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 just finished watching "Just Yell Fire". It was a very powerful statement for the rights of young women to be safe! Thank you.
Mary
White County Ninth Grade Academy