About Us
Verbal Defense was founded in 2009 by a group of conflict management and personal development experts who came together to leverage their expertise to address the devastating problem of youth bullying.
- Dr. George Thompson – founder of the Verbal Judo Institute, a 28-year-old think tank focused on conflict prevention and de-escalation.
- Master Chan Lee – owner of JK Lee Black Belt Academy, a martial arts school in Milwaukee, WI with five locations and 1500 students.
- Gary T. Klugiewicz — a director at Verbal Defense & Influence, a global speaking and training organization focused on maximizing human interaction.
Their belief was that Dr. Thompson’s structured communication methodologies — which had been taught to over 1 million individuals since 1983 and the basis of four books with over 300,000 copies in print — was the answer to the problem of verbal abuse and bullying.
Dr. Thompson’s work — through the Verbal Judo Institute and, more recently, through Verbal Defense & Influence — is proven to prevent and de-escalate conflict within law enforcement agencies throughout the world. Therefore, it seemed rationale that, if Dr. Thompson’s methodologies were effective with the most violent of criminals, they would work with bullies.
Since 2009, the original belief of these three individuals has proved true far beyond their expectations. Hundreds of martial arts schools throughout the world are now using Verbal Defense in their curriculum.
Adults can now learn the Verbal Defense methodologies by:
- Accessing our free Verbal Defense Tips
- Attending an event featuring a certified speaker
- Participating in ongoing training at a certified martial arts school
- Accessing our many online multimedia training programs
- Purchasing our Verbal Defense books and DVDs
Organizations can access Verbal Defense by:
- Booking a certified speaker for a keynote or presentation
- Hosting a Verbal Defense workshop or training program
Verbal Defense is a member of the Vistelar Group, a global speaking and training organization. Vistelar brings together the very best experts in their given field – with a focus on the fundamentals of human interaction and their real-world application.
