Tong Kai (Chinese: 唐佳) was born in Hong Kong in 1937. Later he became a kung-fu student of Yuen Woo-Ping's father, Yuen Hsiao-Tieng. Eventually he also became a martial arts instructor. In the 1960's, Tong became a martial arts instructor of "South Dragon, North Phoenix", a Cantonese film; and "The Jade Bow"--a Mandarin production along with Liu Chia-Liang. Later he joined Shaw Brothers with Liu, and became Chang's long-term partner for martial arts instructors. In 1982, Tong directed his first film "Shaolin Prince", co-starring Ti Lung. He directed some films before turning to television in the late 1980s with a focus on martial arts drama series.