Tony Anthony - "Taming the Tiger" - Fact or Fiction?
This book tells the remarkable "true story" of Tony Anthony. Tony was born to a Chinese mother and Italian father, then taken by his kung fu master Chinese grandfather at age 4 to China to be trained in kung fu, seeing as there were no other male heirs. His grandfather hated him because he was half-Italian, and constantly beat him.
As crosswire.org.uk says:
"Tony Anthony’s “Taming the Tiger”, distributed in the UK through the Christian publisher Authentic Media, has sold more than 1.5 million copies in 25 countries. On the back of it, Anthony travels the world preaching the gospel in prisons, schools and churches as far away as Asia, South Africa and South America.
In the book, Tony Anthony says he was trained in the martial arts and became Kung Fu world champion three times. He then moved to Cyprus, becoming an elite bodyguard to businessmen, gangsters and diplomats before being jailed in Nicosia Central Prison for a series of thefts from hotels. It was in prison that Tony Anthony says he became a Christian.
Questions were asked about the authenticity of Taming the Tiger ever since it was first published in 2004. Critics were quick to point out that it reads like a work of fiction; and now an intensive investigation by a group of church leaders suggests that it is just that."
I found the book incredibly exciting, moving and challenging in many ways. When I finished it I had several unanswered questions. I was really keen to write to Tony Anthony to tell him how much I enjoyed and was inspired by his book, and to ask him my questions. I wanted to know:
What happened to your parents? Did you ever find them again?
Did the Triads ever come after you? If they didn't, why not?
How have you managed to live such a public life, with Triads wanting to kill you?
And the one that bothered me the most was... whatever happened to his friend Shane DeSouza, who became a Christian after Tony witnessed to him, but who then was brutalised in Nicosia prison by a criminally insane man called Alcaponey? Shane was "barely conscious" when they carried him out, so presumably he survived the attack. There is no further mention of him again. Did he die? Did he heal? If I had been in Tony's place, the thing that I would have struggled with the most would have been: how could God allow Shane to be so dreadfully brutalised, especially after he had become a Christian? Why did God miraculously intervene and protect the other new believers, but not Shane? I was very surprised that Tony didn't wrestle with this question at all.
Some other things struck me as a little strange. I'm familiar with kung fu, and when Tony describes his fights, I was amazed that despite being a kung fu master, after a couple of moves he gets hit. Again, after a couple of moves he is on the ground. I thought this was very odd. I don't believe that a kung fu master would allow himself to be hit - he should be able to block every move. He also should never allow himself to end up on the ground. At least that's what I've witnessed from a master. Is the style of kung fu I've learnt about superior to TA's? Yet I would think that after eight childhood years of intensive full time training beaten into you by a master, you would surely be invincible.
But I never wrote to him because a quick look on the internet revealed that it is widely believed that Tony's story is fake. Hearing this enforced my thoughts on the kung fu descriptions. Crosswire.org.uk outlines the objections and evidence here. The Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries issued a joint statement confirming that Tony Anthony’s story is false and that Avanti withdrew support for Taming the Tiger. However they have refused to release the report (see Wikipedia) , so we still don't know exactly what evidence they have found! And Tony has not admitted to having made any lies at all. His response (here) is that he "continues to stand wholeheartedly by the truth" of his life story.
So the question I'm asking is - what is the truth? Who is Tony Anthony really? Serial liar and fantasist? Or persecuted witness for Jesus Christ?
After investigating myself extensively (limited to the internet though I'm afraid), here are what I consider the most valid points for and against TA's story:
FOR:
1) Crosswire.org.uk says: "One of the long-standing objections raised about Tony Anthony’s story is that there is no record, anywhere, to support claims that he won any Kung Fu competition; let alone that he was three-times world champion. The investigators went further: Tony Anthony claims to have worked as an elite bodyguard to “a number of wealthy jet-setting clients” before becoming “first hand man” and close protection officer to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to London, Amin Fahed. But there is no record of any Saudi Arabian diplomat called Amin Fahed. The Saudi ambassador to London at the time was Sheikh Nasser Almanqour."
Crosswire also outlines the different versions of his name and different dates of birth and ages Tony has given at different times. These and similar criticisms don't have any weight in my opinion. If his story was true and the Chinese Triads wanted to kill him, and if he had done secretive protection work, he would want to change details such as dates, years, names and exact places. He would need to change these to protect the organisations and people that he worked for and sensitive information about people in prison and so on. Most importantly, he would need to change these details to stop his Chinese family from accurately identifying him.
