By Pete Mills, on 26-01-2008 19:58

Taming the Tiger Author: Tony Anthony, Angela Little; Publisher: Authentic; Year: 2004 Pages: 245; Languages: English; RRP: £6.99

Review:

I was a bit short on pennies this month so I decided to have a look in my local library to see what was on offer for the martial artist; for the Fenlander at least. Amongst the ‘how to’ guides of Tai Chi, there nestled this little autobiography about “The remarkable true story of a Kung Fu World Champion”. I got a bit excited as I thought I might have found a little purple treasure to review for Martial Edge. When I read this book I was surprised all right, but not quite in the way I had hoped for.

From looking over the cover and blurb and reading the subtitle, “from the depths of hell to the heights of glory”, one would assume that this autobiography, co-written by Angela Little, is about the rise of a Kung Fu champion from what must have been a difficult childhood. Aren’t they all? Well yes, this is basically what the first 150 pages of this book are. Mr Anthony tells us of his tough and cruel training in China at the hands of “Lowsi”, his grandfather who was a master in Kung Fu, the cold indifference of his mother and his rise in the Kung Fu world to becoming three times world champion. We are then taken to his adventures during his time working as a bodyguard, which contains the most gripping part of his story as he is chased with his client across the desert in Saudi Arabia by assassins.

However, the story takes an unexpected turn as we learn how Mr Anthony lands himself in a notorious Cypriot jail, converts to Christianity and now, we reach the actual point of the book. Mr Anthony has no intention of exploring in detail what could have been a very interesting story of his rise to Kung Fu success, he rather seeks to evangelise and preach to what he assumes to be the heathen martial arts reader, who has been deliberately mistaken into believing they were reading the autobiography of a Kung Fu expert and that the only correct way of leading their life is his and “the true way of Christ”. Indeed, Mr Anthony is shamelessly self-righteous in his condemnation of martial arts by his blind and blinkered faith as he tells us, “I have always discouraged people from pursuing any form of martial art” and that Kung Fu is, “rooted in spirituality that I believe is misleading and dangerous…It is a way that builds false confidence in self.” I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or throw the book out of the window as Mr Anthony’s motivations were laid bare. The book cover is both manipulative and misleading and is deliberately aimed at the martial arts market and its sole aim is evangelising and nowhere does it mention the words Christianity, Jesus, God or conversion. The book’s linear style is simple in its language and utterly deceptive in its aims. Mr Anthony, If you want to write a book about your conversion to Christianity then fine, do that and I’m pleased you found personal happiness in this but please be more honest in your aims of the book and give the reader a truer idea of what your definition of “glory” means.

One thing that did leave me wondering, apart from having no idea what happened to his parents, was what happened to his friend and colleague Henry during the chase across the desert.? We are told that he went down in the chase, but what happened after that? Was he killed or did he survive? Does anyone know?

Author Profile: Lesley Jackson

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Lesley Jackson, black belt and Taekwondo teacher is deputy Editor of Martial Edge.

Also by Lesley Jackson:

• Jamie Clubb, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Jamie Clubb the Ealy Years
• Sneaking under the Wire