Southend-on-Sea, England: Kung Fu master Tony Anthony and Avanti Ministries

[stephenprunetti]

This is taken from Anthony's 'official website':-

Tony Anthony Fake?

Tony is fully aware of some of the “allegations” and “negative” stance that can be viewed via the Internet especially doing a Google search or reading some blogs (none of which are evangelical or Christian) regarding the truth behind Tony Anthony’s testimony, suggesting he is a fake. It is so easy to bring a person down, when one’s heart is so hardened or if the message of the Gospel is such a challenge to the status quo and one’s worldview. Our lives are shaped by the “god” we worship – whether the God of the Bible or some substitute deity.
Tony Anthony’s focus has never been/or is never his “kung-fu” world champion status, rather the God who had that abounding grace and love to save a wretched man like him. Yes, the kung-fu is what marks a quarter of Tony’s life story, and it’s what lays the platform for all that his adulthood led to. But that’s it – it forms part of his testimony and rides on it as one would ride on a wave because it gives an inroad to people to listen to how someone who was so disciplined, focused and to some extent brain wash could be changed by the Holy Spirit because of the redemptive force of the cross. ThatÕs the focus of Taming the Tiger, Jesus Christ not Tony and his kung fu.
Avanti is not just a ministry about the testimony or the man Tony Anthony. As a ministry, we do a lot more and have a lot more people serving the cause of the Gospel in various ways. Avanti’s heartbeat is really to challenge people to share the good news, and namely to encourage the Church to return to their biblical priority of evangelism through education and other means. Avanti has evangelists, mentoring programmes, internships, training days, conferences, youth work, social community work, special projects and much more – all of this. It is not merely a “Tony Anthony and Taming the Tiger entity. Tony’s testimony served as a springboard for many other people and pioneering ministries within Avanti to serve the larger Church.
Identity
Many of the people names and groups in Taming the Tiger by Tony Anthony have been change to protect their identity. Tony Anthony is actually not the name that Tony went by in China or in any competitions that Tony Anthony took part in. Tony Anthony did not enter full details in Taming the Tiger, as there are sensitive issues involved whereby Tony Anthony have had a death threat from Tony Anthony’s family in China for ending quite a long family tradition.


Internet based information

Background check on the life of Tony Anthony on the internet are hard to do for the following reasons.

• Just doing a search on Martial Arts can be confusing in the first place, let alone finding information on Tony Anthony.
• There are many Kung Fu World Titles, so you may come up with one, but it may be the wrong one.
• There are large number of world championship competitions in Kung Fu held across the world, especially in Asia, both modern and ancient. They can be quite varied as some incorporate a variety of styles of Kung Fu and other specialise in specific techniques, which can all be misleading.
• The essential reason why no internet information can be found is due to the fact that the names of most people, organisations and even places for the protection of those individuals mentioned within the manuscript.

The age, scale and level of these competitions also depends upon who is organising the competition, as they could be organised by a revered master (often self- promoted) who has developed a particular style (and the competition is often based on how well their own students do in the style they have taught), or alternatively they could be organised by an awarding body composed of a group of masters or Abbott’s that share the common vision to promote the whole science of Kung Fu. There are no end to Kung Fu schools, organisations and federations around the world, and they would each subscribe to a different Kung Fu world championship, which makes things very confusing – although each one would try to say that theirs was the ultimate one. This was one of the points that Tony Anthony tried to communicate in the book, as Tony Anthony did not feel that Tony Anthony was the best by any stretch of the imagination, as there were so many advanced students and grandmasters that never entered the strand of competitions that Tony Anthony entered in, and they were at a much higher standard than me by far. That is also why on the front cover subheading of my book it states: “The remarkable true story of “a” Kung Fu World Champion” instead of “The remarkable true story of “the” Kung Fu World Champion”.
The competitions that Tony Anthony took part in are over 200 years old – and they are derived from the lineage of “Gong So” who goes back to the Manchu Dynasty. These competitions are held in mainland China and as they are so specialised Tony Anthony have not known them to be publicised outside of the relevant circles, which is another reason why Tony Anthony doubt very much that you would ever find these competitions advertised on a Google search engine.
Tony Anthony’s organisation have actually produced a few DVD’s which include interviews with key people that feature in my testimony such as Michael Wright, and Tony Anthony would be very happy to send a free copy to you. If you would like to get one of these, then please forward your postal details at your earliest convenience.
Tony Anthony would finally highlight that the central focus of Taming the Tiger is in actual fact the good news of how a broken life can be transformed by the power of God’s Son Jesus Christ. If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to contact Tony Anthony to discuss this further, Tony Anthony would be very pleased to hear from you.


