R.A.D. - Rape Aggression Defense

I started a rape aggression defense (self-defense for women) class on Tuesday. It is once a week for three hours a night and there are 4 nights. Several of my friends had taken it and said good things about it, and it was free so I thought I would try it. I love it! The point of the class is to teach you some skills to help you get away from a dangerous situation - just get in a few good hits and run as soon as your attacker is down or caught off guard. It is a lot of fun and very educational. Tuesday was my first class. There are only 6 girls in the class and three teachers so we get a lot of help and practice. We learned 3 different "defense" stances, 4 kinds of strikes, 3 different kicks, and 2 blocks. We practiced blocking as the instructors tried to hit us (with pads). It was a little intimidating at first, but they started out slow and I did well. We practiced all our kicks and strikes on pads that they were holding. I went home with red, swollen, and cracked knuckles - worth it though. We also learned that it is very important to be vocal. We have to yell "No!" every time we hit, kick, block, etc. Yelling is important because it attracts attention, warns your attacker, and makes it easier for you to keep breathing in such an intense situation. At the end of the class one of our instructors is going to wear a padded suit and helmet and actually attack us in several different scenarios. We will use what we learned to try to fight him off and get away. This will be a really good practice and probably kind of scary. My friends said you adrenaline really kicks in when he rushes to attack you and you just start doing what you learned and fighting back. It's a great class so far and I would recommend it to anyone. 1 out of 3 women in this country are raped, so it never hurts to be prepared. Hopefully though I will never need to use any of this. The picture on the left is of the simulation on the last day of class - the full body black suit is what the attacker will be wearing (or something similar). I'll get to wear the helmet, knee pads, and gloves.