Mantis fist kung fu school

# # # OLD SKOOL vs McDOJO — 3 OF 7

**TECHNIQUES vs ATTRIBUTES**

Knowing 100 techniques doesn’t mean much if you **can’t make one work when somebody puts their hands on you.**

That’s one of the biggest differences in the way I believe Kung Fu should be trained.

You can spend years collecting movements:

Another block.
Another punch.
Another combination.
Another form.

But what happens when there’s **pressure, resistance and contact?**

That’s where **attributes** matter.

In Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis we’re developing things underneath the techniques:

**Short power** — generating explosive force over very small distances.
**Structure & root** — staying strong and balanced while delivering power.
**Sensitivity** — feeling pressure and reacting rather than guessing.
**Timing** — knowing when to move, not simply knowing how.
**Conditioning** — developing the hands, arms and body for contact.
**Heavy arms** — relaxed weight, control and pressure at close range.
**Mental attitude** — staying calm, focused and committed when things become uncomfortable.

A technique is something you've been **shown**.

An attribute is something you've **developed**.

And there is a massive difference.

You can't pretend to have power.
You can't memorise sensitivity.
You can't buy conditioning.
And you can't award yourself timing with a coloured belt.

They have to be built through training.

That’s why Old Skool Kung Fu can look repetitive from the outside.

We're not always looking for **more things to learn**.

We're trying to make the things we already know **better, faster, stronger and usable.**

**ATTRIBUTES DON'T SHOW ON A BELT.
THEY SHOW WHEN IT COUNTS.**

🥋 **OLD SKOOL vs McDOJO — 3 OF 7**

# # YOU CAN’T BUY SKILL.

There’s a reason I keep coming back to **Old Skool training**.

Real martial arts shouldn’t be about how quickly you can collect belts, certificates or grades.

It should be about **what you can actually do.**

You turn up.
You train.
You struggle.
You make mistakes.
You get corrected.
You practise it again.
And slowly, you improve.

Nobody can buy that process for you.

In **Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis**, the training changes the person. Your movement improves. Your hands become conditioned. Your structure gets stronger. Your power develops. Your reactions sharpen. And, importantly, you learn whether you can make what you've been taught actually work.

That takes **time, repetition and effort**.

A belt around your waist doesn't make your hands stronger.

A certificate doesn't give you power.

And paying your monthly fee doesn't automatically make you a martial artist.

**Skill has to be earned.**

That's the difference I'm talking about when I say **Old Skool vs McDojo.**

It's not about attacking other martial arts or claiming one style is better than everything else.

It's about a principle I believe martial arts should never lose:

# # # **YOU CAN’T BUY SKILL. YOU HAVE TO EARN IT.**

🥋 **OLD SKOOL vs McDOJO — 2 OF 7**

**Mantis Fist Kung Fu School**
Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis
**Small classes. Traditional training. No shortcuts.**

# # OLD SKOOL KUNG FU vs McDOJO

There is a big difference between **learning martial arts** and simply attending a martial arts class.

A McDojo can give you belts, certificates, gradings and the feeling that you are progressing.

**Old Skool training has to give you something different — ability.**

In traditional Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis, you don't become better because somebody changes the colour around your waist. You become better because your **body, hands, movement, power and mindset actually change.**

We condition the hands.
We condition the forearms.
We develop the grip and fingers.
We hit pads and bags.
We train power.
We practise applications with another person.
We repeat the basics until they become instinctive.

Some of it is uncomfortable. Some of it is repetitive. And none of it can be bought with a grading fee.

That's the point.

**You earn your improvement through training.**

I'm not saying every modern martial arts school is a McDojo, and I'm not saying traditional automatically means good. There are excellent instructors in many different systems.

The real question is much simpler:

**Does the training actually develop the attributes it claims to develop?**

Can you generate power?
Can you maintain your structure under pressure?
Can you make the technique work against another person?
Can you take contact?
Are you physically and mentally better than when you started?

If the answer is yes, the training is doing its job.

At **Mantis Fist Kung Fu School**, we're deliberately keeping that Old Skool approach alive.

Small classes.
Traditional training.
Real contact.
No shortcuts.

**Don't train for the belt.
Train until the skill belongs to you.**

“You’ve Heard Of Wing Chun.

Probably Never Heard Of Mantis.”

That’s because we were never built for the masses.

No movie deals.
No flashy demos.
No children’s belt factories.
No pretending.

Just a brutal old-school system designed for close-range power, conditioning, pressure, and survival.

Most martial arts schools got softer to attract more people.

We didn’t.

That’s why:

* the classes are harder
* the training is rougher
* the contact is real
* and most people quit

Good.

Because [Mantis Fist Kung Fu](https://mantisfistkungfu.co.uk? was never designed for everyone.

It was designed for the few people who still want martial arts to actually feel like martial arts.

People who miss:

* discipline
* challenge
* sweat
* conditioning
* pressure
* earning skill instead of buying belts

If you want cardio classes in pyjamas…

There are plenty of schools for that.

But if you want to experience a rare old-school Chinese fighting system that still believes in hard training…

Welcome to Mantis.

Train twice a week minimum.
Expect contact.
Expect bruises.
Expect pressure.

And expect to discover why the systems nobody’s heard of are often the ones worth learning most.

'I really really need your help please"


https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/survey/NIbz7Jm5sIQOHm74Tthg

https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/survey/NIbz7Jm5sIQOHm74Tthg

api.leadconnectorhq.com

ST GEORGE’S DAY.
A good day to talk about weapons training.

At Mantis Fist, our pole fighting classes are about more than swinging a stick around.
They build timing, power, distance, coordination, and fighting spirit the old skool way.

The pole teaches you to stay sharp, stay strong, and control range under pressure.
No flashy nonsense. No pretend warrior stuff. Just solid traditional training that makes you better.

So if St George fought dragons with a weapon in hand…
you can at least start by learning how to use a pole properly.

Old Skool training. Real skill. Real power.

Interested in learning Old Skool Kung Fu?

My intro course is the perfect place to start.

You’ll get a taste of traditional training, practical application, power development, and the mindset behind real kung fu — without the watered-down nonsense.

If you’ve been looking for something more real, more hands-on, and more honest than the average martial arts class, this is for you.

Follow the link to sign up. https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/the-official-chow-gar-entry-co