Emei School

The other two martial mountains, Songshan and Wudangshan, are associated with external and internal Gongfu respectively. Although Shaolin Gongfu has internal practices, it is more renown for its external Gongfu because it focuses on conditioning the body, developing physical power and expressing an outward manifestation of strength. Likewise Wudangshan Gongfu has some external methods, but its reputation stands as the home of many internal or soft styles of Gongfu and qigong. O-Mei emphasizes both internal and external methods equally. Unlike Shaolin and Wudangshan, O-Mei does not have a single dominant philosophy. She is not centrally organized, so its martial arts have naturally grown to be more diverse. O-Mei Gongfu is reminiscent of Wudang philosophy melded with Shaolin techniques, although some consider it to be a little closer to Wudang due to the heavy Taoist influence.

O-Mei Gongfu is composed of over 200 different styles of Gongfu, collected over the last 2000 years. And it is still growing. She still absorbs styles from all over China. Following the 1937 Sino-Japanese war, many northern Chinese grandmasters ended up in Sichuan. They brought with them an assortment of different fighting styles, expanding the breadth of O-Mei Gongfu within this century.

It is said that O-Mei Gongfu can be divided into five pai and eight men. Pai means school or system; Men literally means gate, but in Gongfu it refers to a specific school or lineage, often the result of reformations in a method by a revolutionary master. One Pai may include several Men, but not the other way around. The five Pai are Huangling Pai (emperor's clothes), Dianyi Pai (point), Qingchen Pai (named after a place), Tiefo Pai (Iron Buddha) and Qingniu Pai (black cow.) The eight Men are mostly named after family surnames; they are Zhen Men (monk), Yue Men (after famous Song General Yue Fei), Zhao Men, Du Men, Hong Men (red), Hua Men, Zi Men, and Hui Men. O-Mei is also famous for its sword method, as well as Sun-clan fist, Du-clan fist, Huolong (fire dragon) and its monkey and eagle imitative boxing.