Wing Chun in Florida
If you are looking for “Wing Chun Florida” or “Wing Chun in Florida“, you’ll find several places to learn Wing Chun throughout the Sunshine State. This includes Wing Chun North Florida (Wing Chun Jacksonville), Wing Chun Central Florida (Orlando Wing Chun) as well as South Florida Wing Chun schools.
We’ll also list the Sifu of each Florida Wing Chun schools as well as further details into classes and lessons.
Please note that in order to guarantee quality, we will only list those schools which we can personally vouch for. These include Wing Chun schools in Florida under the lineage of Ip Man’s senior-most student in Hong Kong (Leung Sheung). Leung Sheung was the #1 student of Ip Man (aka Yip Man) in Hong Kong. All of Ip Man’s other students looked up to him as their senior. He was known for both his ability and his instruction. Those under the Leung Sheung lineage are sure to have come from a high quality source.
Note: Not only have we researched these schools, we have personally “touched hands” with each of the sifus who lead these Wing Chun schools. The following Florida Wing Chun schools have sifus who all have well beyond 25 years experience in the art.
Florida’s Oldest Wing Chun School
The oldest Wing Chun school in Florida is Seminole Wing Chun, founded in 1978 in Sanford, FL. After 44 years, regular classes are consistent ever. Along with the routine students, alumni from the past decades return for practice or visit for a quick workout.
Florida Wing Chun History
The art was first taught in Central Florida by Ken Werner at Seminole Community College. Ken Werner was a student of Ben Der, founder of San Jose Wing Chun. By the end of the second month of Wing Chun classes, only one of Ken Werner’s students remained… Karl Godwin. For the next few years, Karl Godwin became Ken Werner’s sole student. In 1982, Karl Godwin opened Seminole Wing Chun, the first public Wing Chun school in Florida.
Florida Wing Chun’s Karl Godwin
Sifu Karl Godwin has been practicing Wing Chun in Florida for 44 years. Make no mistake, it is Sifu Godwin who is responsible for such a high level of Wing Chun in Florida. His unwavering obsession with both precision and control is what makes him so extraordinary. This is why he is considered by several Wing Chun experts to be “the most advanced Wing Chun practitioner in the world”. But its very likely that you’ve never heard of him. In fact, for the 40+ years of its operation, his Wing Chun school has had no sign. Generally, you’ve got to hear about Sifu Karl Godwin and his Wing Chun school from someone else.
His Florida Wing Chun school is based out of Sanford (Central Florida). Those looking for “Orlando Wing Chun” or “Wing Chun in Orlando” who seek the highest quality Wing Chun would be very lucky to learn from Sifu Karl Godwin. Sifu Godwin was taught Wing Chun by Ken Werner, a student of Ben Der in San Jose, California. Sifu Ben Der was originally a student of Grandmaster Yip Man, yet later became a student of Sifu Kenneth Chung. Karl has ties with Sifu Kenneth Chung in California, who is Ben Der’s teacher and is the wellspring of Leung Sheung Wing Chun in America.
For more information on Karl Godwin or his Seminole Wing Chun Orlando area school, you can contact him at godwinwingchun [at] gmail [dot] com, Godwin Wing Chun on Facebook or visit Seminole Wing Chun.
Florida’s Jacksonville Wing Chun Kung Fu
Sifu Bill Graves is the head of Florida’s Jacksonville Wing Chun group. He has been teaching in Jacksonville, FL since 1989. One of Karl Godwin’s top students, Sifu Graves has operated three schools in the Jacksonville, Florida area. His school was named THE SYSTEM WING CHUN.
Today, Sifu Graves teaches privately and in small group settings. He maintains a small group of private students. He can be contacted at (386) 227-8159 or via email at tailfins [at] bellsouth [dot] net
Florida’s Palm Coast Wing Chun Kung Fu
Sifu Adam Williss leads Florida’s Palm Coast Wing Chun school. He is one of Sifu Bill Graves’ top students having begun training under him in 1995. Sifu Williss is the founder of the award-winning Wing Chun school The Dragon Institute which opened in Orange County, California in 2010. Today, The Dragon Institute is one of the most well-known Wing Chun schools in the world. It’s online Wing Chun course is one of the best selling in America.
The Dragon Institute’s Palm Coast school just opened in 2023. For more info, visit Palm Coast martial arts.
Florida’s Atlantic Warriors Wing Chun
Sifu Jonathan Petree is founder of Atlantic Warriors Wing Chun. As on of the most tenured students of Sifu Bill Graves, he has been training Wing Chun for 28 years. Atlantic Warriors Wing Chun teaches the full spectrum of Wing Chun including both an external and an internal approach. Sifu Petree states that this provides a holistic approach to Wing Chun in order to produce more well-rounded Wing Chun students. Both Sifu Jonathan Petree and Atlantic Warriors have received several awards over the years from both the local community in Jacksonville and internationally. For more info, visit Atlantic Warriors website.
Florida’s Wing Chun Fight Club
Sifu Tim Faughn is the Lead Instructor of Wing Chun Fight Club. He has been training Wing Chun since 2003 and is an original student of Armando Sainz, one of Sifu Bill Graves’ previous students. Today, Sifu Faughn works regularly with Sifu Bill Graves. His school, Wing Chun Fight Club, offers a wide-range of lessons for the martial arts experience. The school’s open-minded, yet analytic approach to fighting and self-defense fosters a detailed study of self-defense including both empty hand and weapon-based training. For more info, go to Wing Chun Fight Club.
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