A long time ago, in the turbulent past of China, a man well versed in the Tiger techniques of Shaolin met and married a woman who excelled in those of the Crane. That man was Hung Ee Kan, and his wife Chen Eng Choon. They left the legacy of the combined knowledge of their respective arts to their off springs. The combined art of the Tiger Crane as known today was passed down by the succeeding generations.

The Art
The art of the Tiger Crane combination is based on the theory of "Leok Heng Kew Kiang Huat" or Six shadows and Nine rings. The fundamentals are derived from eight basic techniques and these could be multiplied by eight to obtain 64 movements of the art.

Students of the art are told to use their hands like "The Tiger washing its claws and the White Crane splashing water". Power is concentrated on the point of contact.

Basically there are four systems of hand techniques, namely draw and pull, thrusting, throwing, lifting and hurling. Each could be adapted into nine different variations to form thirty-six movements.

The leg techniques are likened to the movement of a wheel. Kicks are executed in quick succession – "Rolling and ever-flowing in fluidity and speed".

Various sets of 'Sam Chien' or techniques of internal strength are practiced to build the body to withstand heavy blows. The concept is to build it like an iron wall, enabling the practitioner to be invulnerable to an opponent's blows.

The combination of these factors results in the practitioner having an extremely tough body and fast limbs. The idea is to be able to take an opponent's assault without suffering any setback then counter with swift blows in rapid succession.

The eyes had to be conditioned to visualize a wide field and hearing sharpened to pick up the slightest sound. They have to have the ability to see in three directions and the ears must be able to hear the blowing of the wind.

Defense
Defense is based on this maxim:

" If you have no bridge, build yourself a bridge.
If you have a bridge, follow the bridge across.
If you have no bridge, build one,
Let your enemy pass then destroy the bridge."

Techniques have to be executed with great precision and speed. The art places more emphasis on defense, exalting the White Crane's motto of: "Ten attacks nine failures, ten defenses nine successes".

The inclusion of the 'Iron Palm', which was adapted about a hundred and fifty years ago, completed the Tiger Crane combination. It has proven to be tremendous combination and becomes a lethal art when properly mastered.