Great Way Martial Arts

Shoutout to Ben Phillips, a Great Way student who, in a stressful situation, acted with great resolve and care for neighbors that he didn't know, and who now consider him a hero. A story of a neighborhood coming together.
Early morning August 21st, a fire had started in my neighbour's yard area. A man I don't know was trying to enjoy his breakfast; he saw the smoke, he called the fire department, and ran towards the situation to try and wake people up and warn them. Thank you! You rock!
As a neighborhood slowly woke up to a spreading problem, Ben showed up (he lives about 3 blocks away), ran into the yard that’s starting to burn, grabbed their garden hose, and started trying to soak the yard and building - even before the person whose house it is knew there was a problem. She woke to Ben trying to protect her home and swears that the only reason there was not more damage is that Ben showed up!
Sadly, it turned bad when a propane tank blew. Thankfully, no one was hurt. And as the full Kelowna fire crews are arriving, they brought 4 or 5 full crews, and like Batman, Ben vanishes (I think he went to work). As Ben left, neighbors who pass by each other daily were out, giving each other comfort, coffee, and couches to rest on while the professionals got to work protecting the house and putting out the garage fire. Thank you, Kelowna Fire Department and RCMP, for your fantastic service. Thank you to all the neighbors who stepped up. And a huge thank you to Ben Phillips for being absolutely amazing!

Early morning fire in Kelowna being investigated UPDATE 8:20 a.m. Mounties are investigating a structure fire that occurred early Friday, in the alley behind the 1000-block of Martin Avenue.

Shoutout to Ben Phillips, a Great Way student who, in a stressful situation, acted with great resolve and care for neighbors that he didn't know, and who now consider him a hero. A story of a neighborhood coming together.
Early morning August 21st, a fire had started in my neighbour's yard area. A man I don't know was trying to enjoy his breakfast; he saw the smoke, he called the fire department, and ran towards the situation to try and wake people up and warn them. Thank you! You rock!
As a neighborhood slowly woke up to a spreading problem, Ben showed up (he lives about 3 blocks away), ran into the yard that’s starting to burn, grabbed their garden hose, and started trying to soak the yard and building - even before the person whose house it is knew there was a problem. She woke to Ben trying to protect her home and swears that the only reason there was not more damage is that Ben showed up!
Sadly, it turned bad when a propane tank blew. Thankfully, no one was hurt. And as the full Kelowna fire crews are arriving, they brought 4 or 5 full crews, and like Batman, Ben vanishes (I think he went to work). As Ben left, neighbors who pass by each other daily were out, giving each other comfort, coffee, and couches to rest on while the professionals got to work protecting the house and putting out the garage fire. Thank you, Kelowna Fire Department and RCMP, for your fantastic service. Thank you to all the neighbors who stepped up. And a huge thank you to Ben Phillips for being absolutely amazing!
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/628737/Early-morning-fire-in-Kelowna-being-investigated

Shoutout to Ben Phillips, a Great Way student who, in a stressful situation, acted with great resolve and care for neighbors that he didn't know, and who now consider him a hero. A story of a neighborhood coming together.
Early morning August 21st, a fire had started in my neighbour's yard area. A man I don't know was trying to enjoy his breakfast; he saw the smoke, he called the fire department, and ran towards the situation to try and wake people up and warn them. Thank you! You rock!
As a neighborhood slowly woke up to a spreading problem, Ben showed up (he lives about 3 blocks away), ran into the yard that’s starting to burn, grabbed their garden hose, and started trying to soak the yard and building - even before the person whose house it is knew there was a problem. She woke to Ben trying to protect her home and swears that the only reason there was not more damage is that Ben showed up!
Sadly, it turned bad when a propane tank blew. Thankfully, no one was hurt. And as the full Kelowna fire crews are arriving, they brought 4 or 5 full crews, and like Batman, Ben vanishes (I think he went to work). As Ben left, neighbors who pass by each other daily were out, giving each other comfort, coffee, and couches to rest on while the professionals got to work protecting the house and putting out the garage fire. Thank you, Kelowna Fire Department and RCMP, for your fantastic service. Thank you to all the neighbors who stepped up. And a huge thank you to Ben Phillips for being absolutely amazing!

