Phantom Kickboxing was founded in the Yorkshire town of Castleford in England in 1990. Rick Dobson's Original style was called Kami-Wa-Do (Way of Divine Peace) founded in 1985 which was a watered down version of the Traditional Okinawan Karate style of Wado Ryu. Kami-Wa-Do could not compete with the fast moving Semi-Contact Kickboxing sport flooding the UK from America, so the original style was broken down and the more fluid movements of Freestyle Karate and Kickboxing were introduced. The club then took on the name of Phantom. Rick and his students began to see results with members competing at National and International level around the world.

There have been several Phantom Kickboxing members on the World Kickboxing/Karate association (WKA) squad since 1994.

The President of Phantom kickboxing handed the title to Craig Stokes 3rd Dan when he migrated to New Zealand in 2002. But his love of teaching the sport convinced him to open a New Zealand branch of Phantom Kickboxing. In July of 2003, Phantom Kickboxing (NZ) opened its doors in the Waikato town of Te Awamutu, now in 2007 there are affiliated clubs in Hamilton, Tauranga, Cambridge and Te Kuiti as well as the international base and HQ in Te Awamutu.
There is also a Self Defence club affiliated to Phantom in Te Awamutu, Core Self Defence.

Proudly affiliated to

Elite Martial Arts

Martial Arts Against Bullying
Membership Number 00199

Last Updated 16 August 2008

Designed by Richard & Diana Gordon. Maintained by Lawrence Gosnell