By Jesse Moon
It is difficult for me to put a summary of Sifu Karl Godwin in one short bio. Karl is simply one of the most amazing individuals in the world. Sifu Godwin is my teacher's Sifu and is based out of Sanford, Florida. He was taught the Wing Chun system by Ken Werner, a student of Ben Der in San Jose California. Karl began his training over 30 years ago and has consistently trained daily since that time. As a result of his discipline, he is truly an accomplished master of our art. I can say with all honesty that he is the only true martial arts master I have ever personally known or had the privilege to train under. In addition to training on his own, Karl is equally dedicated to his students success and to propagating our art. Sifu Godwin has shown his students how to train traditionally and intensely but also how to think outside the box. 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.
I had the honor of meeting Karl in 1996 while visiting the Orlando, Florida area. After that I would periodically travel with my instructor to visit Karl's school. In 1997, when my teacher closed his school, I became a formal student of Sifu Karl's school and have received a large portion of my training from him. I enjoy his classes very much and consider myself fortunate to be able to train with him in person regularly. His classes are intense and rewarding and I have a very good student-teacher relationship with Sifu Godwin. I am the 12th student to have finished the Wing Chun Mook Jong under Karl and remain a Si-hing in good standing at his Seminole Wing Chun School in Sanford.
Karl's top students include John Gendall, Kevin Povalite, Russ Schiebenburger, Bill Graves (my Sifu) and many other very accomplished teachers and practitioners. Karl's school meets several times each week and is one of the best places to receive the best training.
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For more information on Sifu Karl Godwin and his approach we recommend his outstanding book on the Wing Chun wooden dummy and beyond available for purchase online, Modern Training Methods of Wing Chun: Volume I - The Wooden Dummy.
Orange County Wing Chun - OC's Wing Chun source
