White Crane Kung Fu

White Crane Kung Fu (白鶴拳; pinyin: bái hé quán; Hokkien: pek hok kun) is one of the original five animals of Shaolin Quan and one of the styles that constitute Five Ancestors Fist. According to the White Crane (Pak Hok) Athletic federation in Hong Kong the style was developed secretivly in Tibet during the Ming dynasty. Later it spread to middle and southern China around the 1860s. White Crane style is very well known in Chinese martial arts circles, being said to emphasise high steps and sweeping diversions of attacks with the arms for defense, and high kicks and strikes with the elbows, fingers (in the form of 'the crane's beak') and wrists for offense. The southern school of White Crane is especially associated with the province of Fujian.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan is said by some of its schools to originally be based on a combination of White Crane and Snake Kung Fu. Also, early Okinawan Karate masters are said to have been strongly influenced by White Crane stylists from China.