Regency Rancho Niguel Premiers ‘Bully” movie to South Orange County! Sensei Says Don’t Miss it!

This is what 7,000 kids watching Bully together looks like! This weekend, we will be in over 100 cities, including our own Laguna Niguel. We need your support more then ever if we want continue reaching more communities.

I am very excited to share two things.

1. The Regency Rancho Niguel movie theater is showing “Bully!” (PG-13 , 1 hr 39 min ) Showtimes today are

• 11:50am
• 2:20pm
• 4:50pm
• 7:30pm
• 10:00pm

2. Bully Buster USA has been asked to have a booth at the theater to let movie goers know that they have a local resource for fighting Bullies!

I am excited to have this film make it to Orange County!.  I think that is has a great chance to spread some reflective reality to its audience, and I believe that it has great potential in sparking sincere efforts collectively to work together in stopping bullying before it starts.

I feel that Hirsh’s message in Bully was clear enough to engage the audience through his voicing of the victims side of the story, and I believe that the lack of “professional commentary” allows for the movie to be a springboard for post discussion on the issue, rather than forcing upon viewers a certain solution, or pointing fingers at schools, parents, or systems; then having discussions revolve around proposed director’s solutions.

The look on the faces of the parents who lost their children, was worth a thousand words, and hopefully worth millions of people finding a voice to take steps to join together to create an army against bullying.

This is a must see!

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: Bully Buster USA joins Iconosys, Inc. to Launch the New WordBully™ 3.0 App, As Ultimate Means of Self Defense

Reaching out to the Professional Fighting Community: The ‘Ultimate Anti-Bully” App to fight to eliminate cyber-bullying. 

Introducing WordBully3.0

Laguna Niguel, California, April 26, 2012 – Bully Buster USA, an Orange County-based not-for-profit and community outreach organization dedicated to the cause of eliminating bullying and Cyber-Bullying in our schools and among our youth, has partnered with Iconosys, Inc., a leader in mobile safety communication and life-style applications, to launch Word Bully™ 3.0, the ultimate app and means of self-defense in the battle against bullying and cyber-bullying.

Word Bully™ 3.0 allows the concerned parent/guardian to customize a protective filter for shielding their child or loved one against profanity, vulgar or threatening language, or other offensive or objectionable communications, all with the protection of password-enabled access for the parent/guardian.

“People we know, bully us.  Word Bully 3.0 is Iconosys effort to stay ahead of the mind of the aggressors and protect our children at all costs.”  Commented Wayne Irving, CEO, Iconosys. “Too many children are victims of bullying.  Word Bully is a boundary setting tool, can help children all over the world.”

Cyber-bullying is an epidemic that carries with it great dangers for the general population, not to mention our children, friends and family members.  In today’s society, where much of our discourse and communications are done via the Internet and text messaging, our loved-ones (both children and adults) are easy prey for, and potential victims of, the harmful practice of cyber-bullying.

Word Bully™ 3.0 features include the following:

• Filtering Messages.  Monitors for approximately 4,200 words, acronyms, bulli-cons, and known phrases that might be considered profanity, threatening, or vulgar, and also allows the parent or user to customize their own watch list of cyber-bully terms (see below).
• Blocks Messages/Forwards Messages.  Stops inbound and outbound questionable communications and forwards them to parents and others with a “need to know”.
• Manage Words/Phrases Lists.  Provides extra protectionby allowing you to create, manage and monitor a customized list of cyber-bully watch words (e.g.  acronyms, abbreviations, cultural-isms, and gang-style lingo).
• Identify Bullies.  Allows you to use the app to filter and monitor ALL incoming text message communications, or to choose to ignore messages from specific numbers/texters.
• Locate your Child via GPS.  Locatesyour child, family member or loved one anytime with Trick or Tracker® child location retrieval service.  If GPS is off, locate your child thru IP address trace routing.
• Notify if Childs Phone Battery is Low.  AND NOW automatically sends you your child’s precise physical location, via gps and at intervals with low battery notifications to your phone so you can 1) be informed that the child’s phone is in fact running low on battery power, and 2) be informed regarding the child’s last identified whereabouts during what might-be stressful times.
• Intentional Power-Down LKL (Last Known Location) Notify.  When your child’s phone is intentionally powered off using the power off button, the phone will send the last physical recorded location of your child upon the phone’s shutting down.
• Offensive Messages Lock-Box. Finally, the app stores the offensive and filtered test messages, for long term retrieval, in a password protected lockbox on the device, resistant to water, electrical, and impact damage.