Tony Anthony is Fake and Doesn’t Exist

Tony Anthony is not the name that Tony went by in China neither in any of the competitions Tony entered in. In some of his other dealings, other alias and alter egos have been used due to the nature of his job. Just doing an internet search on martial arts or kung fu can be confusing in the first place, let alone finding any information on Tony Anthony when he did not exist under that name in China. I have seen authentic letters written to him and by him from the Greek prison, including photos of that time.


His Kung Fu World Title and Competitions

Tony Anthony did not enter full details as they are sensitive issues involved whereby Tony has received death threats from his family in China for ending quite a long family tradition. All the competitions he has taken part in are from the Gong So lineage from the Manchu Dynasty. The age, scale and level of these competitions also depends upon who is organising the competition, as they could be organised by a revered master (often self- promoted) who has developed a particular style (and the competition is often based on how well their own students do in the style they have taught), or alternatively they could be organised by an awarding body composed of a group of masters or Abbott’s that share the common vision to promote the whole science of Kung Fu. There are no end to Kung Fu schools, organisations and federations around the world, and they would each subscribe to a different Kung Fu world championship, which makes things very confusing – although each one would try to say that theirs was the ultimate one. This was one of the points that Tony Anthony tried to communicate in the book, as Tony Anthony did not feel that Tony Anthony was the best by any stretch of the imagination, as there were so many advanced students and grandmasters that never entered the strand of competitions that Tony Anthony entered in, and they were at a much higher standard than me by far. That is also why on the front cover subheading of my book it states: “The remarkable true story of “a” Kung Fu World Champion” instead of “The remarkable true story of “the” Kung Fu World Champion.”


His Time in China with the White Tiger

Some have claimed that there are no White Tigers in China that Tony claimed he has an encounter with in his book. A shame that these allegations are so flaky that any scientific statistics and National Geographic indication will tell you that White Tigers have existed in parts of China especially in the south for decades.


His Finances

To say Tony Anthony uses this for monetary gain is ridiculous and totally defaming. Avanti does not even have money for an office space and are constantly looking for partners and supporters. Tony himself has no assets to his name, except his Lord Jesus. Avanti is a faith-based ministry and relies on funding – often not having enough but always seeing the Lords hand as they trust Him and continue in the work of the Gospel. It is more than a ridiculous claim to state that Tony uses his story to make money. Whatever Tony receives in love gift, is often put back to printing and creating resources for Avanti to give away and give out on their special project missions – yes, give! Tony is one man who believes that we should never need to charge for the Gospel – of course very much like his mentor George Verwer.


Authenticity of His Work with the Underworld

Some have suggested that the name of the Sheikh in the book does not exist – of course he doesn’t theoretically because his name has been changed, as with many of the names that appear in the book. This is legitimate because it is necessary, and legally prudent to protect the identities of these people. It could even stir a national security manhunt should these be leaked and put innocent people especially Tony’s family in danger.


Source: http://www.tonyanthony.co.uk/about/tony-anthony-fake/

[Doubtful]

I have read what has been Posted( above) in favour of Tony Anthony. My only questions are: Could the person who posted it confirm that they know that:
1. Tony Anthony's Father was Greek and NOT Italian.
2. Confirm that they have proof that his Mother is Chinese, because Taming the Tiger falls apart if she is not.
3. Explain why someone who claims to have an Italian Father has the Christian name "Andonis" which is Greek. This writer has documentary proof that his name is Andonis.
4. In Taming the Tiger Tony Anthony names the Saudi Arabian Ambassador as his employer who is involved in criminal activities. Why did he not change his name in the book. Or if it was not him why defame him?

