Pai Mei is introduced in the second volume of Kill Bill, in which he becomes the mentor of the film’s protagonist, the Bride. The Bride travels to China to seek out Pai Mei’s guidance in order to become stronger and more skilled in martial arts, as she embarks on a mission of revenge against those who have wronged her.
Pai Mei is portrayed as a harsh and demanding teacher, but he ultimately helps the Bride become a more formidable fighter. He trains her in the art of the “Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique,” a secret and deadly fighting technique that allows the user to kill their opponent with just five finger strikes to certain pressure points on the body.
The legendary master of the Bak Mei and Eagle’s Claw kung fu styles was Pai Mei. He was Bill, Elle Driver, and Beatrix Kiddo’s teacher, and it was under his direction that Elle’s right eye was amputated. He taught Beatrix the Three Inch Punch and the deadly maneuver also named as the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. To exact revenge for stealing her eye, Elle poisoned Pai Mei.
1 Pai Mei Is A Ruthless Kung Fu Teacher
Pai Mei was a cruel and tyrannical teacher who was conceited, aggressive, and violent. He would often punish and reprimand his students in an effort to humble them early on. If he noticed any signs of defiance in their behavior, he would be especially ruthless. According to his own account, he kills at will. Since this is the case, it is understandable that Pai Mei would react visibly surprised when those who are aware of this fact show him even the smallest hint of disobedience in response to his teachings. In Pai Mei’s opinion, anyone who comes to him seeking a master has a death wish; consequently, he naturally expects them to understand what they have agreed to when they come to meet him in the first place.
Pai Mei was also a fairly open-minded person, despite his vicious demeanor and occasional aggressive preaching. One could say that he began to like Beatrix as a student and cared for her after witnessing her tenacity in her training.
Pai Mei demonstrated his concern for Beatrix’s dignity when he threw her food on the ground in a fit of anger, but then offered her his own food and explained that using one’s hands to eat rice, rather than utensils like chopsticks, was akin to how a dog or other animal would eat. Despite his harsh demeanor, Pai Mei’s actions showed that he did not want Beatrix to degrade herself or lower her standards due to hunger.
It can be said that Pai Mei’s objectives were to ultimately create Beatrix’s character from scratch, despite the lesson appearing to be pointless and overly enthusiastic. In addition to teaching them martial arts techniques, Pai Mei is adamant about instilling wisdom in his pupils to help them develop their minds. He gave Beatrix his ultimate gift, the Five-Point-Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a skill he had never taught to a student before, as a further sign of his gratitude for her. However, because of Beatrix’s tenacity and dedication to upholding her master’s standards and placing her trust in him, he taught her this technique, which ultimately helped her defeat Bill.
Before the Massacre at Two Pines, Bill shared with Beatrix the legend he had heard about Pai Mei and his famous Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.
2 Pai Mei Once Slaughtered 60 Monks Of Shaolin Temple Single-handedly
Pai Mei came into contact with a Shaolin monk in the year 1003 in China as he was walking down a road. The monk did not respond to Pai Mei’s slight nod. Pai Mei found the monk at the Shaolin Temple despite the fact that it is still unclear whether his actions were intended as an insult or a misunderstanding. He ordered the head Abbot to commit suicide as a form of retaliation, but the Abbot declined. All 60 of the monks living in the temple were thus massacred by Pai Mei by himself.
3 He Is The First Trainer Of Bill Teching Him Bak Mei Kungfu
Pai Mei was originally the master of Bill, teaching him the Bak Mei style of kung fu. While training under Pai Mei, Bill discovered that his master held strong prejudices against “Caucasians,” specially Americans and the Japanese, as well as a disdain for women.
4 Beatrix Was Challenged By Master Pai Mei Before He Accepts Her As A Student
Bill came up to Pai Mei and asked if he would guide and teach Beatrix the kung fu techniques. Bill and Pai Mei got into a quick argument over an unidentified disagreement, leading to a fight, but after the altercation, Pai Mei decided to take Beatrix on as a student.
Upon Beatrix entering his training and garden area, Pai Mei criticized her Mandarin as poor and berated her for being a female. After asking about her abilities, he commanded her to show them to him. He then challenged her to go to the rack of jians, or Chinese swords, and try to strike him with one, promising that if she managed to strike him once, he would submit to her and acknowledge her as his master.
