Self-defense is a life skill, like knowing what to do in case of a fire, having information about water safety, or knowing what to do if the smoke alarm goes off at night. Every kid deserves the right to have this information and we decided to do something about it!

Thank you for this wrap up – as a former school counselor I deeply appreciate the content and services you provide. I’m glad that so many Capitol Hill students were able to participate! - Pam Wilson, Principal

Giving back to the community is important in our art. Teaching empowerment and awesome physical self-defense skills is one of the ways we do that. Back in the Fall of 2014, my wonderful employee, Jayne, and I brainstormed and came up with a program to teach 15 free self-defense classes at Tulen Center and on site at Beaverton and SW Portland Public Schools. We proposed this idea to the Tulen Foundation and they backed us in this crazy project! We were able to serve 479 students and their families, and taught on playgrounds, in Kindergarten classrooms, music rooms, hallways, libraries, gyms and cafeterias all over Southwest Portland!

There are many hoops to jump through when working with Public Schools, as you can imagine, but it was worth the effort. The kids were enthusiastic, the parents, supportive and helpful. Most of the schools grasped our vision and became eager to jump on board, help facilitate our workshops and spread the word. We are grateful for the partnership of the staff and administration at both the district level and at the neighborhood schools. We couldn’t have done this without them.

And again, many thanks to the Tulen Foundation for believing in us, for supporting our work and this wonderful program. Thank you to all of you who donate (www.tulenfoundation.org) because these are the types of programs you back with your dollars.

As Jayne said: It was a wonderful experience joining forces with the BSD and PPS to be able to bring these beneficial and engaging classes to their students. This great 3 month adventure has brought us to many different schools and has introduced us to countless students who have benefited from taking the No! Go! Yell! Tell! class. It was very encouraging to see the next generation really tune into their intuition and build on their self confidence, not to mention the strength and power that was exemplified by the students in each class.

Here are just a few of the many comments people shared with us in a post-class survey:

• I think you did a great job of expressing that the lessons learned here are to be used in truly dangerous situations, not on your annoying sibling. And the whole class seemed to be at just the right pace to keep the kids attention, which is a difficult thing to do.
• I was happy about the information supplied. Delivery was excellent! Thank you for presenting it in a PG manner!
• Thank you for a very informative class. I wish my parents would have taken me to a class like that when I was a kid. It would have been very helpful.
• The instructor was amazing. Even my kiddo who is very anxious and has sensory issues came home and asked if we could go to self-defense every Wednesday! Wonderful class!
• Thank you, you handled a difficult subject really well!
• He learned how to use his power to hit as hard as he can instead of worrying about poses and techniques that are harder to grasp.
• My child learned to trust her guts and walk with confidence.
• You taught my child how to stay safe. The entire presentation and all of the information given was important.
• Don’t be afraid to say, NO!
• My daughter gained confidence and was able to be really LOUD!
• It was an excellent class. We both enjoyed and took away so much valuable information.
• The information you shared was relevant but not scary.
• I loved the class and am glad my child could attend.
• I feel the presentation of the information was handled great and was spoken in terms that the kids understood.
• The instructor was intelligent, a good communicator and an excellent presenter.
• This was a very positive and empowering class that I wish everyone could benefit from.
• Just want to say thank you for doing these free classes at elementary schools.
• Thank you for offering this service. My very shy child benefited the most. He’s not a joiner so I was surprised that when he eventually got into it, he really tried hard to do things as you showed. He’s been talking about it as well. Thank you!
• Thank you for your time and energy spent teaching our kids!
• We reached 479 students and their families. Here are the schools where we taught and the numbers of participants from each:

Beaverton School District:

Montclair - 25, McKay - 15, Raleigh Hills - 41, Raleigh Park - 47, Fir Grove - 15, Findley - 16, Ridgewood - 25, Vose - 16

Portland Public Schools:

Bridlemile - 18, Maplewood - 36, Ainsworth - 35, Hayhurst - 16, Rieke - 54, Capitol Hill - 29

At Tulen Center - 91

TOTAL: 479!

If you’d like to know more about our programs: http://tulencenter.com/

To find out about our summer camps: http://tulencenter.com/about/camp/

If you’d like to make a tax deductable donation: www.tulenfoundation.org