As recently reported by The National Crime Prevention Council in July of 2011, cyber-bullying is a problem that currently affects almost half of all American teens.  Cyber-bullying is known to cause very serious psychological effects, including destruction of a young person’s feelings of self-worth, self-esteem and confidence.  Word Bully™ 3.0 now gives actual or potential victims and their families the power to fight back and defend themselves by policing, monitoring and censoring these harmful and destructive communications.

” We are also seeking support from the professional fighting community (such as boxing, UFC, MMA) to spread nationwide awareness of this new technology.  Role models to millions of young fans, professional fighters have a unique opportunity to support the worthy cause of fighting cyber-bullies.” commented Ryan Foland, Word Bully Ambassador and Bully Buster USA founder.

Availability:

Word Bully 3.0 is available for free, for a limited time, for Android OS Smartphones and SMS enabled tablets (now more than 60% of the worlds phones are androids), from  http://www.WordBully.net, http://wordbully.iconosys.com, and the AppHysteria Appstore at www.apphysteria.com.

 

About Iconosys, Inc:

Iconosys, a member of the National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS), and now a partner with Bully Buster USA, and the maker of the widely used and well publicized Trick or Tracker®, Guard’s Up!™, LatchKey Kid™, and teen speed monitor My Max Speed™  Smartphone apps, is developing technologies and technology driven products for its clients with a goal toward designing apps that enrich, enhance, and ultimately make safer, our day to day lives.  And now, our apps also can help you save money!!!

Iconosys develops apps and technologies for iOS and Android OS Smartphones and tablet computers. See a cross section of some of Iconosys’ catalog of more than 1000 Smart device apps from your Smartphone browser: http://apps.iconosys.com, and from your computer browser: http://iconosys.com/product.php.

About Bully Buster USA:

Bully Buster OC, a local chapter of Bully Buster USA was formed by Ryan Foland with the intension of developing a unique “Bully-Buster” workshop for kids and parents of Orange County. The workshop promotes self-confidence and arms children with the knowhow to handle bullies in a non-violent way, learning how to avoid potentially harmful situations, resolve problems as they arise, and manage the conflict if it gets to the physical level.   The popularity and demand for the workshop has led Ryan to compile and author his Bully Buster OC Parent Resource Guide, which is now available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Smashwords.com. Bully Buster USA is developing its website to be a central directory hub for anti-bullying resources, educational material, and a platform to showcase technology that helps to stop bullying before it starts.  For more information about upcoming events, outreach programs, or to find out how you can help, visit www.BullyBusterUSA.org or call 888-312-4954.

 

Press Contact
Andrew Felix

Max Borges Agency

80 SW 8th St, Floor 27

Miami, FL 33130

305-347-4404 x136

andrewfelix@maxborgesagency.com

 

Get hi-res graphic here:

http://iconosys.com/uploads/wordbullystack_withesp3.png 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: Bully Buster OC goes Nationwide as Bully Buster USA

San Juan Capistrano, California. April 25^th, 2012. – With growing support and recent partnership with Iconosys, Inc., a leader in mobile safety communication and life-style applications, Bully Buster OC has decided to expand its anti-bullying education to reach to the nation through the newly forming not-for-profit organization Bully Buster USA.  Along with this nationwide expansion to foster desired growth of his organization, founder Ryan Foland will still continue with his local outreach through community workshops, and school assemblies.