2) Prominent Christians, especially those whose testimony and teaching is leading to thousands of people believing in Jesus and being saved, will face opposition, persecution and strong attempts to discredit them. This is a fact. The opposition is stirred by Satan, who hates truth. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12).
3) He is accused of plagiarism because one passage of his book seems to have been copied directly from a website. Crosswire says: "But scrutiny of the book’s text reveals that many of the passages detailing Kung Fu techniques were copied, wholesale, from a specialist martial arts website. One passage is lifted from a book about Bruce Lee."
The only evidence of this plagiarism I have found is here, written by jL7930:
"I was looking for snake style kung fu on the net, and i stumbled upon this site http://www.shaolin.com/StyleContent.aspx?Style=Snake
Their description of snake style was very similiar to Tony Anthony's it being:
"Viper consisted of intimidating strikes that could inflict heavy psychological damage by drawing lots of blood without causing life-threatening damage. Its trademark was the tongue strike - two fingers aiming often at arteries and veins. Cobra, in contrast, did not emphasise highly recognisable or showy techniques but rather very serious strikes to nerves and pressure points. Its characteristic hand technique was an open hand with the thumb curled underneath in order to maintain dynamic tension. Python, in addition, relied on the leopard fist for its pinpoint strikes and included grappling.(found 3rd paragraph on site ,note, the stated creation of this site was before the release of Tony Anthony's book)
compared to TA's story, being:
"The viper inflicts heavy psychological damage by drawing lots of blood,"Lowsi told me." it's trademark is the tongue strike." He positioned two of my fingers."Aim at arteries and veins," he said, demonstrating the stabbing technique in the air. Next he took my hand and opened it up curling my thumb underneath." This position keeps a dynamic tension characteristic of the cobra," he said. "the cobra concentrates its strikes on nerves and pressure points." Lowsi went on to explain the way of the python, with its pin point strikes and grappling techniques(pg 38)."
This seems very good evidence of plagiarism, if it can be proved that the website was written before his book (the website is dated 1997 - 2008). But seeing Angela Little wrote his book after interviews with him, it could have been her that did the plagiarising. I would like to see evidence of the "many passages" copied from a martial arts website, and the passage taken from a Bruce Lee book.
4) The ritual he described to attain a 'master rank' (he picked up a boiling cauldron with his arms) was apparently directly taken from a TV series on Kung Fu. But it has been witnessed that TA has appropriate scars. Also, just because it was in a movie, didn't mean it didn't happen to TA. It could be in the movie because it's based on a real, credible practise.
5) The Evangelical Alliance haven't published their findings. How do we know that they don't just have it in for TA?
6) TA is very prominent internationally and on media. If his story isn't true, why then has nobody from his pre-Nicosia prison past spoken up and said they knew him, and his story is false? He said he returned to the UK for his teenage years. Why has nobody that knew him then spoken up and said his story was a lie?
AGAINST:
1) The Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries' statement after investigation that the story is false.
2) Instead of addressing the issues and offering conclusive proof, TA has been evasive.
3) He was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2001 for intending to pervert the course of justice, after his part in a hit-and-run incident in which a woman motorcyclist was killed. The judge, Mr Recorder Stevenson, described Tony Anthony as a “devious and manipulative man” who had “deliberately embroidered his story” to throw police off the scent. So he clearly doesn't always tell the truth.
4) He has admitted he can't speak Chinese, in his words: "You mentioned on several occasions that I do not speak any Chinese, and on one occasion you appeared to be contradicting this comment. I can tell you that I learnt a great deal of Cantonese as a child, however I am very out of practice now. I work extensively around the world and especially in South East Asia amongst the Chinese community, and it is always helpful to say a few words - however I do have meetings where I have an interpreter." Having lived in China from age four to age 12, Cantonese would be like his mother tongue, which he says it is in his book, and he kept returning for the next few years to China.
A person does not forget their native tongue.
To sum up, I think the evidence seems inconclusive but what there is weighs against him. However, there is still a slight chance that he may be telling the truth. Either way, he needs to do something more definitive about all of this, rather than just his website posting here. If he is telling the truth it's his responsibility as an evangelist and as a representative of Jesus Christ to publicly prove it. A martial arts demonstration (with advanced opponent) should convince us, or a public interview with question and answer time would also go a long way towards restoring his credibility if his story is indeed true. If it is not, he should humbly admit he has been lying and ask for forgiveness.