Early morning fire in Kelowna being investigated UPDATE 8:20 a.m. Mounties are investigating a structure fire that occurred early Friday, in the alley behind the 1000-block of Martin Avenue.

New this fall: Great Way Martial Arts is proud to launch its first Tai Chi program.
Classes are led by Ward Willison. Registered Acupuncturist and Co-Founder of All Body Care. Be ready to register...more info to follow soon!

Project Literacy Central Okanagan Society Project Literacy is a local charity that provides free literacy programs for immigrants, vulnerable families, adults, children, and seniors.

Donate to support literacy services in your community: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/11621

Huge thank you to Save-On-Foods for supporting our kids’ summer camps! 🥳
Thanks to their generous donation of all the snack foods, our campers are staying fuelled, energized, and ready to learn and have fun all through the camps. 🌞🍎🍿
A very special shoutout to manager Spencer Hammer for helping make this happen and for going above and beyond for our community. We truly appreciate you! 🙏
Thank you, Save-On-Foods, Spencer and your staff, for investing in our kids and helping make this year’s camps a big success. 💚

We’re celebrating Natalie Walker! 🎉
Great Way Martial Arts is proud to recognize and congratulate Natalie on earning her Wing Chun Kung Fu Level 6 Black Sash!
Huge thank you to Adam Tieman for helping bring out the best in Natalie throughout her grading.
Natalie began her Kung Fu journey with us in early 2023 and has quickly become a valued part of our community. She’s well-liked, respected, kind, friendly, and a fantastic training partner.
We’re incredibly proud of Natalie and can’t wait to see her continue to grow, reach new milestones, and achieve even more in Wing Chun Kung Fu. 👊

Happy Birthday to Sifu Jesse! He spent part of his Birthday on Saturday with us, training in class and then conducting Belt Exams. We are very grateful to have Sifu Jesse part of our Great Way Team!

We’re celebrating Nathan Overland! 🥋🖤
Great Way Martial Arts is proud to congratulate Nathan on earning his Wing Chun Kung Fu Level 6 Black Sash! His grading included:
- Wing Chun Chum Kiu and Wooden Dummy forms
- Advanced Chi Sao (sticking hands)
- Intense combat applications and self-defense, including choke attacks, club, and knife defenses
A special thank you to Zakhar for helping bring out Nathan’s best throughout his test.
Nathan began his Kung Fu journey with us in 2014 and has reached incredible milestones along the way:
- Junior Black Belt at age 11
- Youth Black Belt at age 14
- And now, at 17, our newest Black Sash recipient
We are very proud of you, Nathan, and excited to see you continue to grow, on and off the mats, in life and in Wing Chun Kung Fu. 🙌

We celebrate Ivy Kupchanko!
Great Way Martial Arts is excited to recognize and congratulate Ivy for earning her Wing Chun Kung Fu Level 6 Black Sash. A special thank you to Sifu Jesse & Sabine Lige for helping to bring out the best in this outstanding student during her grading.
Ivy began her Kung Fu and Martial Arts journey at Great Way in 2016 and has achieved many milestones, including Junior Black Belt at age 10. Youth Black Belt at age 13, an advanced member of Great Way’s Performance Team for years, and now, at the age of 16, she is our newest Black Sash recipient.
Thank you to Barbara & John for being great supporters to Ivy and the
Great Way community.
The test included the Wing Chun Chum Kiu & Wooden Dummy Forms, Advanced Chi Sao (sticking hands), Intense Combat attacks, and Self-defense scenarios, including choke attacks, club and knife defenses.
We are very proud of Ivy and look forward to seeing her continue to grow and achieve even more goals and milestones in life and in Wing Chun Kung Fu.