I could go on and on.. but this will do for now.

[It is Fake]

Right.

The competitions that Tony Anthony took part in are over 200 years old – and they are derived from the lineage of “Gong So” who goes back to the Manchu Dynasty. These competitions are held in mainland China and as they are so specialised Tony Anthony have not known them to be publicised outside of the relevant circles, which is another reason why Tony Anthony doubt very much that you would ever find these competitions advertised on a Google search engine.

Funny how no one has EVER heard of GONG SO lineage. Funny how it is another super secret tournament. Fun how it can go all the way back to the Manchu's, 200 years ago, but NO ONE has ever heard of the tournament. Funny how he thinks all people have done is used google.

We have had people, with contact in "these circles," who have never hear of him or any of his championship claims. You know people that live in the areas he claims where he showed his alleged kung fu skills.

Yes, it doesn't escape me how close Gong So is to Gong Sau.
Dumbass.

[Doubtful]

Tony Anthony Evangelist is about to be deleted AGAIN from Wikipedia. His entry is much abreviated but even so he cannot substantiate it. He has claimed that it was deloeted before before someone put something incorrect up on Wiki and also technical reasons - well he cannot hide behind that excuse anymore.

[slamdunc]

Sounds like Frank Dux alter-ego with a religious twist.

[Bryan84]

Mr. Anthony is speaking near me on Thursday evening. If I were to attend and either confront him publicly with questions or speak with him one to one and ask questions, what does everyone feel are the most pressing questions to ask? Keeping in mind that time will no doubt be very limited.

[Doubtful]

My experience with Tony Anthony is that it is pointless asking or telling him anything. He is undoubtably a liar on a grand scale and he will not admit to any of his countless lies even when confronted with Documents that prove he is a liar. One of his tricks is to say that he cannot divulge information because he and his family have had death threats from his family in China because he gave up the family tradition of Kung Fu, that is why he changed his name...Total rubbish. He was imprisoned in Cyprus under the name of Andonis Anthony ( I have a Document) so he must have a crystal ball because that was in 1992, long before he ever met his wife..so he would have us believe he changed his name from Andonis Anthony to Tony Anthony to throw his Chinese relatives off the scent.,. total rubbish. He changed his name from Andonis to Tony because he didnt want people to know he was a Greek Cypriot ( I have Documents) anyway he says in Taming the Tiger that his father was Italian..Total Lie. His father was a Greek Cypriot.

[Doubtful]

I have just looked again at the Document, above, which is from Anthony's Website.
That is also why on the front cover subheading of my book it states: “The remarkable true story of “a” Kung Fu World Champion” instead of “The remarkable true story of “the” Kung Fu World Champion.”
The suggestion is that by changing "the" to "a" Kung Fu World Champion it dosent mislead the reader. Well even Muhammed Ali was "a" World Champion. You can only be "The" World Champion if there are no Weight or other Divisions. By the way the Anthony abstract from his Website above seems to be written by a third party, but then he betrays himself by writing " That is also why on the front cover subheading of my book it states: "
Liars always betray themselves in the detail.

[Doubtful]

Tony Anthonys Wikipedia Entry has been DELETED. This was a very brief entry and did not include World Champion Kung Fu claims. But even though it was brief he couldnt substantiate any of that. He cant prove his father was Italian, because he wasnt, he couldnt prove any Body Guard claims, because they are fiction along with the vast majority of his claims. It's time for those who work with and deal with Tony Anthony to make him prove his outrageous claims, I believe if they do not they themselves are culpable.

[GodlybladE]

I hope someone some day catches him alone on the street, with covered face and pulls a gun against his head, maybe we will finally get true answers after that -.-

You guys have really made a nice work over the last years 0.o I read his book an year ago and I also did some research, but to be sincere I haven't found out more than you already did. I asked him to send me that DVD too, but I dont believe his story after everything I have found out about him.