北派螳螂拳（ほくはとうろうけん）の達人たちにより、その発祥そして創始者である王朗（ワン・ラン）について多くの伝説や物語が語り継がれてきました。しかしこれらの話では真実が伝えられつつも、北派螳螂拳の弟子や専門家により代々口々に伝えられた伝説が多く含まれている。

 『梅花螳螂拳の元老による書記より。』

 ≪螳螂拳について語るならば創始者、王朗（ワンラン）について知らなければならない。彼がいつ生きてどの家系の者かは知られていないが、貧しい家系であったことは確かである。王朗の武道への情熱は有名でありよく知られていた人物である。多くのを訪れ、多くのの武術を学び、武術に卓越した友達も多くいた。

 ある秋の半ば、王朗は山に登った。壮大な絶壁、限りなく続く川を目にし、彼はその広大さに感銘を受けた。好奇心のあまりより高く登ろうと思い、曲がりくねった険しい山を登っていると、突然どこか近くから鈴のなる音が聞こえた。彼がまず目にしたのは僧侶たちが寺の中央で拳闘の稽古をしている姿だった。そこには王朗の見たこともない流派が６０もあった。王朗は僧侶に質問をしたが答えは返ってこなかった。再び声をかけるものの彼らの稽古の音でかきけされ、また返事はなかった。ついに王朗は注意を引こうとある僧侶の腕を引いた。僧侶は突然の訪問者の無礼さに怒り、王朗の上にのし掛かり戒めようとした。しかし王朗の素早い反応に僧侶は打ちのめされた。何十もの僧侶が加勢したが王朗にはかなわなかった。そしてついに僧侶たちは声をあげ、彼等の師を呼んだ。僧院長が来ると王朗はただ食べ物と水がほしかっただけで悪意はなかった事を説明した。「これらすべては私の弟子や僧侶のせいであり彼等の振る舞いに私はひどく恥ずかしい思いだ。私と手合わせをする事で水に流してほしい。」と僧院長は言った。王朗は了承したが、戦いには敗れた。王朗は僧院長の武術の深さに気付き、すぐに寺を去った。王朗は林の奥に行き休息をとるため横になり戦いの敗因を振り返りだした。その時突然木の枝にいる二匹の白い螳螂に気付いた。片方は前足で羽を持ち相手が払おうとしていた。片方は攻撃し相手は前後に跳び跳ね、身をかわし光の速度でカウンターを繰り出した。王朗は意識のすべてをこの戦いに集中させ、際立った柔軟性、螳螂の機敏な攻撃、カウンター、動き、の本質に気付いた。そしてすぐさま寺へ戻り僧院長と戦った。徳高い僧院長はすぐに王朗の動きが明らかに前回とは違い、今回は王朗の勝ちだろうと判断し、その戦い方を聞いたが王朗は無言で戦い続けた。再度聞くも王朗は答えなかった。王朗が戦いに勝つと初めてことの経緯を話した。僧院長はすぐに弟子を林へやり二匹の螳螂をとってこさせた。僧院長は机に螳螂を置き戦わせあった。王朗と僧院長は長時間にわたり死闘に挑む螳螂の動き、技術を見ていた。そして二人はいままでにない新たな戦術を編み出した。後に王朗は僧院長に「我々は新しい戦術を編み出したが、その本質、起源は決して忘れてはならない。もし螳螂が食べ物を探していて隠されたその技術を見せていなければ、我々はこの戦術を見出すことはなかっただろう。」と言った。そして僧院長は「その通りだ。起源を後に伝えるためにこの流派を“螳螂拳“と呼ぶことにしよう。」と返した。王朗と僧院長は十二の文字を使い螳螂拳の技術を表した。しかし、この流派は長年の間僧侶の間でのみ極秘に伝承されていた。王朗は彼の残りの生涯を僧侶の寺で過ごし鍛練を重ね螳螂拳を磨き、武道の道を歩んだ。≫

 Once, during the mid-autumn festival Wang Lang went hiking to Lao Shan mountains. He looked at the magnificent cliffs above and boundless rivers below and felt astonished by this mighty vastness. When out of curiosity he decided to climb even higher, following the curvy and steep path going up the mountains, Wang Lang suddenly heard the quiet sound of a bell ringing somewhere nearby. Walking along the path Wang Lang soon reached an ancient temple, abode of hermits and decided to enter in order to get some food and water. The first thing he saw were Taoist monks practicing the art of boxing in the main plaza of the temple. Wang Lang counted about sixty positions and styles that he had never seen before. Then Wang Lang asked the Taoist monks a question but was not regarded with an answer, he asked again but the answer was just a silence randomly interrupted by the sounds of their movements. Finally, Wang Lang decided to attract the attention of one of the practitioners by pulling his arm. The monk became angry seeing a great boldness of this uninvited guest and lack of etiquette and jumped on Wang Lang with clinched fists, ready to punish him. However the monk was immediately knocked down by Wang Lang's quick response. A dozen of monks ran to help their religious brother but all failed. Monks started yelling and called the abbot. When the abbot came Wang Lang explained to him the situation that he just wanted to ask for food and water and did not have any bad intent. Abbot replied: "All these are my disciples and monks and I am strongly ashamed by their failure, would you please indulge me with a just fight?" Wang Lang agreed but lost the fight. Then Wang Lang realized the depth of the abbot's martial skills and immediately left the temple.

