History of the Archive
How the archive came to be...
Jet Li's portrayal of Huo Yuan Jia founding the Jing Wu Athletic Association near the end of the 19th century.
In the 2006 film Fearless, Jet Li portrays Huo Yuan Jia 霍元甲, a fighter who establishes what would become one of the best known schools of kung fu, the Jing Wu Athletic Association; unbeknownst to some, this film was based on true events. In actual history, when their founder perished, The Jing Wu school called upon a dozen well-known and skilled martial arts teachers from various styles. Out of this group, one of the best was Luo Guangyu 羅光玉.
Born in the 1800's, Luo Guangyu was an enormous Mantis style practitioner who won fighting tournaments of his day, skillfully handled weapons and could smash bricks with either hand. It is his techniques, theories and tradition that are written in the books that the Ravenswood Academy is attempting to preserve. These books were written by Luo Guangyu's student, Wong Hon Fan 黃漢勛.
Luo Guangyu 羅光玉. Bruce Lee said of him "He was a Giant who moved like lighting."
Wong Honfan 黃漢勛. The Mantis King
As something of a prodigy with a fierce temper, Wong Honfan was given permission by his teacher to open a school when he was just 20 years old. In the densely packed streets of 1940's Hong Kong, when kung fu schools vied for students and territory not unlike rival clans, Wong Honfan was able to establish such a reputation as a fighter and teacher that the community gave him a nickname: The Mantis King. Wong Honfan eventually set down in writing all the techniques, history and theories his teacher had passed down to him: the books of this current archive. These books and this fighting art would eventually be brought over to America by the Mantis King's students, including Chung Hoyin and Brendan Lai.
Lai Tatchong 黎達沖, the next generation, adopted the Western name Brendan, and took these books on his journey to America as an immigrant, operating a martial arts school as well as a martial supply shop in 1960's San Francisco .
Brendan, Lai Tatchong 黎達沖, The Young Tiger, bringing Chinese martial arts to America.
After Brendan Lai's passing, these books were brought to the Ravenswood Academy by another instructor in this long line, Alexander Petty, so students could draw from their rich contents and practice the martial arts techniques and theories found within their pages.
The combative movements and principles represented in these manuals have remained relevant up to the present day era, able to entice even modern fighters to glean insight from their pages. One of the most well known students of The Mantis King's books was Bruce Lee, who studied from his own copies at one point during his kung fu journey to become a better fighter.
One of Bruce Lee's copies of Wong Honfan's Mantis books, which he studied and annotated.
As items from Lai Tat Chong's personal collection and as books that were never published for the general public, the historical importance of these texts transcends their already seminal martial and cultural significance. Rather than locking them away as a private collection or selling them to the highest bidder, Alexander believed that instead, an online archive that could be shared with all was in the best interest of both the students of the Ravenswood Academy and those world-wide who practice in the obscure combat art lineage of Wong Honfan, The Mantis King.
Behind The Scenes...
The tedious work of removing the binding from these books and then scanning each individual page at a high resolution can not be accomplished by those in a hurry; all of this is done by Alexander at the Ravenswood Academy, confident that his past archival experience coupled with his respect for the art manifests in a proper handling of these old documents.
Adjusting the pixels per inch/dpi from 300 to 1200, allowing viewers to zoom in on Chinese characters or old photographs without blurriness and producing a crisper, clearer image overall.
Carefully removing the binding from each book in order to scan them.
"Why go after the originals when there are reprints?" Those familiar with Wong Honfan's books may know about the reprints published in the 1980's. It is impossible for the Mantis King Archive to pull from these as a resource for the following reasons:
While Wong Honfan wrote over 40 books, not even half of these were ever reprinted; thus some of his books exist only in the rare first editions.
Perhaps most alarming of all for the purist or historian, the reprints are abridged, and actually remove information found only in the original editions.
Translation Efforts
Within weeks of its inception, the Mantis King Archive has already been consulted by all types, from the practitioner of the art looking to perfect his postures, to the skilled translator. Indeed, the translations made possible in part by referencing this archive mark the very first time some of Wong Honfan's books have ever been translated and made freely available in the English language. To view the English translations produced by Paul Brennan, click here.
University Exhibit
In 2017, the Chinese University of Hong Kong opened an exhibit dedicated entirely to Wong Honfan: his life, combat system, published works and overall influence on martial arts. We at the Ravenswood Academy count it an honor that a teacher from our lineage was recognized as influential enough to receive commemoration from an academic institution. Below are photographs from the exhibit as well as images of the infographs that were displayed as part of the commemoration.
