Sifu Marc Turner has spent more than four decades in martial arts. He holds about 5½ years of Wing Chun training across three Ip Man lineages and 7½ years of boxing. Few practitioners have trained both arts this seriously, and fewer still can explain how each one sharpens the other.

His story runs from a childhood Judo mat in New South Wales to the first Wing Chun school in Newcastle in 1986. From there it moves to a professional boxing ring, then to the William Cheung system in Brisbane. Today he lives in Lake Macquarie, NSW, and is a Premium Member of the Global Kung Fu Alliance.

A Childhood on the Mat

Marc’s martial arts life began early. From age 6 to 11 he trained in Judo, first at the YMCA in Toronto, NSW, and then at a private dojo in Fennell Bay. Five years of falls, grips and throws gave him balance, toughness and an early love of combat sport.

Boxing came next. In 1981 and 1982 he trained at the Toronto YMCA, learning the jab, the guard and the footwork that would stay with him for life. As Marc puts it, his path was “simply a matter of what we had at home.” There was no Wing Chun in his district yet, so it was boxing.

1986: Wing Chun Comes to Newcastle

In November 1986, Chu Shong Tin Wing Chun arrived in Newcastle from Sydney, two and a half hours to the south. Marc, then 21, went along to an Open Day one Saturday “to have a look.” His sister came too.

That day the visiting Australian master was Jim Fung. He had trained directly under Chu Shong Tin in Hong Kong and brought this branch of Ip Man’s Wing Chun to Australia. Marc remembers him as “the real thing”: powerful, calm and full of energy.

The art itself struck him as unusual after Judo and boxing. “Goodness,” he remembers thinking, “more moves than a Swiss watch.” He was hooked.

The local teacher, Sifu Tony Bardakoz, only wanted experienced martial artists in his school. Marc demonstrated what he knew, and Sifu Tony invited him to stay. His sister’s Judo background earned her a place as well. Marc trained there for 18 months and earned his first three gradings in the Chu Shong Tin lineage.

Private Training with Sifu Jason Hancock

College study and shift work soon pulled Marc away from regular classes. Once his studies were finished, he came back to Wing Chun in 1991, this time in private lessons with Sifu Jason Hancock.

Jason had trained alongside Marc at Sifu Tony’s school, earned his Red Sash and become a Sifu. In 1990 he travelled to Hong Kong and spent about four months training at Chu Shong Tin’s own school, under the master himself.

Their mornings were free, so they trained one-on-one. Sifu Jason awarded Marc three more gradings, bringing him to six in the Chu Shong Tin lineage.

Years in the Ring

Boxing never left Marc’s life. From 1995 to 1999 he trained at the Bank Corner Boxing Ring, a commercial professional gym in Newcastle, for four and a half years. Years later, from 2014 to 2016, he trained again at PCYC Inala in Brisbane.

In all, Marc has spent 7½ years under boxing coaches. That time on the heavy bag, the floor-to-ceiling bag and the speed ball shaped how he moves, defends and hits. It would later change how he understood Wing Chun.

Three Lineages, One Art

In 2014 Marc began training in the William Cheung system in Brisbane, including with Sifu Ian Protheroe of Classical Wing Chun Australasia. He trained in that lineage for three years, until 2017. He also spent six months in the Yip Chun lineage.

Across his Wing Chun years Marc has trained:

• Sil Lim Tao
• William Cheung’s Advanced Sil Lim Tao
• Chum Kiu
• Part of Biu Jee
• The complete 116-movement Wooden Dummy form

Having trained in more than one branch of Ip Man’s family tree, Marc speaks with respect for each. “Having trained both, I can state that both are true Wing Chun,” he says of the Chu Shong Tin and William Cheung lineages. “Both a little different, but both quite good and both quite effective.”

Where Boxing Meets Wing Chun

Marc’s view, after decades in both arts, is simple: “Boxing and Wing Chun complement each other, at least that has been my experience with both.” Here is how he sees each art strengthening the other.

Boxing’s heavy training builds Wing Chun power. The heavy bag, the floor-to-ceiling bag, the speed ball and the skipping rope all build the conditioning, timing and hand speed that Wing Chun needs.

Boxing’s head movement adds to Wing Chun defence. Slips, ducks, roll-ducks and bobs give a Wing Chun practitioner more ways to stay safe than blocking with the hands alone. Marc calls their contribution to Wing Chun defence “huge.”

Wing Chun makes a better boxer. Wing Chun is ambidextrous: what you train on the left side, you train on the right. That habit lets a boxer switch instantly between orthodox and southpaw stances. Marc credits Wing Chun with making him a natural switch-hitter.

The stances already speak to each other. William Cheung’s fighting stances are close to a boxer’s stance. Footwork, guards and stances from each art carry over to the other.

Both arts reward close, fast hands. Wing Chun’s close-range hands and simultaneous attack and defence reinforce good boxing principles, and boxing’s sharp punching sharpens Wing Chun in return.

For students coming to Wing Chun from boxing, or boxers curious about Wing Chun, Marc’s experience is clear: the two arts do not compete. They fit together.

Sifu Marc Turner Today

Today Sifu Marc Turner lives in Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Looking back, he says his journey was “quite coincidental,” shaped by whatever was taught close to home, and by the curiosity and mystery that first drew him to Wing Chun.

Forty years after that Open Day in Newcastle, he still brings a deep respect for Wing Chun’s traditions and lineages. He is a Premium Member of the Global Kung Fu Alliance, one of the world’s largest Wing Chun organizations, with over 250,000 members in more than 90 countries.

See Sifu Marc Turner in the Masters Directory →

Editor’s note: Wing Chun Magazine is published by Sifu Kendra Mahon.