Phantom Wing Chun was created by Mark Johnson (Black Sash) and Sifu Carl Wood from a shared passion for Wing Chun, martial arts and a belief that tradition should be respected without being afraid to evolve.
Our roots are firmly within the IP Man Wing Chun Lineage passed through Ip Chun and Ip Ching > Samuel Kwok then Sifu Carl Wood & Mark Johnson. Both Carl and Mark have dedicated many years to studying, training and pressure testing Wing Chun, with Mark also having trained at the Ving Tsun Athletic Association. That connection to the history and lineage of the art remains an important part of everything we do.
Phantom Wing Chun isn’t about simply preserving techniques because they’ve always been done that way. We believe Wing Chun should be trained, tested and applied. Our approach combines the principles and structure of traditional Wing Chun with pressure testing, sparring, athletic movement and influences from boxing, jeet kune do, Muay Thai and other practical combat methods. We continually explore how Wing Chun can function against the challenges presented by modern mixed martial arts.
OUR GYM & TEAM PHANTOM
Nestled in a sleepy village in West Cumbria lies the White Owl Gym, our private training facility. The gym is about as oldskool as you can get. Picture a training montage from the Rocky films and you’d be close to seeing what it’s like. The gritty setting in which we train is only matched by our own gritty determination to become better martial artists, put in solid work and literally train like beasts.
We have a close knit group of training partners at the gym (team phantom) and have many years of experience working with them.