JINAN, Oct. 28 — The quick-witted Master Mantis from the animation film “Kung Fu Panda” made a lasting impression on audiences worldwide. In east China’s Shandong Province, the martial art that imitates the movements of mantis has thrived for centuries.
This tradition is preserved by practitioners like Liu Xin, a 55-year-old inheritor of Mantis Boxing.
Under the night sky, groups of children practiced Mantis Boxing after school.
Their instructor, the lean and energetic Liu Xin with a neat short haircut, demonstrated the moves, punching with precision, kicking with power and twirling swords.
Mantis Boxing, a traditional Chinese martial art recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, traces its origins back nearly 400 years to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
Martial artist Wang Lang was resting in the woods when he observed a mantis preying on a cicada.
Inspired by the insect’s agile, swift and strategically fierce movements, he developed a series of offensive and defensive combinations involving punches, kicks and rolls — imitating the mantis.
Over time, the style was continuously enriched and extended to include weaponry practices like Mantis Sword.
The 1980s film “Shaolin Temple,” which showcased various exemplary Chinese martial arts including Mantis Boxing, captivated hundreds of millions of viewers.
Among them was a young Liu Xin. “The spirit of daring to fight and the wit displayed through Mantis Boxing in the movie deeply shocked me and made me more obsessed with it,” Liu recalled.
“Coupled with the fact that my elder brother had been practicing Mantis Boxing since childhood, growing up in that environment, I started on the path of learning it.”
Her journey was arduous, as facilities and conditions for martial arts training were relatively poor at that time. For instance, the soft earth in rural courtyards would become hard and cold in winter.
Stomping and jumping caused pain in her feet. “But to standardize the movements, I had to endure and practice repeatedly,” Liu said.
Initially, she focused heavily on the beauty of forms and movements in Mantis Boxing, finding joy in the applause during performances.
However, as she gained more life experience, her understanding of martial arts evolved. A pivotal moment came at age 26 when Liu, despite her slight build and being pregnant at the time, used her skills to beat a male who was harassing her.
This experience made her realize that martial arts were not just for demonstration and fitness — but also encompassed crucial awareness of defense and resistance.
In 1994, she began work on establishing her own martial arts school and started taking on students, seeking to expand the influence of Mantis Boxing. In the course of the past three decades, she has taught over 3,000 students — primarily youngsters from schools and amateur enthusiasts from all walks of life.
Of these, more than 30 have formally become inheritors of this enduring martial art. Notably, the number of girls and young women learning Mantis Boxing is increasing annually.
For them, practice is not only a form of physical exercise but also a way to experience the balanced development of strength and flexibility — imparting inner fortitude.
Many female practitioners give feedback that after learning Mantis Boxing, they better understand how to balance tension and relaxation when facing life and academic pressures, and feel more composed and confident in various situations.
Currently, with Chinese governments at all levels emphasizing the importance of outstanding traditional Chinese culture, traditional martial arts like Mantis Boxing are encountering new development opportunities.
Since 2018, the city of Laiyang in Shandong, where Liu is based, has routinely integrated Mantis Boxing into the after-school activity systems of local schools — cultivating more than 10,000 practitioners in total.
As its popularity grows, platforms for demonstrations of and exchanges regarding Mantis Boxing are gradually increasing — with both domestic and international interactions becoming more frequent.
Today, Mantis Boxing has spread to numerous countries including France, Brazil, Italy, Japan, the United States, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Nelson Bentes, a young Dutch martial arts enthusiast, witnessed Liu’s Mantis Boxing performance at the 2017 World Kungfu Championships and resolved to become her student.
In the years since, he has repeatedly returned to Laiyang to learn from her.
Also, Bentes often sends training videos to Liu for online feedback in seeking to improve his techniques.
Bentes now teaches martial arts in physical education classes at several universities in the Netherlands and has repeatedly taken his students to participate in competitions in Central and Eastern European countries.
“I hope to educate more Dutch martial arts enthusiasts, not only to exercise their bodies but also to cultivate their minds — helping them understand the essence of Chinese martial arts,” Bentes said.
From elementary school students to foreign martial arts teachers like Bentes, Liu remains dedicated to enabling more people to understand and learn Mantis Boxing.
“Chinese martial arts have a history of thousands of years.
It is not merely a combat technique — more importantly, it transmits traditional culture and the spirit of strengthening the body and inspiring the mind,” Liu explained.(Xinhua)
