Comments

Teaching girls that they CAN defend themselves

I am interested in becoming a certified trainer for Just Yell Fire. I gained my Master's degree in Library Science last May with an emphasis in children's and youth services, and hope to find a job soon as a public librarian. With the amount of contact I will have in that field with young and teenage girls, as well as contacts with schools and other libraries, I would like to find out how to become involved and help promote your program.

I have been training in aikido as a self-defense art since June, and will be testing for my first rank soon. The more I learned in aikido, the more it made me aware of how girls and women in America are socialized about violence. Movies, television, and popular media seem to promote the belief that girls and women cannot win or escape in a situation where we are under attack by a man. Recognizing this made me interested in finding out what programs were already available to promote girls' and women's self-defense. I discovered Just Yell Fire by Googling "women's self-defense". I was thrilled to find that someone has begun a movement to counter that socialization early in women's lives, beginning with teaching the girls who are most at risk that they CAN defend themselves and escape an attacker, even if their attacker is much larger. I myself am only 5'1", and the techniques that eliminate an attacker's advantage of greater height are also especially applicable to me.

I live in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and I would like any information available on training for certification for Just Yell Fire, either locally or in neighboring states if necessary. Many thanks to you, Dallas, and everyone else involved with Just Yell Fire for your caring and hard work.

Thanks for a great class.

Hey Maggie,

I just wanted to shoot you a quick e-mail and tell you what a great job Chad did with the training in San Diego. I felt the class was laid out nicely and Chad's easy going personality made it feel like you could ask him anything. The class had lots of good information and it has inspired me to really push to get this program in use at my school. I really enjoyed the training and am looking forward to spreading the program in my area. Chad did a great job and he has made it clear that he is willing to help in anyway he can. I thought of a question a couple days after the training and sent him a quick message on Facebook and he sent me a response almost immediately. I am very pleased to be a part of Just Yell Fire and I will keep you posted on my progress in regards to getting it put into the Physical Education curriculum at my school. Hope your week is going well.

Thanks for a great class.

I am the media Specialist at Wittenberg Elementary/Middle School and I just downloaded your "Just Yell Fire!" for our School nurse. In watching the beginning to see if the download worked, I was instantly drawn in by how good it was. I watched the entire program and will be having my 17 year old daughter watch it tonight. Thank you for making available such a well done presentation on a very important topic. Our pre-teen and teenage girls need to hear repeatedly that they have the right to say "NO!" and that they can change their minds. They also need to know what to do if they find themselves in one of these situations.

Hi, I watched you guys on the Montel Williams show, and I thought this was the best thing anyone has ever done. Especially for females. Thank you so much.

I just finished watching the Just Yell Fire video. It actually upset me a little bit... I really could have used that when I was younger. I was sexually assaulted on a date in high school, and I never talked about it but it messed me up mentally for a long time. I really wish that I had been able to see this movie so that I could have defended myself, and now I can... Thank you so much for bringing this to me...

Everyone I work with is a high school girl or a young college-age young woman. The statistics on that show are totally alarming. I bet half of everyone I know has had something happen to them, or will someday. I know everyone thinks it won't happen to them.... But it does.

I saw this video advertised in the In Touch magazine. What a wonderful idea.

I work in a junior high school with behaviour disorder kids, needless to say these girls don't live in the safest neighbourhoods. Although abductions happen everywhere, I worry that these girls I work with are at an increased risk of abduction, assault, etc.

Kudos to the ladies who thought of this, they are remarkable.

This is something all schools should be showing in their Health classes.

I truly believe your program is a Godsend...this world we live in is a wonderful and beautiful place, but there are "MONSTERS" out there. You are educating parents and children, not just girls but the boy's as well, on how to be prepared to deal with them. Thank you and God Bless.

Thank you for the work you have done here...It's strong-minded young women like the ones who came up with the concept who will make such a difference for a lot of girls and teens. I think this is a topic that many parents are afraid to broach with their daughters, because they are afraid that they will soil their child's view of humanity. However, after what happened to my daughter, I know how necessary it is. You can NEVER start too early teaching your daughters about this, it can mean all the difference in the world!

I think what you've done is absolutely wonderful. I am very grateful to you for your courage and compassion and for the making of this video.