Tao-liang Tan

Tan Tao-liang (; Tan Dao-liang; born 22 December 1947) is a Chinese-South Korean martial artist and former film actor. He used numerous pseudonyms throughout his career, mostly Delon Tam, Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Tan Tao-liang, Delon Tan, Dorian Tan and Delon Tanner. Noted for his leg holding and hopping skills, Tan was nicknamed "Flash Legs".

In his later life, Tan taught martial arts, notably to John Liu Chung Liang, Yuen Biao, Ke Huy Quan, and Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee.

Early life Tan was born on December 22, 1947, in Busan, South Korea. He is a Chinese Korean, aka hwagyo, whose parents fled mainland China after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. At age 7, Tan began studying martial arts including taekwondo, judo, hapkido and kung fu. Of these styles, he favored taekwondo as it "allowed full-contact sparring and competition." In an interview, he said he liked high kicks because in taekwondo scoring, a kick to the head is worth two points. Tan won many championships including a world title.

At age 23, Tan began teaching taekwondo at the National Taiwan University. He went on to teach action star John Liu.

Career In 1973, Tan was noticed by filmmakers and got offered a role in the film The Hero of Chiu Chow. Afterward, he continued to star in action films while spending most of his time teaching martial arts. 1976 was when Tan achieved breakthrough success by starring in John Woo's Hand of Death, which also featured early performances by Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

After completing Last Breath in 1984, Tan retired from acting and moved to Monterey Park, California, where he opened a taekwondo school in 1987 under the name Delon Tan.

Filmography Year Film Role Notes 1973 The Hero of Chiu Chow 1974 Tornado of Pearl River Tang Also producer 1975 Conspiracy of Thieves 1976 The Knife of Devil's Roaring and Soul Missing 1976 Sunset in the Forbidden City 1976 General Stone Li Cunxiao 1976 The Himalayan Hsu Chin Kang 1976 The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious Captain lu Tung Chun 1976 Hand of Death Yung Fei 1977 The Secret of the Shaolin Poles Chiu Mai 1977 Duel with the Devils Yung Fei Also producer 1977 The Shaolin Invincibles Pai Tai Kung 1977 Shaolin Deadly Kicks Hung Yi 1977 The Dragon, the Lizard and the Boxer Yung Fei 1977 Dynasty Sao Chin Tan 1978 Dual Flying Kicks Su Fang 1978 Snake Crane Secret Chief Escort 1978 Showdown at the Cotton Mill Kao Chin-Chung 1978 Challenge of Death Captain Lu Sao Yung 1978 The Tattoo Connection Dong Ho 1979 Revenge of the Shaolin Master Lin Chen Hu 1979 Scorching Sun, Fierce Winds, Wild Fire Escaped Convict #1 1979 Hero of the Time Xiong Tianiun 1979 Boxer's Adventure Lee Tak Wai 1979 Blooded Treasury Fight Marshal Chow Kwan Han 1979 The Story in Temple Red Lily Siu Ching 1980 The Heroes Si Ying 1980 Mask of Vengeance Cameo 1980 The Eight Escorts Wu Chin Ping 1980 The Revenger 1980 The Invincible Kung Fu Legs Tan Hai-chi 1981 The Kung Fu Emperor Pai Tang Wa 1981 Heroine of Tribulation 1981 Yee Dang Bing Chuk Chap 1982 Godfathers of Fury Shen Wu 1983 Four Wolves Inspector Shy 1985 Last Breath Also producer and writer 1991 Breathing Fire Producer and writer