kidnap prevention/youth defense

[Frank DiMeo]

Recently an 11 year old girl was kidnapped, in broad daylight, and murdered in our city.
I've worked in youth programs for several years, and will be conducting some kidnap prevention/youth defense workshops.
GOD knows that little girl can.t be brought back, however, we can help prevent it from happening again here.
If anyone has specific experience in this area or is able to recommend some relevant resources, I would really appreciate it.
You input is valued and respected.

[Ruairi Quinn]

I found Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker, a tremendously interesting book on this area.

http://www.gdbinc.com/books-ptg.cfm

It might be a bit general for what you are talking about, however.

Some online reading -

A pair of articles by Gracielas Casillas-Boggs on the subject of children and self-defense : http://www.realfighting.com/0503/gcasillasframe.html

Best of luck.

[Robert V]

I just gave a seminar for kids on the very subject.

I've used so many different resources that I don't remember where they all came from. I did a lot of web-surfing.

Gavin's books are essential. All of them.

[Mike Baldwin]

Had trouble here - it wouldn't post correctly !!

[Mike Baldwin]

De Becker's work is definately one source of info that I encourage kids, parents, teachers and counsellors to consider when we do Protective Behaviour Programs within the school, (and in evening sessions for those kids that have part-time jobs).

I know Oprah did a good interview with him once about 3 years ago- she often does conveye a message well for the masses - if you could access a good copy of this, or other similar material it should also prove helpful. I haven't checked the De Becker website for a couple of years - he may even be providing footage himself now to help get his message out there.

I would also suggest that you initially consider Ayoob's video material (possibly more for yourself than to just any general audience) to highlight the changes in perception and bodily changes one might experience when things get crazy - awareness of this is important when dealing with the situation, for later providing useful evidence, and for insight to dealing with any Post Truamatic Stress issues.

A lot of other very good stuff around, but this should get you well and truly started.

Cheers

[JasonE]

Gavin DeBecker's "The Gift of Fear" and "Protecting the Gift" are excellent, and "Strong on Defense" by Stanford Strong is also excellent, if less-well-known. I have seen some other good texts, but these are the best I've seen related to child - parent instruction.

From my contacts in the Model Mugging / IMPACT organizations, I know that many of them use / recommend DeBecker as a mainstay, and many of their students end up reading these books. When they conduct short seminars for kids, parents, and parent-child combinations, they draw heavily on the awareness, boundary-setting, and preventative aspects, with little emphasis on the physical.

A man currently held for the disappearance of a young girl who's status is in question (but probably deceased) was caught approaching, grabbing, and hauling her away... on tape. She had plenty of time to react, and there were plenty of cues that he meant to harm her.

From the footage, it is clear she had no awareness of what was going on, did not set any boundaries when it was clear that she was getting uncomfortable, and no idea of how to react when he finally grabbed her shoulder prior to getting a better grip and pulling her off-camera. Some very, very basic information and practice would have alerted her to menacing intent and kept her dancing out of his reach, or even allowed her to twist out of his initial grip before he got a better one.

You have a noble purpose in mind, and I wish you well in your attempts to prevent it from happening again.

[dhunter]

Hey Jason:

What can you tell me about IMPACT\Model Mugging? Do they have a presence in Minnesota? My wife is interested in organizing a "safe kids" type of seminar or workshop in our area.

[JasonE]

David -

I was invited to sit on the Board of Directors of IMPACT in Minnesota about 2 years ago. At that time they were operating as a non-profit with rapidly-dwindling resources.

I attended an IMPACT course for men only in the SF Bay area to experience it as a student, and was trying to arrange for training to be an instructor when I returned to MN. The first meeting I sat on as a board member basically demonstrated that while we had the skills and willingness to put on classes, we did not have the resources to cover the cost of operations unless we had some pretty large classes, and marketing efforts had all but ceased.

The second meeting, we took a vote and decided to close our doors for lack of funds until we could find someone willing to take it on as a for-profit organization or another group to underwrite it as a non-profit.

From my short experience, I did meet a lot of people that felt their IMPACT training had saved their lives and I witnessed dramatic transformations in men who went through the training. As a student, I felt the potential the method had for breaking people out of crippling mental patterns and helping them to rediscover their own ability to make choices under stress.

If you like, I still have contact information for a number of the experienced IMPACT instructors, and I can put you in touch with them. I might have a lead on one or two alternate groups that your wife could work with. I'll catch you after a workout soon, and we can discuss this in person.

[Van Canna]

Hi Frank,

Good to see you on this forum as well. This is an excellent resource with very intelligent contributors.

Enjoy