- I strongly recommend the Police Officer Team Tactics/Pre-Escalation training program offered by Julie Werhnyak and her Artemis Self Defense team. This instruction delivers a powerful blend of practical physical technique, combined with effective decision making and the essentials of effective communication. We provided the training to our officers and immediately saw improvement in their ability to work together as a team to address resistance and ultimately resolve incidents more effectively, reducing injury to officers and suspects. I believe the Artemis Self Defense Pre-Escalation Training Program is the best available defensive tactics training offered today.
Debora Black
Chief of Police
Prescott Police Department
- LAWPOA has been in existence since 1925 and as an association rich
with diversity offers training and development opportunities for both
men and women who serve within the public safety sector. Our expert speakers are traditionally well respected authors and lecturers. At this
year’s symposium, we had 960 registered attendees with over 57 public
safety agencies from throughout the state of California.
One of our main featured speakers was Police Officer Julie Werhnyak of the Tempe, Arizona Police Department. Officer Werhnyak’s presentation literally brought down the house. Though she was the last presenter after a very long day, no one wanted to leave.
Julie was so engaging that she captivated the audience as she described in detail her resilience and strong will to survive from such a horrific incident that many of us felt that our officers needed and surely benefited from her experience.
Our Board of Directors strongly and whole heartily recommend that you consider her
for any of your future training courses.
Respectfully,
Regina Scott, President
Los Angeles Women Police Officers and Associates (LAWPOA)
- Got the opportunity again yesterday to assist (play the bad guy) in another Self Defense class put on by Julie Werhnyak of Artemis Self Defense. If you’re looking for a class to take yourself or for someone you know, this is the one.
I have not seen a class with a better instructor or a more thorough curriculum, covering both mental and physical considerations, planning/preparation/prevention, and excellent situational drills. HIGHLY recommended.
Niko Huffman, Combative Systema Instructor/Business Executive
- Julie, I can't thank you enough for creating this program. After I became a Force Science Analyst I have had a hard time finding a course which implements the principals and science into their training. You have done that and then some. Your course is perfect and bridges the gap between the old and the new like I have never seen before. I am drinking from the punch bowl 100%.
Sergeant Nathan Dorfman
Sedona, Arizona Police Department
- Officer Julie Werhnyak is a dynamic and engaging speaker. She has a story that is not only relatable to all law enforcement but to anyone in the public safety industry. She tells her story with great compassion, lessons learned and humor. It has been an absolute honor to include Julie in our annual conference twice now. Each time she has had a full room listen to her story. She is thorough, professional and compelling.
Beyond her courageous story, Julie is an amazing woman who is kind and compassionate. Not only is she a pleasure to work with, but she took the time to talk to every attendee who wanted to ask her questions or shake her hand. She has consistently made our event a stand out conference with her presentation and presence!
Meagan Catafi, Training & Program Manager
California Police Chiefs Association
- Our department was searching for defensive tactics training and we decided on ARTEMIS. The training was top notch! Julie’s teaching method provided us a safe, informative, and fun training environment. The material was easy to grasp and employ by all officers regardless of their experience, training, or fitness level. The following week, several officers had already implemented what they learned in class and their feedback was very positive.
Julie’s experience and knowledge comes through in her teaching; she is the consummate professional. Always vigilant as to any safety issues, she conveys the concepts of ARTEMIS easily and in a manner that any officer can quickly understand as well as relate to. I highly recommend her course for anyone looking to implement a defensive tactics program that is as practical as it is effective.
Dennis Ribeiro
Training Lieutenant
Houston METRO Police Department
Houston, Texas
- Anyone looking for self defense training in the U.S,A. look no further than Julie Werhnyak of Artemis Self-Defense. Julie has 20 years of experience on the Police force and over 30 years of Martial Arts and combatives training. Julie has first hand knowledge of who, what, where, how and why crimes are committed. Very few people are more qualified than Julie…most of all she is a super cool chick!
Peter Sciarra -Australia’s highest ranked Close Quarter Combat instructor
- The Women of Law Enforcement Organization conducts an annual training conference every September with the goal of inspiring and empowering female officers. This year, Officer Julie Werhnyak came highly recommended as a guest speaker for the conference. I knew during my first phone call with Julie, she exemplified exactly what the conference represents. A heartfelt desire to inspire females, regardless of rank or position, to be stronger, mentally and physically, than they ever thought they could be.
Julie’s message was so powerful and had such a profound effect on those in the audience. It was by far the most influential message any one presenter had delivered to audiences attending the Women of Law Enforcement Conference in our seven years of existence. After Julie ended her presentation, she took the time to greet every member of my audience (all 400 attendees) and to personally hand them a St. Michael Archangel police medallion. It was very inspirational and we would be lucky to have Julie back as a guest speaker!
Carrie White
President
Women of Law Enforcement Organization, Texas
- I hired Julie Werhnyak with ARTEMIS SELF-DEFENSE, to instruct defensive tactics for the sworn members of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Investigations Division. The vast majority of these detectives have more than twenty (20) years of law enforcement experience and many have been first responders on officer-involved shootings as well as experience with a multitude of critical incidents. It was important that I have an instructor that had credibility with these veteran detectives and also someone that they would respect. I found that and more in Julie Werhnyak and ARTEMIS.
Julie’s teaching methods provided for a safe, hands-on learning environment. Her knowledge, experience, and ability to relate to my staff was outstanding. I had many positive comments from my staff and have asked her back several times to build on what she previously taught and shared with them.
