Glastonbury, CT May 17, 2004 -- On Saturday, May 22nd at 10AM, 20,000 kids and adults across the United States and the United Kingdom will become โ€œSteal-Proof Masters.โ€ Adventures in Safety, LLC and United Professionals, along with martial artists and safety officials across the country, will screen the โ€œJourney of the Steal-Proof Masterโ€ (SPM) video and provide free trainings in hundreds of communities in an all-out effort to teach children and adults about abduction prevention.
The โ€œJourney of the Steal-Proof Masterโ€ is a fantasy-based adventure created by Adventures in Safety, LLC, based in Glastonbury, CT. Creator Richard Kohler has used the SPM video to teach thousands of area children about abduction prevention while training children to trust their intuitions and to become aware of the lures that adults may use to kidnap and assault them. Kohler is a fourth degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and the owner of Martial Arts Unlimited, a personal development and self-defense training facility.
During the Steal-Proof Master National Challenge, children will be introduced to ten โ€œevil warriors,โ€ characters who represent the most common behaviors and lures used to abduct and assault children. Licensed trainers will teach children to tell their parents or guardians when anything that another adult does or says makes them feel uncomfortable. The children will participate in role-playing and discussions, leading them to understand and anticipate the potential dangers of interactions with strangers as well as friends and family members who might mean them harm.
The joint venture between Kohler and United Professionals' president Greg Silva is a natural partnership; Silva's organization represents nearly 700 martial arts schools around the country and his personal network reaches several thousand martial artists, all of who are dedicated to teaching personal safety to children and adults.
โ€œOur vision for this event is that children and adults who participate will become catalysts in their communities, bringing the messages in this video and training program into their schools and community groups,โ€ says Kohler. โ€œKids love this video and respond to its fantasy-based approach. It holds their attention and the critical information gets transferred in a way that they can relate to it.โ€
Free events will be held across the United States and the UK on May 22, 2004. For more information about the locations of the National Steal-Proof Master Challenge programs, please visit www.stealproofmaster.com or call 860.657.2227
Contact: Ellen Ornato
860.344.9600
Date: May 14, 2004