Bamboo Forest Praying Mantis, more commonly known as Southern Praying Mantis, was developed as a kung fu style by the Hakka Chinese. Its origins, however, are still unclear. The two main schools of the system are the Chu and Chow. Southern Praying Mantis, unlike Northern Mantis, has no preference to any single move over another although Dim Mak (death-touch techniques) and healing arts are implememted.

Bamboo Forest Praying Mantis shares many similarities with Pak Mei and Wing Chun.

Emphasis is placed on strengthening and lengthening the arms to appear more like a praying mantis. When an extended arm has strength it allows the practitioner to move about faster since his arms don't need to recoil or move back for more strength like in boxing or many other fighting systems. Like other southern styles, the arms are the main weapon with kicks usually limited to the hip and under Southern Praying Mantis has relatively no aesthetic value unlike its northern counter-part and many other styles. This is mostly likely due to the fact that this style was created as a pure fighting art, like Wing Chun.