Our Instructors
"Our team is excited about helping you reach your goals"
Barry Adkins
After winning the Canadian blackbelt championship, SiFu Barry Adkins moved from Edmonton to Kamloops in 1973 to open his own school. During his time in Kamloops he has enjoyed unprecedented success as a martial artist, coach, and instructor.
Recognized as one of the most skilled White Crane martial artists of his generation, SiFu Barry was the first non-Chinese student to be formally adopted as a Master of White Crane Gung Fu. He has trained teams of fighters that have represented White Crane on the international stage, organized and led a White Crane demonstration team on a tour of Communist China, and run a school recognized as being one of the premier White Crane schools worldwide.
At one time ranked number 2 worldwide as a middleweight, SiFu Adkins, a Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame inductee, put our city on the map as a training facility for professional kickboxers. At its height, his Olympian Center produced two world kickboxing champions, a number of Canadian and North American titleholders, and one of North America's most successful stables of amateur competitors.
SiFu Adkins has also lent his skills to the law enforcement community, where he served as the Chief Control Tactics Instructor for the B.C. Sheriffs for over ten years. He is currently a technical advisor to the B.C. Sheriffs training section, and has worked with the RCMP, Corrections, and Canadian Military, as well as continuing to teach martial arts and kickboxing in Kamloops.
Gwen Kreps
Gwen has been a fixture at the school since starting in 1980. The school's first female Black Belt, Gwen has represented the traditional school in Hong Kong and China, as well as taking part in a demonstration team that performed at the 1986 World's Exposition.
Highlighting her committment to developing the health and well-being of her students, Gwen retired from the banking community in 2000 to work as a registered professional fitness trainer, as well as continuing to volunteer her time teaching martial arts at the White Crane school.
Robert Wielgoz
B.Sc., B.Ed., M.A. (Leadership and Administration)
Since starting as a youth in 1986, and receiving his Black Belt in 1994, Rob has risen through the ranks to become one of the leaders at the Kamloops school, and is the first Senior Black Belt Instructor recognized by SIFu Adkins. In 2009 he was named one of the “Ten Tigers” of the Kamloops White Crane school.
Kevin Wourms, Steve Mechem, and Eric Will
Kevin, a master GM mechanic, Steve, a self-employed building designer, and Eric, a trainee firefighter, received their Black Belts in 2006. Since receiving their Black Belts, they contribute regularly to the success of the school's students as instructors, as well as continuing their own development in the White Crane art.