Bully Buster USA, will be an Orange County-based not-for-profit and community outreach organization dedicated to the cause of eliminating bullying and Cyber-Bullying in our schools and among our youth.  Launching Word Bully™ 3.0 with its new partner Iconosys Inc., Bully Buster USA is helping to leverage technology in the battle against bullying and cyber-bullying across the nation.

Cyber-bullying is an epidemic that carries with it great dangers for the general population, not to mention our children, friends and family members.  In today’s society, where much of our discourse and communications are done via the Internet and text messaging, our loved-ones (both children and adults) are easy prey for, and potential victims of, the harmful practice of cyber-bullying.

Word Bully™ 3.0 allows the concerned parent/guardian to customize a protective filter for shielding their child or loved one against profanity, vulgar or threatening language, or other offensive or objectionable communications, all with the protection of password-enabled access for the parent/guardian.  Bully Buster USA is proud to announce that

WordBully™ 3.0 is available for free, for a limited time, for Android OS Smartphones and SMS enabled tablets (now more than 60% of the world’s phones are androids), from http://www.WordBully.net, http://wordbully.iconosys.com, and the AppHysteria Appstore at www.apphysteria.com.

The significance of this step for Bully Buster OC’s national expansion to become Bully Buster USA comes at a time when many state laws are addressing the serious issue of bullying in schools, and more action is being called for by parents. In California, the state has called for action against bullying through two recent laws signed on October 9^th, 2011, by Governor Jerry Brown, to expand the definition of bullying to include sex orientation, require additional training for school staff and allow students who have been bullied to transfer districts.  Rebekah Orr, director of communications for Equality California states that “The bill also emphasizes the importance of addressing issues immediately before they become even more serious issues that can have an adverse impact on kids, whether those issues include isolation of students or the act of self-harm.”

“Such laws speak to the continued need for grass root support in local communities like my Bully Buster workshops;” Commented Ryan Foland, founder of Bully Buster USA. “Yet because the schools are not addressing cyber-bullying in these laws, there is no doubt as to the importance for larger nationwide solutions to cyber-bullying like the WordBully™ 3.0  app, using technology to help prevent problems of bullying before it starts.”

About Bully Buster USA:

Bully Buster USA was formed by Ryan Foland with the intention of developing a unique “Bully-Buster” workshop for kids and parents of Orange County. The workshop promotes self-confidence and arms children with the know how to handle bullies in a non-violent way, learning how to avoid potentially harmful situations, resolve problems as they arise, and manage the conflict if it gets to the physical level.   The popularity and demand for the workshop has led Ryan to compile and author his Bully Buster OC Parent Resource Guide, which is now available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Smashwords.com. Bully Buster USA is developing its website to be a central directory hub for anti-bullying resources, educational material, and a platform to showcase technology that helps to stop bullying before it starts.  For more information about upcoming events, outreach programs, or to find out how you can help, visit www.BullyBusterUSA.org or call 888-312-4954.

Bully Buster OC Would Like to Thank Local Businesses for the Support!

    

Bully Buster OC and the OC Guardian Angels would like to give big thanks to a list of local businesses who have donated to our silent auction for the Bully Buster workshops this Saturday at Zen Dojos!

Thanks to following businesses:

Ago Bella Embroidery,

Brothers Auto Care,

Camino Real Playhouse,

Capistrano Children’s Dentistry,

Charisma Salon – Ashley Esser,

Coach House,

Conservatory & Curiosity – Beth Carney,

Donna B’s Gourmet Cookies and Cakes,

Flawless Skin & Body,

Flawless Skin & Body – Bearet,

Friends Salon – Cher Gallagher,

Jim Seiler- Artist,

Julian Hans Salon,

Karen Blanc, Interior Designer,

Leilani Williams,

Maribel Roman-Hair Stylist,

Monica Clifton- Manicurist,

Palermo & Associates,

Randi Peshkin – The Black Cat Gallery,

Redline Athletics,

Regal Entertainment Group,

Regency Theatres,

Sarducci’s Capistrano Depot,

Sunrise Tae Kwon Do,

T.J. Maxx,

Training Camp Hot Yoga & Fitness,

Zpizza

We are also holding a Citizens Arrest Workshop at 12noon!

