I have to admit that when I registered for HES 120 last semester, I was simply looking for an easy A and additional credit hours. However, in just six short weeks, “Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) for Women” became my absolute favorite and most cherished class I’ve ever taken at Wake Forest. I gained a new and strong impression of community from my uplifting class environment surrounded by fellow female Wake Forest students. Every week we learned new self-defense techniques, which we practiced on the infamous life-size doll that our class named Jim Bob. Our incredible course instructor, Tony Chambers, demanded that we demonstrate moves such as the Hammer Fist, Sweep Kick, and Snake Eyes striking position to his nearly unattainable satisfaction. We also learned the importance of how to use a woman’s most powerful weapon, her voice. Every time we threw a punch or blocked a fellow student’s strike, our instructor required us to yell out “no” in order to make our defense methods seem even more powerful. In addition, we learned important tips like the value of carrying pepper spray and doing a visual scan of our environment. For our final exam, we were required to take down our 6’3” and incredibly jacked teacher using the methods we learned throughout the course. Even though we spent the majority of our time perfecting fighting techniques, I think the most important thing that I gained from the six-week class and its rigorous “fight night” final was a new sense of confidence that I’m strong enough to take care of myself. I no longer feel scared to walk alone at night or threatened by large groups of men because I have the skill set to defend myself and others if necessary. Whenever I feel anxious or alarmed, I just repeat the class creed in my head. The saying goes, “I am strong! I am confident! I will defend myself!”
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wake Forest chapter.