The recognized creator of the style has the name Wong-Long, lived under the ming dinasty.

Already an expert in the sword art, and a "not shaved" monk, he wanted to put himself to the test confronting the best Shaoilin fighter, the Abbot of the temple.

He continually fell to the ground after every attack, and was derided by the other monks, but he wouldn't give in. He was back on his feet all the times and attack always with more decision.

Anyway his courage was not recognized, and he was forced to go back to his cell beaten as ever.

For many days he went outside only to do his works in the monastery, but at night, he used to go out training himself and meditating.

Ther wasn't one night without living back those humiliating moments, hurting his pride again and again, but in one of those night he found the strenght for redemption.

While he was laing back watching the stars in the sky, he felt a rustle in the grass: it was a prayng mantis fighting with a cricket much bigger than itself. The small but combative moves of the insect did the job with the cricket.

Wong-Long was impressed by what he saw, and understood that the only way to redeem himself was "to became a Mantis".

He brought the insect in his room and started to study it tireless.

He conceived the style in three fundamental principles:

1) P'ENG-P'O to keep the adverse unbalanced

2) LAN-TSEH to neutralize

3) PA-TSOU attack with 8 elbow blows

He challenged again the Abbot of the temple, and everybody were counting him out, but, after the adversary's first move, the "new Mantis" stroke one single blow so fast that nobody saw it, and the Abbot fell to the ground with a giant thud.

Everybody told that it was just a lucky shot, and that the Abbot was tired, since he was just returned from a long travel, so they postponed the fight to the day after.

That day the fight took place, but ended with the same result as the previous one, with great surprise from everybody.

The Abbot raise himself again, and tried his best shot, but also this one missed and he bite the dust one more time.

He had to accept his defeat, and became a great friend of Wong-Long, proposing to help him in the improvement of the style finding inspiration from another animal who could help the Mantis through the counterattack phase.

Togheter they walked throughout the mountain in search for an animal whou could substitute the lower paws of the insect, but after many useless ambushes and studies they became quiet frustrated.

As it happened with the creation of the style, the solution to their problems arrived casually: an ape crossed the path they were walking, and both were strongly impressed by its velocity.

So, just like two kids who discovered a secret, they started to follow the ape through the forest tring not to miss any information that the animal could teach them.

That's how they created the first forms of the style, today known as "Tao-Lu of the seven stars Mantis" (inspired by the seven stains on the back of the insect picked up by the young).

From Wong-Long many named followed like: Song-Shui, Lee-Sam-Gin, Wong-Yang-Song, Fan-Yu-Tong, Lo-Kwang-Yu (called "King of the Mantis) and many others.