Bully Buster OC Launches WordBully™ Smart Phone Anti-Cyber-Bullying App at Saturday’s Workshp, and SJC Fire Truck to Visit!

I am proud to announce that Bully Buster OC has officially partnered with Iconosys, Inc., a leader in mobile safety communication and life-style applications, to launch Word Bully™, the ultimate defense against cyber-bullying. To celebrate this collaboration and the start of launching this great cyber-bullying tool to the community and nation, I will be giving people who attend my Bully Buster Workshop this Saturday, a FREE DOWNLOAD of the application!

Also I am excited to announce that the San Juan Capistrano Fire Department is going to bring a fire truck by Marbella Plaza at 10am to support the Bully Buster Workshop! It is so great to see the community come together to show that what we are doing really matters!

Now back to this phone app you need to know about! Word Bully™ allows the parent/guardian to customize a filter for profanity, vulgar or threatening language, or other offensive or objectionable communications, all with the protection of password-enabled access for the parent/guardian.

Cyber-bullying is an epidemic that carries with it great danger for the general population, not to mention our friends and family members.  In today’s society, where much of our discourse and communications are done via the Internet and text messaging, our loved-ones (children and adults) are easy targets for, and potential victims of, the harmful practice of cyber-bullying.

First coined and defined by Bill Belsey, “cyber-bullying” involves “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, which is intended to harm others.” As recently reported by on the National Crime Prevention Council in July of 2011, cyber-bullying is a problem that currently affects almost half of all American teens.  Cyber-bullying is known to cause very serious psychological effects including destruction of a young person’s feelings of self-worth, self-esteem and confidence.  Word Bully™ now gives actual or potential victims and their families the power to fight back by policing, monitoring and censoring these harmful and destructive communications.

The press release is yet to hit the wire, but here is a statement by Wayne Irving II ,CEO and co-founder of Iconosys; “We are very excited to partner with Bully Buster OC and appoint Ryan Foland as the official ambassador of the app. Our goal is to get this app to the families who need it, and with Ryan’s grass root efforts in schools promoting bully prevention and awareness, he is the perfect person to head our efforts in a local and nationwide push.”

I am very excited and truly believe that the Word Bully™ App is an important incremental step in utilizing technology to protect children and give peace of mind to their parents.  With a small one time investment of only $9.99, concerned parents can download the application and know that his or her child is much less exposed to the threat of child predators and bullies. Such piece of mind I believe is well worth the investment! Now that most children carry phones, many of the circumstances that make them vulnerable when out of our sight, can be lessened with this unique and functional safety phone app.

Word Bully™ Features:

• Word Bully™ monitors for approximately 3,600 words, acronyms, bulli-cons, and phrases that might be considered profanity, threatening, vulgar, and even a custom add list.
• Enable and Disable the Word Bully™ service using a parental-controlled password.
• Word Bully™ monitors for inbound and outbound questionable communications and forwards to the parent’s phone.
• Word Bully™ allows you to create and manage a custom list of monitored words (e.g.  acronyms, abbreviations, cultural-isms, and gang-style lingo)
• Choose to monitor ALL of the text message communications with “Black Listed” individuals suspect to be a significant threat.
• Choose to ignore specific numbers or add numbers to a “White List”
• Locate your child anytime with Trick or Tracker® child location retrieval service, built right in!

If you are interested in purchasing this great application, simply visit Word Bully™ online.  If you would like to talk about how Bully Buster OC can help you, your school, church, or your community organization combat cyber-bullying, please contact me at (888) 312-4954.

