Three Bridges · Crawley · West Sussex
Starting Your
Mantis Journey
In
Chow Gar Southern
Praying Mantis Kung Fu
Every master was once a beginner.
You do not arrive as a fighter. You walk in untrained, and the training is what changes you. This is where that starts.
Three Doors. One Hall.
Choose a door · read what stands behind it
内室弟子
Inner Chamber Student
To become an Inner Chamber student is by invitation only, and you must have trained 60 hours in the hall.
The invitation is given. It is never asked for.
武公開課弟子
Open Class Student
Open Class students must attend the 3 hour seminar before joining the normal class.
Three hours to see the training for what it is — and for us both to know if it is for you.
武閉門弟子
Closed Door Student
A Closed Door student is a private student.
Taught one to one, behind a closed door.
武Discipline · Tradition · Brotherhood
Old Skool Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis · Crawley, West Sussex
The First Chamber
Twelve pieces of real training. One break. Three hours to find out who stays — and who goes.
Why The First Chamber Exists
This is not a taster class and it is not a sales pitch. The First Chamber is the training you will actually do here — the warm ups, the footwork, the padwork, the grinding arm, the jars, the conditioning, the chi gung — put in front of you in one three hour session, on day one.
Nothing is watered down for beginners. Everything is scaled to you. You do not need to be fit, young or tough to walk in — that is what the training is for.
It is also a test. By the end of the three hours you will know whether this is for you. And so will I.
Who Stays. Who Goes.
The Running Order — Twelve Trials
Two halves and a break, in this order. The first half teaches you how Mantis moves. The second half shows you how Mantis is built.
Part One · Before The Break
The Art
How a Southern Mantis fighter stands, moves, strikes and uses it on another person.
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Trial 01
How To Warm Up Correctly
Not star jumps and a jog round the room. Joints, tendons and spine opened up the traditional way — the same warm up that starts every class in the hall.
Builds: Mobility · Readiness · Injury prevention
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Trial 02
Footwork
Stance, rooting and stepping. You learn to stay on your feet while somebody tries to move you — and then how to move them.
Builds: Balance · Root · Leg strength
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Trial 03
Hand & Leg Combinations
Mantis strikes and low, practical kicks chained together — hands and legs working as one body, not two.
Builds: Coordination · Flow · Timing
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Trial 04
Application
What the combinations are actually for. Worked with a partner at close range — controlled, progressive, but real.
Builds: Distance · Timing · Understanding
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Trial 05
Padwork
Now you hit something. Properly. Most people have not struck anything hard in twenty years — you will still feel it in your hands the next morning.
Builds: Impact · Accuracy · Confidence
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Trial 06
Stretching
The body eased back out before the break. Old skool training is hard — it is never careless.
Builds: Flexibility · Recovery
The Break
Halfway. Water, a seat, and your legs telling you about the footwork. This is the first real moment of the test — nobody makes you walk back in for the second half. The ones who do are about to find out what old skool actually means.
Part Two · After The Break
The Power
The traditional methods that forge the body — the training most schools stopped doing a long time ago.
-
Trial 07
Warm Ups
Back up to temperature. Cold arms do not meet the power training — the body is prepared again before the real work begins.
Builds: Readiness · Safety
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Trial 08
Power TrainingGrinding Arm
Traditional Chow Gar bridge training. Pressure driven from the feet, through the body and into the arms — the beginning of the heavy arms the system is known for.
Builds: Structure · Connection · Forearm strength
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Trial 09
Power TrainingIron Dragon Jars
Fingertips and thumb clamped around the rim, the jar lifted and held. Grip, tendons, wrists and forearms — the Mantis claw starts here.
Builds: Grip · Finger strength · Endurance
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Trial 10
Hand Conditioning
Controlled, progressive, traditional. An honest first taste of how the hands become trained tools — enough to know it is real, not so much you can’t use them on Monday.
Builds: Resilience · Confidence with contact
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Trial 11
Hard Chi Gung
Breathing, tension and structure under pressure. Serious physical and mental training — no mysticism, no floating about. You will feel it long after you have left.
Builds: Breath · Body connection · Focus
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Trial 12
Stretching
The body put back together. Then you sit down, get your breath back — and you know.
Builds: Recovery · Flexibility
Who Stays. Who Goes.
Three hours is long enough to be honest. When it is over, one of two things is true — and both of them are good outcomes.
Outcome OneYou Stay
You are tired, your forearms are humming and you want to come back next week. Your place in the Open Class is waiting — and join on the day and your uniform, dit da jow and conditioning bag are on us.
Outcome TwoYou Go
It is not for you — and you found that out in one session instead of six months of monthly fees. No contract, no hard sell, no awkward phone calls. A handshake, and you have had three hours of real training.
And I am watching too. How you train, how you treat your partner, whether you listen. There are only nine places in a class — the First Chamber is how I fill them.
Sifu Stephen Tansley- The SeminarThe First Chamber — 3 hours
- Cost£49
- Class sizeMaximum 9 students
- WhereThree Bridges, Crawley
- What to bringNothing — clothing supplied
- Experience neededNone
Claim Your Place
Enter The First Chamber — £49
Nine places per seminar. Leave your details below and we will be in touch to confirm your place.
No contract · No hard sell · Clothing supplied
Every new student attends the First Chamber before joining a class — no exceptions. If Mantis is not for you, we will both know by the end of the three hours.
Old Skool Training For The Modern World · Maximum 9 Students · Crawley, West Sussex