When I was a junior in high school, I was fortunate enough to take a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) course to fulfill my gym requirement. It was a semester long course in which female students could learn basic self-defense techniques, as well as other safety precautions. Some days, we read from a textbook and learned different ways to avoid potentially dangerous situations. Other days, we shared news articles that centered around women’s health and safety, or told personal stories. Most days, however, were spent physically practicing self-defense.
My twenty other classmates and I would stand in a circle as my teacher taught different methods of defense. Some were stances that illustrated a willingness to fight back. Other techniques were far more physical, created to be performed after the attacker made direct contact. While teaching the latter techniques my teacher would put on a large protective suit, go to each student and display a different attack method, and students responded by performing the learned technique.
For my final, I was required to partake in a simulation. About ten police officers came to my school in fully-protective body suits. Through a series of demonstrations imitating a variety of situations, students were required to show what they had learned in the semester. We had to fight back to protect ourselves, imagining the experience to be real. For example, during one demonstration, my teacher told me to pretend I was at an ATM. As I faced away from five police officers, one ran up behind me, grabbed me, and I repeatedly kicked him while screaming. After completing the two-and-a-half-hour long simulation, I felt proud and more confident than ever.
My teacher stressed that as young women about to enter college, we needed to be prepared for the absolute worst case-scenario. Rape is never the victim’s fault. It is, however, something we hear about daily in the news or on TV in a crime show. Therefore, we must to discuss preparation in the event that we are subjected to these dangerous scenarios. For this reason, I would recommend every woman take a course similar to RAD. Many communities offer a condensed program that only takes a few weeks to complete.
There are also a few basic things that everyone should know:
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If you are in a parking lot alone, get into your car immediately and drive away. If you stay and fiddle with your purse or phone, a potential attacker could see that as a moment of vulnerability.
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If you ever feel threatened, don’t be afraid to yell “stay back!”It’s better to be safe than sorry.
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Never go to a party alone. The buddy system truly is remarkably protective.
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Always be careful of your surroundings.
It is true that we cannot live in fear of a potential attack at any moment. However, practicing self-defense is not being fearful–it’s being smart and cautious. For this reason, any self-defense that could be learned is well worth it.
Photo Sources:
https://cascade.uoregon.edu/spring2013/social-sciences/are-women-safer-when-they-learn-self-defense/