 Wang Lang went deep in the woods and decided to rest, he laid down and started thinking about his unsuccessful fight and the reasons why he lost it. Suddenly he saw two white praying mantises on the tree branch. One of them was holding a fly in his front legs and the other tried to take away the prey. During the fight one mantis was attacking and another would jump from side to side, ducking and counter-attacking with the lightning speed. Wang Lang concentrated his entire mind on this fight and suddenly realized the hidden principals of outstanding flexibility and agility of praying mantis' attacks, counter-attacks and moves. Then he immediately returned to the Taoist temple and started a fight with the abbot. As soon as the venerable abbot saw that hand techniques of Wang Lang were noticeably different from the last time they had fought and also had a feeling that this fight would be won by Wang Lang, the abbot asked about the source of such a technique, but Wang Lang continued fighting in complete silence. After a while the abbot asked again but did not get an answer. Only when Wang Lang won the fight, did he tell the abbot the reason of his success. The abbot immediately sent his disciples to the woods to catch about ten pairs of praying mantises. When the insects were delivered the abbot put them on the table and set them to fight each other. In this manner Wang Lang and the abbot spent quite a long time learning movements and tactical positions of the praying mantises, engaged in deadly fights.

 Then the two masters developed a new, secret technique of boxing which was significantly different from other ones. Later Wang Lang said to the abbot: "Even though you and I developed a new style of boxing, we should not forget the cause and the source of our knowledge. If the praying mantis while striving for food and existence did not reveal us its secrets, we would never develop this new style." The abbot replied: "You are right! In order to perpetuate the memory of the source, we shall call this style "The Gates of Praying Mantis" (Tang Lang Men). Wang Lang and the abbot developed twelve characters - guiding principles of the praying mantis fighting technique: Zhan (contacting), Nian (sticking), bang (linking), tie (pressing), Lai (intruding), Jiao (provoking), Shun (moving along), Song (sending), Ti (lifting), Na (grabbing), Feng (blocking), Bi (locking). Also they developed formal sets of praying mantis technique, such as: Beng Bu (crushing step), Lan Jie (obstruction), Ba Zhou (eight elbows), Mei Hua Lu (plum blossom technique) and Bai Yuan Tou Tao (white ape steals the peach). However, this new style for a long time was a privilege of the Taoist monks of the Lao Shan Taoist religious community and it was kept as a part of the secret Taoist doctrine and closed to lay people. Wang Lang, for the rest of his days, lived in the Taoist temple practicing self cultivation, developing Praying Mantis boxing and following the way of the Tao..."

 The Legend Described by the Grandmaster of Six Harmonies Praying Mantis Boxing Ding Zicheng (1880-1956) and first recorded by his disciple Grandmaster Chen Yuntao (1906-1978) in his unpublished materials entitled "Brief Discourse about Praying Mantis Boxing" (First English translation by Ilya Profatilov)

..."During the Song Dynasty, the famous founder of Tong Bei Boxing style, Han Tong, had a fight with someone named Wang Lang. After several unsuccessful attempts to win, Wang Lang lost the fight. Feeling psychologically depressed, Wang Lang ran away until he reached a swampy ground covered with reeds where Wang Lang fell onto the deep grass suffering torments from bitter thoughts about his failure. Suddenly Wang Lang noticed a poisonous snake which raised its head and slithered directly towards a praying mantis that towered aloft the grass and leaves. As soon as the poisonous snake reached the praying mantis it stopped still and motionless in an attempt to hypnotize the insect. The praying mantis lifted its front hook like legs with its razor sharp spikes and waited for the snake to attack. The snake attacked ferociously with the invisible head strike. But the praying mantis used one of his hooks to catch snake's tongue and then counter-attacked with another hook to the eye of the snake. The snake made a pitiful attempt to escape but just writhed helplessly. After seeing this fight and under its strong impression Wang Lang reached enlightenment and developed the hand techniques of Praying Mantis Boxing and finally defeated Han Tong"...

 The Legend Described by the Grand Master of Eight Steps Praying Mantis Boxing Wei Xiaotang (1901-1984) in his unpublished book entitled "The Secret Bookcase of Practical Praying Mantis Boxing" (First English translation by Ilya Profatilov)

 The founder of Praying Mantis Boxing was Wang Lang from Ji Mo county of Shan Dong province. However, Wang Lang also had a Taoist sobriquet Ye You Shan Ren. Wang Lang was the smartest and the most talented child in the family and from an early age he had started to have a great interest in martial arts, but could not find a good teacher.

