can be identified as being Hakka Kuen. Hakka Kuen Kwong Sai Jook Lum tradition mentions that the people of the Pearl River Delta once referred to the Southern Praying Mantis style as "Hakka Kuen" ( "Hakka Fist"), a term that was initially linked to the Southern martial arts practised by the Hakka community of inland eastern Guangdong and later applied to the skills that are practised by oversea Hakka communities. The reason for this was the close association of this style with the Hakka community. This region, the original home to Southern Praying Mantis by way of being the childhood hometowns of its deemed founders, covers a wide expanse in Southern China. It begins at the very heart of Hakka territory at Xingning, the home of Chow Gar founder Chow Ah-Nam. From Xingning, the Dong River () flows west out of Meizhou () through Hoh Yuen, the place of origin for Iron Ox founder Choi Tit-Ngau. In the prefecture of Huizhou, the Dong Kwong forms the northern border of Huìyáng () County, where Kwong Sai Jook Lum master Chung Yu-Chang and Chow/Chu Gar teacher Lau Shui grew up and established their martial arts reputation. From there, the Dongjiang flows into the Pearl River Delta () at Bao'an County (present-day Shenzhen), where Kwong Sai Jook Lum masters Wong Yook-Gong and Lum Wing-Fay originated. These masters are all members of the Hakka community and the transmission of this remained within this community until the generation of Lau Shui and Lum Wing-Fay. Praying Mantis The association of the term "(Praying) Mantis" with the style is also controversial. Each branch of the style offers a different explanation. The traditions of the Chow Gar and Kwong Sai Jook Lum branches each maintain that their respective founders Chow Ah-Nam and Som Dot created their styles after witnessing a praying mantis fight and defeat a bird. Such inspiration is a recurring motif in the Chinese martial arts and can be found in the legends of Northern Praying Mantis, Fujian White Crane, Tai chi and Wing Chun. The traditions of the Chu family branch contend that the name "Southern Praying Mantis" was chosen to conceal from Qing forces its political affiliations by pretending that this esoteric style of Ming loyalists was in fact a regional variant of the popular and widespread Northern Mantis style from Shandong. The use of the term "Praying Mantis" seems appropriate when one considers