Comments

This is a comment sent in to our trainers Leila Rae Sommerfeld and Valerie Mainridge of Gresham, OR

Thank you again from our entire team! You and Valerie did such a fabulous job. Several of our volunteers commented at the end that your traiing was the best self-defense class they had ever taken - and several had attended classes in the past. you adapted your presentation to fit perfectly into our time constraints and skill level. You and Valerie brought such great energy and enthusiasm to our class. We especially appreciate you taking time on a Sunday. We feel empowered to continue to advocate for sexually exploited women in and around Portland.

We are so pleased to know you and your work. I hope this is only the beginning of our partnership.

I just heard about this DVD while watching the Montel Show. I can not tell you how impressed I am with these young ladies. Their advice and techniques will help numerous people. I can only hope to make such a contribution one day.

I have 2 young daughters (ages 6 and 10) and a son (age 8) and we talk about abductions and stratagies regularly. 24 yrs ago, my family suffered a great loss when my father (age 53) was abducted and murdered. It can happen to anyone, anytime.

Thank you!

It's awesome what you have done. I'm 55 years old, and I have watched the statistics my whole life. I was traumatized when I was young, too, and it is astounding how many young girls have uninvited sexual advances made toward them, not to mention being raped or murdered. Thanks you for your work. You know how important it is.

I am a junior at Gettysburg College in PA. I don't know if you have been watching the news lately, but there has been a murder on our college campus last Thursday. One student (a male senior) strangled and murdered his (ex-)girlfriend of one year (a sophomore). It really shook our campus hard, along with myself, even though i did not know either one that was involved. After breaking down a little tonight, i realized, crying was not going to change the past; nor prevent incidents, assaults, nor murders like this from happening again in the future.
What will? Taking action!
I found your contact information after googling 'self defense for women classes' and wanted to get in contact with you right away. I was hoping you could hold self defense classes for female students, or any woman (faculty, staff or students) on our campus to help protect us if we were to ever get ourselves in this type of situation. It is very scary to know that an innocent 19 year old young woman was strangled, stabbed and murdered by someone that loved her for a year. Not even a stranger, or a crazy drug addict rapist on the street! Her boyfriend! Someone she trusted and loved! How scary is that? She was not able to get away, she was not able to defend herself. She died because of that.
But you... you have the power to give us woman that power. You have the ability to give us woman the ability to defend ourselves. To win. To live. And to help with our recovery of her death on our campus. I believe that immediately holding these self defense classes on our campus will prove that Emily Rachel Silverstein did not die in vain.
Please help me, help us. Give us the power, the ability to defend ourselves and live.

What a wonderful tool. I have a daughter who is 14 and with special needs. This is done so well I think she will be able to do it and understand it.

I have sent a link to the schools here and asked them to please consider showing it to the girls.

Thank you to all that put this together. Fantastic job!

My wife and I saw the film clip for "Just Yell Fire" last evening on the Evening Magazine show on the local KING TV station. We have granddaughters, daughters and church young women's group [and many others] that we would like to show this information.

We have facilitated teaching our daughter, as well as ourselves, the basics of Karate during high school and she has gone on with her training during graduate school. We have always felt that investment produced so much for our peace of mind and her confidence. We always talk to young girls of the need to be aware, proactive in response and downright hostile and hurtful to allow escape. Your film gives such simple techniques, and is so very timely, and shows how straight forward and simple a response to danger can be that will allow escape.

My daughter is about to go to college and I am interested in your DVD. I would like to give her some skills to avoid an unwanted encounter. I myself was the victim of an assault during my sleep; fortunately, I woke up and my instincts took over to fight back. My attack could have been much worse as many of his victims didn't make it and were permanently disfigured.
Best of luck with your cause, it is an awesome one.

I want to start out by saying thank you for making this video, I think it will help a lot of young girls defend themselves from an attacker. I have several nieces that I want to see this video so that maybe they will know how to act if they ever find themselves in an unthinkable situation. I wished I had known about something like that when I was a teenager/young woman. I was date raped when I was twenty years old and I did not think there was anything that I could do because I went with this guy on my own free will. I tried to fight back but it was not enough. Please send me this video because I want the girls in my family to be prepared.

I have been telling all of my daughter's mothers about the DVD and download. Thanks for getting the word out. Our young women need to know what to do in the real world and we as parents need to be reminded as well. I am so proud of the young women who were moved to make this DVD. It may very well save more lives than we will ever know.

My faith in humanity is restored once again. Stay pro-active girls.

Dear Dallas,

20 more High School students were empowered today..at Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis, Mass..Cape Cod...We watched the video...and practiced the techniques on each other...wow..in one hour...I could see some of our students who didnt think they could "fight back"...or fight like as girl...really believe that they could be powerful in their own way and not be a victim!!

God Bless you for your work empowering young women! Peace and Blessings,