This quarter, I took the Rape Aggression Defense class through the University of Washington Police Department. The R.A.D. Systems of Self Defense is a national network of self-defense classes for women, children, men, and seniors. About once a quarter, UWPD offers its own class on the UW campus. It’s free to female students, faculty, staff, and community members. Each class consists of four 3 hour sessions and an optional simulation session. In the first class, the police officers went over a slideshow explaining the RAD system, providing suggestions to stay safe and avoid bad situations, and explaining some of the techniques. In the second, third, and fourth classes, they taught us defense techniques and we practiced them. In the simulation, we gear up in helmets and pads and some of the officers (in giant padded suits) attack us in real-world simulations.
My new friend, Kara, and me geared up for the simulation
I found the class to be empowering and informative, and I would recommend it to anyone. RAD teaches self-defense techniques for real-world situations. We learned moves to escape different choke holds, to push someone away if they come up and put their arm around you, and many others that I would never have imagined even existed. The class also provided lots of opportunity to practice on pads and dummies. The instructors monitored our practice, correcting us if we were performing the techniques incorrectly. The class also instructed how to think in these types of situations, explaining the importance of yelling “no” or something similar while fending off attackers. The officers also talked about the laws surrounding self-defense in Washington and comparing those to laws in other states. In Washington, the use of force has to be necessary and reasonable in order to be justified in a court of law. For example, if you are fending off an attacker, you are obligated to run away as soon as you can – you can’t just stay there and keep kicking him once he’s down. Useful information – even though I think I might have a hard time abiding by the law if I was ever in such a situation.
Another awesome aspect of the class was that I met a great group of women. Not only did I meet classmates and neighbors, I met future students, women that work for the University, and women that work at UW Medical Center. Our class quickly adopted an encouraging, supportive attitude, which greatly contributed to the learning environment.
Part of the group, after the simulation. (The whole class was about 40 women)
After taking RAD, I feel so much more confident walking around, knowing that I have the tools to defend myself should someone ever dare to attack me. UWPD offers the class about once a quarter, and I can’t recommend it enough. To learn more, check out the UWPD website. If you don’t live near UW, check out the RAD website to find a class near you.