White Crane Kung Fu is an ancient martial art that was developed in Tibet 450 years ago by Buddhist monks.
The Tibetan monks developed their fighting skills to evade dangers and improve their health so that they could survive to achieve enlightenment.
They coupled their effective fighting skills with their knowledge of meditation and secret breathing techniques, to form a set of physical exercises that nurtured good health and inner peace.
A major development by the monk Ordator,was to pattern these fighting techniques after the graceful and elusive movements of the white crane.
He had witnessed a combat between an ape and a white crane, expecting the fragile crane to be killed by the ape.
However, the crane repeately evaded the ape and by using broad wingflaps, sidestepping and countering with its sharp beak, it managed to pluck out the ape's eyes.
Ordator then incorporated such moves into a new style of combat first called "The Lion's Roar" and then changed to "White Crane Kung Fu".
White Crane Kung Fu spread to China, then Hong Kong and now is taught in many parts of the world.
Is important to mention that our White Crane style is different from the "Shaolin White Crane"style, which has a totally different origin.
Our White Crane style is also different from the "Tibet Lama"style, which is a derivation of ours.
In ancient China, White Crane style was famous for both its fighting ability and its healing secrets.
The Emperor's bodyguard team, consisting of ten top fighters, included two White Crane practitioners.Considering that in those days there were aproximately 3000 kung fu styles, this was a high achievement for our style.
In the last Imperial medicine contest before communism, the White Crane Grand Master was recognized as the number one herbalist in all of China.
In this century, White Crane has produced top fighters such as:Wing Sum Yip and Hung Kai Yow in Hong Kong, and has attracted kick-boxing champions such as Barry Adkins and Tom LaRoche.
Following the tradition, Sikung Chow is not only a dedicated martial artist but also an excellent traditional healer.
