creeps upon its victim with undetectable fluid swaying motion until it is within reach. The swaying motion may mimic a leaf blowing or seems to confuse the victim. The mantis almost always goes for the neck to kill. “Seisan” a karate technique teaches how to get inside the opponents attack while developing a strong foundation (a characteristic of a fighting mantis). In fact, the Mantis has been known to take on much larger creatures and defeat them using these described abilities. It is very understandable when observing the mantis that it is revered by the orient, as well as, all over the world. These hunting/fighting methods have Zen/Buddhist/Taoist like qualities, of patience, unassuming stealth, imitating nature, calm yet deadly posturing and focus. 

Examples in Fittings: The mantis is often depicted in its praying stance.

[1]http://www.huis.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~nomura/K/kamak16.html