Instructors

Michelle Kirk is the instructor for the Fight Like a Girl program in Knoxville, TN.  She completed her certification in November of 2009 at Defend University under the leadership of Steve Kardian, Eastern United States lead certifying instructor for Defend University and one of the nation’s   go-to experts on issues of women’s safety, crime prevention, and risk reduction.  Michelle is the mother of four children and has enjoyed training in the martial arts since 2007, especially in Muay Thai and Cardio Kickboxing as well as Brazilian  Jiu-Jitsu.  She is a certified Secondary Teacher and enjoys bringing her experience teaching and working with teens to the mat. Michelle’s caring spirit and genuine concern for her students as well as her desire to impact her community in the areas of women’s self-defense, sexual assault prevention, and domestic violence prevention and education is evident in all of her classes.  It is her belief that arming women of all ages with information is just as important as teaching them good, easy to remember and perform self-defense techniques.  It is Michelle’s goal to help empower women of all ages so that, just like a Pink Diamond, they can realize their inner strength, beauty, and worth.               

David Kirk is the lead "Beat-up Dummy" for the Fight Like a Girl program in Knoxville, TN.  He has trained in Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and several other defensive Martial Arts. David served in the U.S. Army as a Military Intelligence Specialist and currently works as a Network Administrator when he is not assisting his wife, Michelle.  David Completed the "Fight Like a Girl" and the "Girls on Guard" Instructors program in October 2011.  David complements the Fight Like a Girl classes with his expertise in computers and internet safety.  He also shares Michelle’s desire to work toward ending Domestic Violence. David’s respectful attitude and concern for his students make working with him a pleasure. He takes his job very seriously. Although some women may find the Fist Suit portion of the class intimidating at first, nervousness usually ends in laughter, applause, and smiles on the faces of participants as they begin to realize they REALLY CAN defend themselves against a much larger person. David feels he has done his job well when a young lady half his size puts him on his backside by the end of a class.