Leo Fong

Background

Leo Fong was born in Xinhui county, China, and moved with his family to Seattle, where they were detained for a time. After release, they settled in Chicago, working at his uncle's restaurant. His father later saved enough to buy a grocery store in Widener, Arkansas. Fong faced racial taunts at school, leading to fights, and took up boxing at age 15. He graduated from Forrest City High School, earned a B.A. in physical education from Hendrix College, a master's degree in theology from Southern Methodist University, and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Sacramento. He began studying judo and jiu jitsu in the 1950s, later developing his own style, Wei Kuen Do. Fong was a friend of Bruce Lee, who arranged for him to appear on the cover of the tenth anniversary edition of Black Belt magazine.

Film career

Fong's first film role was in Murder in the Orient (1974), a Filipino martial arts exploitation film co-starring Ron Marchini. In 1975 he starred in Bamboo Trap. From the late 1970s he began writing, directing, and producing. His films from the seventies to mid-1980s often featured Cameron Mitchell, Hope Holiday, and Stack Pierce.

In Killpoint, directed by Frank Harris, Fong played L.A. policeman Lt. James Long, who teams with an FBI agent (Richard Roundtree) to stop stolen weapons from reaching street gangs. In Low Blow (1986), also directed by Harris, he played San Francisco PI Joe Wong, hired to rescue a young heiress from a cult. Fong reprised the Wong character in Blood Street (1986), co-directed with George Chung, and again in Hard Way Heroes (2010). He appeared in Showdown (1993), about a Mafia retirement village invaded by a biker gang.

Later films include Transformed (2005), a Christian-themed anti-drug film he directed, produced, composed the theme song for, and edited, also starring Tadashi Yamashita and Fred Williamson. His latest work includes Drifter TKD (2008) and The Last Musketeer, which he produced.

Fighting Style

Wei Kuen Do integrates approaches from Jeet Kune Do, Serrada Escrima, Western Boxing, Choy Lay Fut, Northern Shaolin, Wrestling, Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Arnis, and Wing Chun. On March 24, 2017, Fong appointed a three-person board to oversee its instruction. The current board members are Klein Buen and Bong Tumaru-Fong.