From a young woman who was grabbed from behind
"One [drunk man] grabbed me tight around both arms from behind. I kind
of elbowed him, but not as hard as in the course, and told him to go away-
in less polite words than in the course. He backed off."
"You know, you said that it comes back to you in a real situation
and I did not really believe you, but it did come back!!! And I was really
calm. I did not freak out. It really gave me confidence."
From a university student who got thrown to the ground
"Well, uhm, my memory is kind of foggy, because it all happened so fast.
I was walking along beside the river and there were 3 lights there. I wasn't really thinking about anything. This person came in front of me, but I did not take notice.
He grabbed me kind of from the side and pulled me down. I was in shock.
I managed a good knee into his groin and he let go of me and I just ran
like mad."
From a girl who helped her sister escape
"... These people came up, a man and a woman. The man chased my little
sister, calling "Come here little girl, I want you, I won't hurt you".
I yelled at him "Stop that, leave her alone, go away!" the way
I learned it in Kidpower and called to my sister to go faster and she did
get away."
From the mother of these two girls: "Not only did Kidpower
help in the situation itself. It became also apparent that the older girl,
who had done Kidpower, felt fine afterwards. But the incident had a detrimental
impact on the younger sibling."
A Kidpower course helped Karen reclaim a feeling of her own power and her safety.
Note by the editor: Other survivors of assaults, who had done
a course have reported similarly, that they felt quite O.K. after the
attack, while bystanders, friends or others involved suffered shock reactions.
From a woman tourist who's ride turned sour
"Here's the story from my travels - I pass it on to you with pleasure, knowing it will inspire someone else - as your course inspired me!
In Ireland, I missed a bus and accepted a car ride back to my hostel. It was the friendly ride that turned sour.
After some chatting the man in his 30's asked me what I thought of sex and did I want it. Instead of getting scared I kept my power. I told him my views on sex and I said I wasn't happy about being asked.
I remembered Martin telling us how an out-of-control anger could make a perpetrator more aggressive. So I kept my power at all times. I was angry but firm and clear.
The man reacted like a little boy. He was ashamed, apologized and drove me 20 miles out of his way to my hostel. Only when I got back to my room did I start shaking. I never missed a bus again!
The course taught me that I am a powerful woman and I learnt how to use
that power to protect myself. What an investment!!"
From a 16 year old
"I did a KIDPOWER course 4 years ago at my primary school. When I saw the teachers again at College I could not remember them but it all came back to me, the words and the moves, when we started doing just a few moves and roleplays. My body remembered it!" |
From a 10 year old girl who scared off notorious bullies
About one year after doing a KIDPOWER course a 10 year old girl was
playing at a playground with younger children. A group of notorious bullies
came to the playground. The girl considered first to leave but was worried
for the other, younger children on the playground. She stood up and said
"Stop, go away!" The leader of the boys replied "Stop does
not mean much to ME!" and advanced. She told me on the phone "You
know how hard we hit Martin in the suit? I just gave him kind of a tap onto
the nose and when he saw that I had power they just went away".
From a university student's friend
"After your training, I told everyone I knew everything I'd learned. When one of my friends was walking home at night two weeks later, a man started walking closely behind her and saying scary things. She says that she would have tried to pretend that he wasn't there, but remembered what I'd said about not acting like a victim. My friend turned around, got into ready position, and yelled at the man, 'STOP FOLLOWING ME!' He looked startled and ran away!"
From a 12 year old boy
One of our 12 year old students showed his friends how he could get calm and centred when someone was insulting him instead of reacting aggressively. He told us that he and his friends had managed to avoid a number of bad situations where someone was looking for trouble just by walking away with a cheerful assertive manner.
From a mother who got followed home
"I got followed while driving home at night, with my 1 1/2 year old. I ran out of the car into my house, locked the door and grabbed 'the biggest weapon' in my home - the telephone. While I dialled 111 I stood looking out the door, right at that car with a load of people in it, with the headlights on. When they saw me with the phone, they took off. The police reported that that car was stolen..."