 Once Wang Lang heard about a certain Taoist master called Yu Hua Zhen Ren, well known as an outstanding expert in martial arts. Wang Lang went to Lao Shan mountains were the venerable Taoist master lived in the Temple of the Supreme Purity (Shang Qing Gong). Wang Lang became a disciple of the Taoist master and during several years under the guidance of the Taoist master, Wang Lang learned the technique of the Taoist boxing style Tai Gong Quan. After the completion of his studies, Wang Lang, following his teacher's advice, went around China to visit other great masters of martial arts in order to perfect his own skills. During his travels Wang Lang reached Shao Lin monastery were he was defeated in fights with the monks. In sorrow, Wang Lang left the monastery. He was walking through the woods when he decided to take a short rest under a willow tree. Suddenly, Wang Lang heard a strange noise, lifted his head and saw a praying mantis catching a cicada. Astonished by the skills of the insect, Wang Lang caught the praying mantis and returned back to Lao Shan Mountains where over a period of a few years he watched praying mantis movements - fighting and teasing it with a small branch.

 Soon Wang Lang reached enlightenment and developed Praying Mantis Boxing, its theory about twelve character guiding principles, theory of eight hard and twelve soft techniques. Also Wang Lang borrowed the best techniques from seventeen styles of boxing and incorporated them into Praying Mantis Boxing along with the monkey steps or legs movements. When the new style was fully developed in all aspects, Wang Lang transmitted its techniques and theories to his best disciples, Yu Zhou Dao Ren and Shen Xiao Dao Ren. It is said that later Wang Lang took part in the rebellion of secret societies against the Manchurian invasion. However, all Wang Lang's troops were killed and only he escaped. When Wang Lang returned to the Lao Shan mountains, Manchurian soldiers had already been there. Wang Lang and his Taoist teacher Yu Hua Zhen Ren left Lao Shan and went to Kun Lun Shan Mountain were Wang Lang continued self-cultivation and lived as a hermit until the end of his days".

 The legend told by the Grandmaster of Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing by Li Kunshan (1894-1976) and recorded by his disciple Li Hongjie. (First English translation by Ilya Profatilov)

 "The founder of Praying Mantis Boxing was Wang Lang. Wang Lang was born and grew up in the Long Bao village in Ji Mo county of Shan Dong province. The village's richest landlord, Wang Man Tang, was famous for his compassion and love for all villagers and Wang Lang was the only son. Therefore, all the parental love and care of Wang Man Tang was directed towards his son's education in the best Confucian tradition. And it was easy to do primarily because of the outstanding talents of Wang Lang. When Wang Lang completed a course of Confucian classics and reached a high level of proficiency in the art of poetry, his father, in order to develop a well-rounded personality in his son, invited a master of martial arts to teach Wang Lang. However, the process of his son's education was interrupted by the invasion of Manchurian troops. All Wang Lang's relatives died in the just fight against the Manchurians and he being mortally wounded was thrown into the river. But Wang Lang was lucky, because soon he was rescued by a wondering Buddhist monk of the Shao Lin monastery, Tong Chan Shang Ren. Tong Chan Shang Ren carried Wang Lang all the way to Shao Lin monastery, where he was taken care of by the monks skillful in herbal medicine. In a short period of time, Wang Lang was cured and become a part of the Buddhist Sangha (Buddhist monk's religious community and brotherhood).

 After seven years of living in the monastery, Wang Lang learned the art of Shao Lin Boxing and defeated all the monks except the head monk who was the best warrior-monk of the monastery. Once, feeling disappointed in him-self, Wang Lang wondered into a nearby forest when suddenly he heard the sharp, loud sounds made by cicada somewhere on the tree. Wang Lang came closer and saw a praying mantis which caught the cicada with its front legs. At this exact moment Wang Lang reached enlightenment, caught the praying mantis and returned to the monastery. Then he found a quiet place in one of the side yards took a stick and started to attack the insect. As soon as the praying mantis saw a new enemy it grabbed the stick and gnawed through it. Over many days Wang Lang studied the front leg movements of the praying mantis, its attack and defense techniques and started to develop his own style of boxing based on the praying mantis. However, Wang Lang was not satisfied by the way the insect walked and decided to adopt the walking techniques of the big ape. Moreover, Wang Lang decided to incorporate seventeen different fighting techniques of the seventeen styles he learned in the monastery. After a few years Wang Lang completed the creation of a new style and called it Praying Mantis Boxing. Then he defeated the head monk and the head monk called the abbot. The abbot was surprised to see such a great and promising new style of boxing and sent Wang Lang to travel around China to visit famous masters of martial arts and to further develop Praying Mantis Boxing. Wang Lang visited many masters but nobody could defeat him in a just fight. Wang Lang spent the rest of his days in Lao Shan Mountains in Shan Dong province, where he passed his Praying Mantis style to the Taoist master Shen Xiao Dao Ren."