Beatrix attacked him , but Pai Mei easily avoided all of her blows. Beatrix was unarmed and informed that she had not shown any interest in Pai Mei thus far by him during the fight.
5 Beatrix Mastered Famous Three-Inch Punch Under Pai Mei Guidence
Then he asked her to demonstrate her martial arts in the Tiger Crane style. Beatrix tried again, but Pai Mei blocked and dodged all of her blows, making it impossible for her to hit her. Beatrix tried to hit him with a rock after she had been knocked to the ground. Pai Mei took her arm, twisted it behind her back, and then realized what she was doing. Pai Mei reprimanding Beatrix for being his superior. Beatrix acknowledged Pai Mei’s superiority and her subservience while in pain. When Pai Mei was satisfied, she informed her that her training would start the following day. Beatrix is being taught the Three Inch Punch by Pai Mei. Pai Mei initiated Beatrix’s training, whether it involved carrying buckets of water up a stony staircase, using the Three-Inch Punch to split a block of wood, or practicing Bak Mei techniques.
Pai Mei also taught Beatrix manners, as evidenced by the fact that she found it difficult to eat her white rice with chopsticks at dinner because her hand had been badly injured from hitting a piece of wood. Instead, Beatrix tried to eat with her hands. Pai Mei threw the bowl to the ground out of frustration, saying that if she wanted to be treated like a human, she should eat like one. He then gave her a new bowl and instructed her to try once more.
6 After Winning Pai Mei’s Respect, Beatrix Got Golden Opprtunity To Learn Most Coveted & Lethal Technique Dubbed As Five-Point-Palm Exploding Heart Technique
Beatrix eventually made such significant training advancements that she accomplished something that hardly anyone (male or female) had ever been able to do before: she won Pai Mei’s respect and approval to the point where He chose to teach a most coveted technique called the “five-point-palm exploding heart technique” to her, even though he had previously promised not to teach it to anyone. This technique was considered very valuable and dangerous, and she later used it to kill Bill. This was impressive because Pai Mei rarely shared this knowledge with others.
7 After Beatrix, Elle Driver Became The Next Student Of Pai Mei But She Murdered Him As A Revenge
After Beatrix completed her training with Pai Mei, Elle Driver became his next student. However, during one of their sessions, Elle insulted Pai Mei, causing him to become angry and causing Elle to lose her right eye. From then on, Elle held a grudge against Pai Mei and eventually took revenge by poisoning his fish heads. As Pai Mei was dying, he cursed Elle and she stood above him, laughing and dismissing his words. After Pai Mei’s death, Elle told Beatrix what she had done and taunted her about it. Beatrix became enraged and, as a way of avenging Pai Mei, she attacked Elle and destroyed her remaining eye.
Years later, Elle revealed what she had done to Beatrix and made fun of her for killing her mentor. Beatrix was furious and attacked Elle, taking revenge by ripping out and crushing the remaining eye of Elle as a tribute to Pai Mei.
Pai Mei’s instruction served as the foundation for Beatrix’s retaliation against the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She gave the Crazy 88 survivors the order to discard their missing limbs because Beatrix was the rightful owner of them. After Beatrix lost her first training match, Pai Mei claimed the arm as his own, completing his revenge on Elle. Beatrix used this arm to blind Elle.
8 Pai Mei Kungfu Skills Were So Excellent That He Can Be Only Overpowered By A Powerful Deception Technique
The martial arts prowess of Pai Mei was unmatched by anyone. He is said to have killed 60 Shaolin monks by himself. It appears that he easily defeated the highly skilled Beatrix while beating up the expertly trained Bill. The Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique was invented by him, and he is its master. Elle, who was herself very formidable, had an eye easily torn out of her. He was so proficient that only trickery could have killed him.
9 Pai Mei Possesses Extraordinary Combat Strength, Exceptional Dexterity & Amazing Speed Beyond Normal Human Capabilities
Beatrix’s sword attacks were incredibly quick, but Pai Mei was able to dodge them with ease, balance himself perfectly on the flat of her blade, and throw her sword into a rack without looking. Additionally, he was able to exert enough force from just three inches away to pierce solid wood.
10 He Has Survived More Than 1000 Years With His Desciplined Worrior Life
Pai Mei was rumored to have lived a very long life, with some reports indicating that he was born in the year 1000 and lived until 2003. It is believed that he remained in good health throughout his life and may have lived even longer if he had not been poisoned.