From a 11 year old who got left behind
Marissa is 11 years old. She played netball at Saxton Field. Because
of a misunderstanding she was left behind on her own and it soon got dark.
"I felt pretty upset!" she said. "But I knocked on a door
that had the lights on and asked the old lady to call home. When she asked
me in, I stayed outside, on the drive. Mum came right away to pick me up."
Marissa knew what to do and HOW to do it safely - just as she practised it in Kidpower.
From a woman who got cornered by sailors
"Two friends and I came back from the movies to a locked car park. While opening the gate, I became aware of two drunk, foreign sailors.
They came closer and wanted to talk to us. This was not that bad until 6 other drunk sailors came around the corner and started to behave threateningly. I told the other two to get into the car, so they were out of the way. They did not know what to do and would just have stood around helpless. Also, if something happened they could drive away and get help.
I told the sailors to leave adopting the FULLPOWER stance [stance with flat hand in front, to signal 'stop there'). One of them got more aggressive and came really close, with his pale blue eyes, acting really maniac. I stood my ground repeating "Turn around and go away!" several times just like in the course. Finally the other sailors seemed to get worried, grabbed their mate and pulled him away.
I'm glad I did the training and what we practiced worked - It stopped
a nasty situation from potentially getting much nastier."
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From a teacher's aide
"I am observing the Kidpower responses coming out almost daily from the children...even in play..."back up and check up" they say as they play, or "Emma you know what you should do if you don't know someone" sorts of conversation."
From a 17 year old girl
"As soon as I started the Fullpower course I found that memories
of Kidpower came flooding back to me. As we were practising being attacked
from behind, all I wanted to do was elbow the attacker in the stomach -
what I had learnt in Kidpower - I had remembered it after seven years!?
It was great to know I could remember something taught to me so long
ago and shows how effective and beneficial Kidpower is. Not to mention
how awesome Fullpower was. I now have a confidence and power that I know
I can use without fail in any sticky situation."
From a woman who became less aggressive and more assertive
"I was at a camp. At about 1 o'clock at night I got up because I could not sleep, having a very bad headache. I saw light in the kitchen and found the cook still sitting there. We talked for a while. Then he started to get physical. I said 'Stop this. Let go. I want to go.' When he did not let go I said it again very loud and strong and added 'or else you'll be sorry". He let go and I returned to my tent to my friend.
What I found best was that I did not have to get aggressive!"
Note from the instructor: This is one of my favourite stories.
This student was unusually aggressive at the beginning of the course.
I am sure that before the course she would have gotten into trouble one
way or the other. Either because she would have been over-aggressive and
fighting prematurely or hesitating for too long, not knowing what to do
apart from using her martial arts skills.
From a woman who got abused in a bookstore
"I was in a bookstore and happened to catch the eye of a man as he and a woman passed by. The man came over to me and asked, "Do you have a problem with what I'm saying to my wife?" To which I replied, "I've no idea what you were saying to your wife." He then both loudly and angrily began to verbally abuse me with MUCH swearing involved!
I was in a shop full of people but felt very alone. I told him loudly, clearly and firmly to, "GO AWAY", four times.
A neon light went on in my head saying, "Mary, GO AWAY!"
Then I walked away. He then left. I was quite shaken and still very much
alone in this well populated store. I went for help. The shop supervisor
was truly supportive and called the police. They did not turn up though.
I eventually saw the man go to his car and was able to give the police
his license plate number."
From the mother of two pre-schoolers
"Some time has elapsed since [the Kidpower course] ... and the real
benefits of the course are evident. My own children talk about and use
the Kidpower language in their everyday lives. When their friends visit
it is not uncommon to hear them "play-acting" with phrases like
"back up & check up", or "keep a safe distance".
They are now reminding us of the safety rules, somewhat like the "put
your seatbelt on" messages."
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Success Stories