As crosswire.org.uk says:
"Tony Anthony’s “Taming the Tiger”, distributed in the UK through the Christian publisher Authentic Media, has sold more than 1.5 million copies in 25 countries. On the back of it, Anthony travels the world preaching the gospel in prisons, schools and churches as far away as Asia, South Africa and South America.
In the book, Tony Anthony says he was trained in the martial arts and became Kung Fu world champion three times. He then moved to Cyprus, becoming an elite bodyguard to businessmen, gangsters and diplomats before being jailed in Nicosia Central Prison for a series of thefts from hotels. It was in prison that Tony Anthony says he became a Christian.
Questions were asked about the authenticity of Taming the Tiger ever since it was first published in 2004. Critics were quick to point out that it reads like a work of fiction; and now an intensive investigation by a group of church leaders suggests that it is just that."
I found the book incredibly exciting, moving and challenging in many ways. When I finished it I had several unanswered questions. I was really keen to write to Tony Anthony to tell him how much I enjoyed and was inspired by his book, and to ask him my questions. I wanted to know:
What happened to your parents? Did you ever find them again?
Did the Triads ever come after you? If they didn't, why not?
How have you managed to live such a public life, with Triads wanting to kill you?
And the one that bothered me the most was... whatever happened to his friend Shane DeSouza, who became a Christian after Tony witnessed to him, but who then was brutalised in Nicosia prison by a criminally insane man called Alcaponey? Shane was "barely conscious" when they carried him out, so presumably he survived the attack. There is no further mention of him again. Did he die? Did he heal? If I had been in Tony's place, the thing that I would have struggled with the most would have been: how could God allow Shane to be so dreadfully brutalised, especially after he had become a Christian? Why did God miraculously intervene and protect the other new believers, but not Shane? I was very surprised that Tony didn't wrestle with this question at all.
Some other things struck me as a little strange. I'm familiar with kung fu, and when Tony describes his fights, I was amazed that despite being a kung fu master, after a couple of moves he gets hit. Again, after a couple of moves he is on the ground. I thought this was very odd. I don't believe that a kung fu master would allow himself to be hit - he should be able to block every move. He also should never allow himself to end up on the ground. At least that's what I've witnessed from a master. Is the style of kung fu I've learnt about superior to TA's? Yet I would think that after eight childhood years of intensive full time training beaten into you by a master, you would surely be invincible.
But I never wrote to him because a quick look on the internet revealed that it is widely believed that Tony's story is fake. Hearing this enforced my thoughts on the kung fu descriptions. Crosswire.org.uk outlines the objections and evidence here. The Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries issued a joint statement confirming that Tony Anthony’s story is false and that Avanti withdrew support for Taming the Tiger. However they have refused to release the report (see Wikipedia) , so we still don't know exactly what evidence they have found! And Tony has not admitted to having made any lies at all. His response (here) is that he "continues to stand wholeheartedly by the truth" of his life story.
So the question I'm asking is - what is the truth? Who is Tony Anthony really? Serial liar and fantasist? Or persecuted witness for Jesus Christ?
After investigating myself extensively (limited to the internet though I'm afraid), here are what I consider the most valid points for and against TA's story:
FOR:
1) Crosswire.org.uk says: "One of the long-standing objections raised about Tony Anthony’s story is that there is no record, anywhere, to support claims that he won any Kung Fu competition; let alone that he was three-times world champion. The investigators went further: Tony Anthony claims to have worked as an elite bodyguard to “a number of wealthy jet-setting clients” before becoming “first hand man” and close protection officer to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to London, Amin Fahed. But there is no record of any Saudi Arabian diplomat called Amin Fahed. The Saudi ambassador to London at the time was Sheikh Nasser Almanqour."
Crosswire also outlines the different versions of his name and different dates of birth and ages Tony has given at different times. These and similar criticisms don't have any weight in my opinion. If his story was true and the Chinese Triads wanted to kill him, and if he had done secretive protection work, he would want to change details such as dates, years, names and exact places. He would need to change these to protect the organisations and people that he worked for and sensitive information about people in prison and so on. Most importantly, he would need to change these details to stop his Chinese family from accurately identifying him.