Ryan Foland

Follow me on twitter @BullyBusterOC

The Bully Buster Form: Ground Get Up: Teaching the proper way to get up staying protected

The Bully Buster Form:

In my Bully Buster Workshops, I teach moves to a “Bully Buster Form” that I have developed based on skills that can help to defuse and defend against bullying.  The different moves are great learning tools for kids, as it gives them physical movements to draw upon for situations that they may experience or that could be dangerous.  It also creates a progression of different defenses that they can go through based on how they perceive the situation and real threats.  I will be sharing one of these moves a day on my blog, so keep checking back.

Learn how to get up and you are one step closer to being a Bully Buster

Ground Get Up:

When someone is on the ground they can be very vulnerable, and a target for being kicked.  Just as there is a proper way to fall down, there is a proper way to get up.  Here are the steps and keys to protecting yourself on the ground, getting up, and getting into a defensive stance.

1. Don’t lay flat on your back
2. Sit up on your bottom, posting one hand down and the other hand out in front towards the attacker to defend your face.
3. Put one foot down with knee bent (opposite side of the hand that is down), and have your other foot in the air with the bottom of your foot facing the attacker ready to kick.
4. Always keep eye contact with the attacker, and if they move, you rotate keeping your kicking foot pointing to toward them.
5. When you are ready, lift yourself up using the hand and foot on the ground, kick, then swing the kicking leg underneath you (using the recoil momentum from the kick) and plant it on the ground behind you, and you should be able to immediately stand up since you other foot is still on the ground.  If you stand up correctly, you already be in a strong defensive stance with both hands out with palms facing the attacker in the Two Hands Back Off stance.  The whole time it is important to keep your blocking hand in the direction of the attacker, all the way until you have gotten up.  Once up, assess the situation, and if possible, you should then 9-run-run and get to a safe place.

These moves together will arm children with practical ways to avoid and defend themselves against bullies.  Just reading about these moves is not enough, as they must be practiced, drilled, and practiced again, so that when you need to use them, you are ready to respond and not react!

To get all of the moves, you can download my Bully Buster OC Parent Resource Guide at www.BullyBusterOC.com!

Ryan Foland

(888) 312 4954

Bully Buster OC

Bully Tutor

The Bully Buster Form: Slap Out: Teaching how to fall with out hurting yourself

In my Bully Buster Workshops, I teach moves to a “Bully Buster Form” that I have developed based on skills that can help to defuse and defend against bullying.  The different moves are great learning tools for kids, as it gives them physical movements to draw upon for situations that they may experience or that could be dangerous.  It also creates a progression of different defenses that they can go through based on how they perceive the situation and real threats.  I will be sharing one of these moves a day on my blog, so keep checking back.

Learn how to fall and not get hurt!

Slap Out:

Falling or being pushed on the ground can be very dangerous, and is a common attack from bullies.  Many kids who get hurt when they fall down or are pushed is simply because they do not know how to fall down.  Yes, there is a safe way to fall and it is called a slap-out!  There are 5 basic steps.

1. If you can, cross your arms tight to your body
2. Tuck your chin close to your chest
3. Bend down to get as close to the ground as you can to shorten the distance to the ground
4. Try to hit your bottom first then roll on your back
5. Finally, as you roll, you slap the ground with both hands, palms down to redirect the falling motion, making it so that your head does not whip back and hit the ground.

This is something that can and should be practiced over and over to get it right.  There are also variations to the slap out for more complicated falls, such as the One Foot Slap-out, and the No Foot- Slap Out.  The dynamics are all based around variations of these simple 5 steps.

To get all of the moves, you can download my Bully Buster OC Parent Resource Guide at www.BullyBusterOC.com!

Ryan Foland

(888) 312 4954

Bully Buster OC

Bully Tutor

The Bully Buster Form: Block and Twist: Teaching defense against bear hugs, chokes, shirt grabbing, and hair pulling

In my Bully Buster Workshops, I teach moves to a “Bully Buster Form” that I have developed based on skills that can help to defuse and defend against bullying.  The different moves are great learning tools for kids, as it gives them physical movements to draw upon for situations that they may experience or that could be dangerous.  It also creates a progression of different defenses that they can go through based on how they perceive the situation and real threats.  I will be sharing one of these moves a day on my blog, so keep checking back.

