What others have to say about our programs

"Best seminar I have ever been to!!  Kevin knows his stuff.  I thought I knew a lot before the seminar, but what he taught was far and above anything I have learned previously."

                                                          - Cpl. Leno Mills, Arizona State Police Officer

"I was already a certified Women's Self Defense Instructor before I took the Critical Incident Avoidance Instructor Program, but nothing I learned previously compares to what I got from this seminar.  The teaching team of instructors are professionals who handled the sensitive topics of Rape and Sexual Abuse with respect and compassion for their students.  I can hardly wait to take another seminar with them." 

- Jean Galloway, Corporate Trainer

"The most important aspect of this course was the confidence I gained while taking it. I learned that I am capable of teaching and speaking in front of a group.  The instructors were awesome, helpful and encouraging.  They made the course fun and interesting.  I was never bored ("

- Raphaella Georgiou, Security Officer

“I have taken other instructor programs in women’s self-defence, and had quite a bit of self-defence teaching experience before coming to the CIA course.  All the same, as the course dates approached, I found I was increasingly apprehensive.  I knew I would have to face my own strong feelings surrounding the issue of assault against women – feelings that had inspired me to want to learn and self defence in the first place, but persisted despite my previous certifications!  I was amazed by the amount of information the course contained on prevention psychology, avoidance, and specific, realistic and highly effective skills for dealing with a wide range of threatening situations.  Learning to deal with my own fear was perhaps one of the most beneficial parts of the program to me.  The course helped me to come to terms with my own unresolved issues about the victimization of women, by allowing me to ask specific candid questions in a safe environment.  I came away from the course with much more than a wealth of knowledge to share with my students, but with a whole new level of confidence!  The CIA Instructor Program has truly empowered me to empower others!” 

                                                                         - Marie Lapierre, Self Defence Instructor

“When I first approached the idea of women’s self defense it was not as an instructor.  I knew of Kevin as an instructor through a mutual friend, but I had never thought of taking a program as an instructor.  I called him to find out if there was a basic program running and I took that first.  It was during that program that I thought I might want to teach this course.  The method of having both male and female instructors in the program helped me to realize that size didn’t matter.  When a very large and strong man in the class grabbed my wrist, I thought there was no way I could get out, and at first I couldn’t.  Kevin came by and showed me why the technique wasn’t working and then told the guy to hold on as hard as he could.  It really hurt having the guy grip my wrists but that was nothing compared to my surprise when I got my hand free.  I had to repeat it several times to be sure it wasn’t a trick.  I went home that night and did the same thing to my boyfriend a born again sceptic, and found that it worked more effectively the more I practised it.  I found that both Kevin and Lisa were so incredibly patient with me, that it was a joy to take the training.  As an instructor, I know that I’ll be just as supportive to my students.  Thanks for everything you have given me!!!” 

- Sarah Wood, Executive Assistant

Hello, my name is Raymond.
 
I have worked in the hospitality industry since 9/2002 and struggled mightily with the constant influx of potentially violent people in my workplace.  I have taken various seminars on dealing with customers who complain and how to handle irate people but none of it seemed to offer reasons for why these people acted the way they did.  I just couldn’t understand why someone would want to be violent when I was not being violent towards them.  Some of my co-workers told me that I brought it one myself because I looked weak, but that made no sense to me.  This problems spilled over into my personal life and it became a very long road of constant doubts, painful setbacks, self-destructive procrastination, errors and very, very slow growth. I lacked the confidence to reach out to more seasoned and experienced people and seek help.
 
In September 2005, I took the Advanced Communications Tactics Program with my work conducted by Dr. Vandeyck, and it changed my view of how communications could affect people.  In 16 short hours, he had given me a new model of how to look at communications.  In October 2005 I personally paid for and attended the Managing Workplace Violence Workshop, again taught by Dr. Vandeyck and it brought me to a newer understanding of how the proper attitudes and principles of dealing with violence could work for me. His detailed explanations and willingness to answer all my questions made for a great teaching environment.  He gave a model that was easier to understand and was far more practical for application in the field then most of the other seminars I had been on before. Yes, I was no longer afraid of going to work and who I might encounter. 

At the end of each day of teaching, I felt completely exhausted to my entire core. This indicated how deeply the change was taking affect. I was being neutralized from my old beliefs, where those old routes had been traumatically destroyed, and where new and vastly different passages could be designed in great detail unlike 32 hours before hand. Wow!  The two programs A.C.T. and Managing Workplace Violence blended together like peanut butter and jelly, making a new mixture in my mind that took me to a new level of awareness and new possibilities. After the seminar, I went to a bar before I headed for home. There was a guy staring at me over the bar, that normally would have had me running for the hills, but I remembered something Dr. Vandeyck had said during the program.  “What you see in their face is not necessarily what they are thinking in their heads.”  So I looked back, and said “Hello.”  I spoke to him for over 3 hours and we’ve become good friends.  I asked him what he was initially thinking when he was staring at me, and he said, he had not noticed me until I spoke, that he was just reviewing through his day. 

 I have noticed with each interaction that my intent was very strong and hardly any fear creeps in. And each encounter and potential conflict was easier and less stressful than the previous one.
 
During the drive home, I was stunned, because everything seemed so surreal. Was that really me exhibiting no fear? What happened so fast that caused such an abrupt change in little more than a day?
  
For that technique only, this was an excellent choice to attend the training.  This enabled me to get past a hurdle. This really stood front and center for me.
 
Thanks Dr. Vandeyck and Erin Lynch. I took a great deal of understanding from you folks. It was an honour!
 
 Thank you all again.                 Raymond McPherson, Bartender

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Last modified: 07/07/07