2) Prominent Christians, especially those whose testimony and teaching is leading to thousands of people believing in Jesus and being saved, will face opposition, persecution and strong attempts to discredit them. This is a fact. The opposition is stirred by Satan, who hates truth. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12).
3) He is accused of plagiarism because one passage of his book seems to have been copied directly from a website. Crosswire says: "But scrutiny of the book’s text reveals that many of the passages detailing Kung Fu techniques were copied, wholesale, from a specialist martial arts website. One passage is lifted from a book about Bruce Lee."
The only evidence of this plagiarism I have found is here, written by jL7930:
"I was looking for snake style kung fu on the net, and i stumbled upon this site http://www.shaolin.com/StyleContent.aspx?Style=Snake
Their description of snake style was very similiar to Tony Anthony's it being:
"Viper consisted of intimidating strikes that could inflict heavy psychological damage by drawing lots of blood without causing life-threatening damage. Its trademark was the tongue strike - two fingers aiming often at arteries and veins. Cobra, in contrast, did not emphasise highly recognisable or showy techniques but rather very serious strikes to nerves and pressure points. Its characteristic hand technique was an open hand with the thumb curled underneath in order to maintain dynamic tension. Python, in addition, relied on the leopard fist for its pinpoint strikes and included grappling.(found 3rd paragraph on site ,note, the stated creation of this site was before the release of Tony Anthony's book)
compared to TA's story, being:
"The viper inflicts heavy psychological damage by drawing lots of blood,"Lowsi told me." it's trademark is the tongue strike." He positioned two of my fingers."Aim at arteries and veins," he said, demonstrating the stabbing technique in the air. Next he took my hand and opened it up curling my thumb underneath." This position keeps a dynamic tension characteristic of the cobra," he said. "the cobra concentrates its strikes on nerves and pressure points." Lowsi went on to explain the way of the python, with its pin point strikes and grappling techniques(pg 38)."
This seems very good evidence of plagiarism, if it can be proved that the website was written before his book (the website is dated 1997 - 2008). But seeing Angela Little wrote his book after interviews with him, it could have been her that did the plagiarising. I would like to see evidence of the "many passages" copied from a martial arts website, and the passage taken from a Bruce Lee book.
4) The ritual he described to attain a 'master rank' (he picked up a boiling cauldron with his arms) was apparently directly taken from a TV series on Kung Fu. But it has been witnessed that TA has appropriate scars. Also, just because it was in a movie, didn't mean it didn't happen to TA. It could be in the movie because it's based on a real, credible practise.
5) The Evangelical Alliance haven't published their findings. How do we know that they don't just have it in for TA?
6) TA is very prominent internationally and on media. If his story isn't true, why then has nobody from his pre-Nicosia prison past spoken up and said they knew him, and his story is false? He said he returned to the UK for his teenage years. Why has nobody that knew him then spoken up and said his story was a lie?
AGAINST:
1) The Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries' statement after investigation that the story is false.
2) Instead of addressing the issues and offering conclusive proof, TA has been evasive.
3) He was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2001 for intending to pervert the course of justice, after his part in a hit-and-run incident in which a woman motorcyclist was killed. The judge, Mr Recorder Stevenson, described Tony Anthony as a “devious and manipulative man” who had “deliberately embroidered his story” to throw police off the scent. So he clearly doesn't always tell the truth.
4) He has admitted he can't speak Chinese, in his words: "You mentioned on several occasions that I do not speak any Chinese, and on one occasion you appeared to be contradicting this comment. I can tell you that I learnt a great deal of Cantonese as a child, however I am very out of practice now. I work extensively around the world and especially in South East Asia amongst the Chinese community, and it is always helpful to say a few words - however I do have meetings where I have an interpreter." Having lived in China from age four to age 12, Cantonese would be like his mother tongue, which he says it is in his book, and he kept returning for the next few years to China.
A person does not forget their native tongue.
To sum up, I think the evidence seems inconclusive but what there is weighs against him. However, there is still a slight chance that he may be telling the truth. Either way, he needs to do something more definitive about all of this, rather than just his website posting here. If he is telling the truth it's his responsibility as an evangelist and as a representative of Jesus Christ to publicly prove it. A martial arts demonstration (with advanced opponent) should convince us, or a public interview with question and answer time would also go a long way towards restoring his credibility if his story is indeed true. If it is not, he should humbly admit he has been lying and ask for forgiveness.
Comments
Post a Comment