I highly recommend ARTEMIS and Julie to any organization wanting to implement a defensive tactics program that is both practical and effective. Her ability to engage with her students is exceptional. She truly cares about the training environment and wants each student to benefit from her course of instruction.
Sincerely,
Karen Ashley, Chief
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office
- On August 20th, Tempe Police Officer Julie Werhnyak assisted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office with teaching Defensive Tactics to deputy and police recruits in the Sworn Basic Training Academy.
Officer Werhnyak’s passion and expertise in the field of Defensive Tactics was clearly evident during the 4 hour block of instruction she taught. Julie was especially effective teaching recruits that previously had difficultly grasping the various techniques.
Julie was able to break down and explain several complex Defensive Tactic movements in a way in which the recruits were able to understand and later demonstrate with ease.
Julie is not only a technically proficient instructor; she also displayed an enthusiasm for Defensive Tactics that inspired each and every recruit in the class. Even though Officer Werhnyak only taught a small portion of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Academy Defensive Tactics program, she had an impact in the recruit’s success.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend their gratitude to Officer Werhnyak for her time, passion, and dedication to train and develop the next generation of deputies and police officers.
Training Lieutenant, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Training Academy
- Julie, You are a ray of light for this police department, not just because of the material you presented or your teaching ability, but because of how you treat people.
Houston Metro Police Officer
- Julie, I would like to personally thank you for coming to our sales meeting. Today was by far the best meeting we have EVER had. And I’ve been with the company for almost 10 years. The Personal Safety information you provided us was/is absolutely priceless.
Laura – Arizona Best Realty
- I joined ten other women of all ages and fitness levels for a self-defense class with Julie and her team at Artemis Self-Defense. I enjoyed every bit of it and learned a lot! I realized how important it is to continue learning and practicing in order to keep myself safe. That’s why I am going to do a follow-up class in the future. The more realistic the training, the more confident I will become in my capabilities to defend myself. I realize that the goal is to not be attacked at all, but you better believe that if I am attacked by someone, I will put up a good fight with the new skills I learned from Julie! I highly recommend this class to every woman. The more educated we are, the safer we will be!
Ashley Williams – Physical Therapist
- My 18-year old daughter and I attended an Artemis Self-Defense workshop together. What an eye-opening and excellent experience. Julie, the owner of Artemis, has so much helpful experience and stories to relate from her past 18+ years in law enforcement. Julie did an outstanding job of identifing every day situations where women need to be more aware of their surroundings. Her class was about 4 hours long and included both classroom time, as well as hands-on self-defense techniques. Julie provided excellent (and extremely helpful) information geared toward young girls and how they can avoid dangerous situations when out with friends. Being that my daughter is graduating high school and heading to college next year, I was extremely grateful for this information. I also loved her advice which was “to follow your instincts”. I was so impressed with her class that my daughter and I are attending a 2nd follow up class from Artemis which goes into more hands-on and scenario based instruction. I have already recommended this class to 5 of my friends.
Kelley Howard, Director of Sales
- I have taken this workshop taught by Julie twice! Once with my daughter in law and once with a friend, benefiting greatly from both workshops. It is a class that I believe every woman young and not so young should take. I am 55 years old and cannot tell you how much I learned in this workshop. You will leave more aware not only of your surroundings, but of yourself and the way you present yourself to those you encounter. Rather than leaving fearful of this world, you will leave with a greater confidence in yourself and your ability to reduce your risk of BECOMING a victim. You will also leave empowered with tools to defend yourself should you be attacked. Julie brings proven statistics along with years of law enforcement experience to this class and generously shares both with the students.
I have encouraged every female I know to take this class and will continue to do so. This class was one of the first steps on my road to being a safer, more confident person but will certainly NOT be the last! I will be taking additional classes from Julie and look forward to continuing my education in self-defense. Do yourself a favor and take this workshop!!!! You will not regret it!
Jeanette – Business Professional
- Artemis has such a great instructional program for Realtors……
Julie and her team have compiled the perfect “hands-on” safety workshops for us. As Realtor’s we are so vulnerable. We are often unsuspecting and trusting in hopes to build a rapport that potentially acquires us new business. Julie took us through numerous scenarios that were very real and eye opening. From her extensive law enforcement and self-defense background she has structured a program that will truly heighten your awareness and keep you safe. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend one of her classes!! Be safe and prosper.
Terry – Russ Lyon Realty
- Taking Julie’s self-defense seminar is one of the best things I have ever done! The knowledge I gained in the class was huge. It was so empowering for me as a female to feel that if faced with an unwelcome encounter, I now know steps to take to defend myself or to exit the situation.
The first two hours of class is a presentation of her personal stories, of everyday situations we could find ourselves in and most importantly, how to reduce our risk of becoming a victim. The second 2 hours of class were my favorite. We went to a room with mats on the floor, and learned different ways to physically protect ourselves, followed by getting to whale on a guy in a padded suit with our new moves. We got to repeat these maneuvers several times, to make us feel more confident in our newly learned skills.
I would highly recommend this seminar! I can’t wait to take my follow-up class and beat up on another bad guy.
Lisa Brack, Registered Nurse
- I am a 70 year old woman. I am short, fat, and old. Please note: only in age, not in spirit. I took Julie’s first self defense class for women and the follow up class. I was so impressed with her and her helpers. After the classes, I was very motivated to change my exercise routine from taking an old kooder easy class to more strength weight training and cardio workout. I now have become more aware of my surroundings and think ahead, what will I do. I know that I may not be able to do every self defense move that Julie taught us in class. However, I would like to pick a few that I can do well. Julie is a great roll model for women fighting back. Julie, I want to fight like you girl.
RJ Schmit