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Wilson Tong


kokuryuha

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Since no one else did the honor of acknowledging this man, Allow me...

 

Wilson Tong is an unsung hero of the kung fu movies in the sense that he got props but never ENOUGH props for his capability, nor his contributions to the genre. Word has it that he is from a peking opera background and that he made a floating device with the aid of a basketball and swam to Hong Kong on his own.

 

From there he began to carve out his niche in movies working from stuntman to bit player and then full fledged actor and finally assistant choreograper to lead choreographer and Director.

Lar Kar Leung aka "The Pops" saw his talent and had him working with his troupe for a time taking part in classics like "Spiritual Boxer", "Dirty Ho", "Shaolin Mantis", "Martial Club" and "Treasure Hunters", etc,.

 

In between, Tong started doing his own thing working with other directors like Sammo who christened him with the name "Foot Doctor" because of the complex footwork he employed in classic "The Victim" when he played as the kung fu expert hired by Chang Yi to deal with Leung kar yan's character in the movie.

 

It wasn't long before Tong himself was at the helm for Goodies like "Snake in the Monkey's Shadow", "Daggers 8" and "Snake Deadly Act" where he invents "Lobster Claw style" to great effect against another screen heavy Fung Hak On.

 

Wilson hooked up again with one of the Lau family members Lau Kar Wing along with Wong Yue and did the unforgettable "Dirty Kung Fu" where he's handing out beatdowns like donations to charity.

 

Wong Yue was under Tong's direction when he did "Young Avenger" and Tong once again showed that marvelous footwork like he did in "The Victim" and "Dirty Ho".

 

And l failed to mention this earlier but one of Wilson's earlier efforts and success was when he starred in "Kung Fu Genius" and showed  just how versatile he was with his fists, feet and weapons.

No one can wield a fan like big Willie! (Except maybe Pops!) Keep in mind  these examples I provided are not in chronological order and far from complete but this was most of his best apperances on and behind the camera.

 

He even got to Direct/Choreograph Lar Kar Leung himself in the movie "A Bloody Fight" where The pops tears into these triad members with a baseball bat wielded kung fu style! A must see and must have in anyone's collection.

On a final note...Wilson Tong may not be the most famous of MA actors, but he can kung fu with the best of them.

 

Make no mistake!http://WILSON TONG IN THAILAND: http://youtu.be/5vhtbVtfWJk

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Lady Jin Szu-Yi

I've only seen him in three films and I really enjoyed him in all three 

 

Shaolin Mantis, The Victim and The Spirtual Boxer (In my head cannon there's a movie based around his, Chen Kuan Tai and Ti Lung's characters - not Wong Yu's phony Spiritual Boxer.)  He initally blew my mind in The Victim (I thought Beardy was the bad guy initially LOL).

 

But I can see why folks call Wilson The Foot Doctor...:smile

 

When funds permit, I will try to track down some more wuxia he's appeared in on the cheap. 

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Great thread Kokuryuha!

 

I believe my intro to him was in THE VICTIM, and I recall thinking "Whoa! Wait just a minute... Who the hell is THIS guy?!"

 

He certainly made a huge first impression on me. :nerd:

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Lady Jin Szu-Yi

Having finally seen Daggers 8 today, yes, I really dig Wilson Tong. I love watching him do his thing (feet and otherwise), so very agile.  Very good director and choreographer too.  I'd love a subbed version of this, if such a thing exists. 

 

Also rewatched Snake Deadly Act and that was good too. 

 

Fascinating info on his background, he certainly seems like he could have had Peking Opera training given his amazing agility. I wouldn't mind knowing more about him. 

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I remember being first introduced to Wilson Tong in Shaolin Master Killer (sorry for the use of the dubtitle but it's easier to type) as General Tang. He's been in some real classics over the years. I hope to check out Dirty Ho, which although I know he doesn't have a big role in, I've  heard great things about.

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When I first saw Enter the Dragon, I thought Angela Mao kicked Jackie Chan in the groin, but it turned out to be Wilson himself...

EntertheDragon+1973-21-b.jpg

He appeared in 2011's Treasure Inn

TreasureInn+2011-32-b.jpg

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1 hour ago, AlbertV said:

When I first saw Enter the Dragon, I thought Angela Mao kicked Jackie Chan in the groin, but it turned out to be Wilson himself...

 

I used to think exactly the same thing, thought it was a young pre-plastic surgery JC apperance, until reading your comment.

 

This movie doesnt get much positive praise from fans, but it does feature an above average scuffle betwween Wilson Tong, and Norman Chu?. These guy's were moving away from the shapes, and trying something abit different, more like the action you saee in The Iron Dragon Strikes Back, made in 1979.

Phillip Ko-Fei and Wilson Tong put the action together, so its a title thats aways pipqued my interest. Don't quote me, but I think some of the Wilson Tong footage, later turned in an IFD's Ninja VS Ninja(1987)?.

 

 

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Cognoscente

It's sad that he never got to strut his stuff in any of Sammo's modern '80s movies. It would have been quite something if he had played a tap-dancing fighter during the disco scene in Carry On, Pickpocket.

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On 3/23/2019 at 12:14 AM, DragonClaws said:

 

Can anyone I-D this old-school Thai movie, featuring The Foot Doctor.

 

 

What a great sequence ! I'm also curious to know from which movie it comes !

Can anyone confirm that Wilson Tong uses the snake style, and later the crane style here ?

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On 5/20/2019 at 9:57 PM, DragonClaws said:

 

 

I never had had the time to watch all these clips posted in this thread, and I ENJOY MYSELF A LOT !!

Wison Tong is really a GREAT fighter. He was also very good in End of the Wicked Tiger.

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