Mantis

Between periods of the Ming and Ching Dynasties in China, a young man named Wong Long arived at the Shaolin Temple at the foot of Mount Song in Honan province. The year was 1645.

He had been raised and trained by a Taoist priest named Yu Fa, but now decided to take down the Manchu government. Yu Fa advised him to seek better instruction if this was his aim. Wong had heard the stories about the great Shoalin monks and their famous feats. The Abbot of the temple, granted Wong permission to have a friendly contest with one of his monks, Fa Tung.

And so, the following day the fight began. Wong was defeated, and couldn't match Fa Tung's skill. He left that cold morning from the temple and went his own way. Several months later, he was wondering along an old dusty path in the blistering heat and stopped for a rest under a tree. Suddenly a sound disturbed his peaceful state, and so he went to investigate near the bushes. He found a small preying mantis locked in a battle with a large Cicada, and was amazed how this small insect controlled and fought his way to victory. Firing Wongs thoughts, he built a small cage and adopted the preying mantis as his pet. He prodded the insect with sticks and studied it's reactions and movements. Wong took weeks to write down every action of his new friend and practice hard. He returned to the Shaolin Temple to beat Fa Tung, and thus the style of The Preying Mantis was born.

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is this... Never give up thinking of ways to improve one's self and to bear in mind that it's not the size of the dog in a fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog!