Tan was born on December 22, 1947, in Pusan, South Korea. He is a Chinese Korean whose parents fled mainland China after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. At age 7, Tan began studying several martial arts including taekwondo, judo, hapkido and kung fu.

In 1973, Tan's fighting style was noticed by filmmakers and he was asked to appear in the film The Hero of Chiu Chow. After the film's release, he continued to star in kung fu films while spending most of his time teaching martial arts. 1976 was when Tan reached breakthrough success by starring in John Woo's Hand of Death, which also featured early performances by Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

He earned the name Flash Legs for his flashy kicking techniques. After living in California for awhile and starting a martial arts school he eventually settled in Taiwan.
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