Know when to see trouble, block and cover

Block and Twist:

Similar to the “Tuck and Cover” the “Block and Twist” is used for full head protection, but specifically for defense against bear hugs, chokes, shirt grabbing, and hair pulling.  The basic block with two hands on the back of your head without interlocked fingers and elbows pinched in front is the same, but the “twist” part is what breaks different holds.  The twist can be to either side and should be in a downward motion.  Often times, bullies are bigger than those who they bully, and so trying to pull off an attacker does not work simply due to the difference in strength.  The great thing about the “Block and Twist” is that the defender is using their core to twist, and this helps to even the imbalance of strength.   To defend against hair pulling, the victim is to get into the Tuck and Cover block formation but actually grabbing the hand or hands of the attacker that is grabbing the hair.  Holding the attackers hand to their own head,  the victim takes control of the situation, and then by dropping and spinning, still holding tightly onto the attackers hands holding the hair, will twist the attackers wrists and they will have no choice but to let go .

To get all of the moves, you can download my Bully Buster OC Parent Resource Guide at www.BullyBusterOC.com!

Ryan Foland

(888) 312 4954

Bully Buster OC

Bully Tutor

The Bully Buster Form: Tuck and Cover: Teaching protection to physical threats

In my Bully Buster Workshops, I teach moves to a “Bully Buster Form” that I have developed based on skills that can help to defuse and defend against bullying.  The different moves are great learning tools for kids, as it gives them physical movements to draw upon for situations that they may experience or that could be dangerous.  It also creates a progression of different defenses that they can go through based on how they perceive the situation and real threats.  I will be sharing one of these moves a day on my blog, so keep checking back.

Protect yourself

Tuck and Cover:

This is a very effective move if a child is being physically attacked or choked.  The move is executed by taking each hand and placing it on the back sides of the head without interlocking fingers, and with both elbows pinched together in front.  There is a slight gap between the arms that acts as a sight line, while still keeping the face, and head protected.  The “tuck” part of the move comes from tucking the head downward to protect the neck area.  This move is a great defense against all types of chokes and headlocks.

To get all of the moves, you can download my Bully Buster OC Parent Resource Guide at www.BullyBusterOC.com!

Ryan Foland

(888) 312 4954

Bully Buster OC

Bully Tutor

Sensei Says, “goofing off” is ok. Playing with your children is healthy and fun

When teaching Karate, there is discipline, structure, yet classes can and are very fun for students.  I think that we as adults forget the importance of “playing” and having “fun” or just “goofing off.”  We tend to be so serious, and rightly so, since most of your days are spent working in an office or professional environment where there are rules against “goofing off.”  I find that so many people live for the weekends, or that one major vacation, or birthday, or some other socially acceptable excuse to let loose.  I make sure to include some “play time” or “goof off silly time” into my classes to promote a regular dose of fun.  Every mammal plays. Lions… Tigers…Monkeys… Elephants… People… It’s when we play that we let go of all those ideas of who we “should” be… all that pressure… and just be who we really are.

And in my experience, there’s nothing more profound in life than experiencing who you really are, and we need to really be aware of the importance of encouraging this for our children and remembering this for ourselves.  My suggestions, “goof off with your kids,” and make it “ok” to have fun!  Your kids are the best people in the world to goof off with, and if you wait too long to establish that “goofing off” is ok and healthy every once in a while, they may grow up faster than you think and be “too cool” to participate, in fun family antics.

I truly believe in this idea and I try to devote time in every class to just letting go and “goofing off.” You can’t be serious 100% of the time, so find some time to do a little “goofing off” yourself and with your kids!

Ryan Foland

Black Belt Instructor

www.zendojos.com

www.BullyBusterOC.com