Rape Aggression Defense Class

Last night was the first of four classes in the R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) class I'm taking through the local-ish police department. My actual city doesn't offer it, but the college town 15 miles over does. So that's where I'll be spending the next Wednesday evenings of March from 6 pm to 10 pm.

I was a little hesitant as there are male officers/instructors. But I've promised myself to make the most of these classes. And that even if something makes me a little wary, I want to work through it. So yeah, I wasn't keen on the idea of practicing my blocks and parries with one of the male instructors, but let's be honest here. I'm 6 feet tall and fairly intimidating as it is. The likelihood of a woman attacking me is pretty much zilch, so in reality, I need to practice against the people who would be most likely to attack me. In other words, MEN.

And it was awesome. Getting to practice the glare, the verbal commands of Stay Away or No, and to block and parry strikes (slow ones, with padding, so no real danger there), was so much fun. And then we moved on to strikes. Next week we start kicks, knees, etc.

And R.A.D. is an international program. Once I complete 3 classes (the fourth class is just simulation/sparring), I get my lifetime pass. With that, I can attend any R.A.D. class for free.

In June, the local PD is offering Advanced R.A.D., Weapons Defense, and Keychain Baton classes. I'm quite interested in the first two. Ify on the Keychain class. I carry a knife with me, so I'd rather get training in how to use that instead of a 6 inch metal baton that attaches to my keys. But one of the local Krav Maga places offers weapon and street-fighting classes, so I can sign up for those instead.

All in all, a good class thus far. I'm a little sore today as I'm not used to moving in those ways, but I'll be stretching and practicing for next week for sure.