Brief Historica
l Origin
This system is said to have developed between 1650 and 1700 by a Shaolin monk nicknamed Pei Mei (White Eyebrows). Numerous are the legends that surround him, one of which recounts the tale of the legendary five elders, the betrayal and the retreat of Pei Mei in Mont Emai where he became a Taoist monk.
Principle and Philosophy
Traditional Chinese Kung Fu is usually classified as either an internal style (Yin) or an external style (Yang). They go from internal, where Yin energy is used for absorbing and redirecting attacks in a defensive way, to forms that are external where a powerful force is channeled to the exterior in order to deflect attacks and give devastating blows.
Pei Mei is a combat style that is both internal and external which combines attack and defense in most of its forms. A solid yet mobile posture is essential thus explaining the triangular position of the legs, which is both stable and agile. The movements of the hands are fast, short and act like a whip whose energy is liberated on a specific region of the body. The different body parts must work in harmony through each movement to fully and properly reproduce the instinctive speed and power which holds suddenness (just like when we withdraw our hand from a burning object). The energy produced from the foundation of our feet spreads through the legs, the hips, the waist and the arms in a vortex like motion which transmit the power of the whole body to the point of impact.
Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard and Crane are the five animals whose essence constitutes the foundation of Pei Mei. In addition, this system depends on concepts such as: floating, grounding, inhaling and dividing. These principals refer to the movement forward, sideways, backward, upward and last but not least the application of force and its absorption.
Other important techniques utilized in this style are: spring up, push and neutralize. In conclusion, the power of Pei Mei does not solely reside in the bones and muscles but also in the use of angles, postures, tendons, ligaments and Qi in order to obtain an explosive force.