R.A.D. Systems
23305 Hwy 16
Denham Springs, LA 70726
Voice: (225) 791-4430
Fax: (225) 791-4431
Hours: 10am-3pm Central

R.A.D. Systems

S.W.A.T. - January 1999

RAPE DEFENSE:
A Glimpse Into A Parallel Universe
By Michael E. Conti

I was recently invited to attend a three-day Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Systems, Basic Physical Defense for Women Instructor Course. The course, which was conducted by its creator, Larry Nadeau, was held at Pine Manor College in Brookline, Massachusetts. The program was hosted by the members of the Pine Manor College Security Department. Amanda Guthorn, director of security for the four-year women's institution, introduced the course and also served as an assistant instructor.

My assignment was to attend the course as a participant in order to evaluate the program and report my findings here, for the benefit of S.W.A.T.'s readership. In particular, my purpose was to find out what, exactly, was being offered to the female participants under the heading of "Basic Physical Defense Course."

Before the three-day, 30-hour course was completed, however, I would learn much more than I had anticipated. In fact, my perceptions regarding the teaching and operational employment of various techniques to and by women would be significantly altered, as would my outlook on the world as a whole.

Sounds pretty overwhelming, doesn't it? Well, I'm not exaggerating, and I'll try to explain in this article just why I found this course so viable and enlightening.

COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND BACKGROUND

Larry Nadeau first developed the RAD Systems of self-defense in 1989. His original intention was to create an affordable, accessible, realistic program that would specifically address the self-defense needs of women.

Nadeau, a former Marine and full-time police officer, believed that a well-structured system that could be easily learned and assimilated was needed.

The program would be based on the philosophy that everyone has a right to learn to defend themselves. The RAD program veers off from the usual track of most self-defense systems, however, in the approach to the subject matter. Unlike many martial arts and defensive tactics schools that tend to focus primarily on the physical contact aspects, the RAD program stresses risk reduction, and combines that with avoidance strategies. Other subjects such as confrontational dynamics, principles of physical defense, postures of conflict, personal weapons of the body and selected target areas of an aggressor are also explored.

After thoroughly discussing all of the above in a classroom setting, the students are then introduced to specific physical drills that are practiced and employed. Realistic, dynamic simulation training is also incorporated into the program, during which students test their skills. By employing what they have learned in the program during the chaos and stress of multiple-aggressor simulations, the students are able to develop true confidence in their decision-making abilities and physical techniques.

In the nine years since its inception, nearly 2,000 instructors have been certified through RAD Systems programs. In turn, these instructors have taught the student-level programs to more than 45,000 women and children in the U.S. alone.

While the student-level basic physical defense for women course is limited to females only, the instructor's program also includes men. Nadeau believes that men can effectively serve as instructors for women once they understand the specific needs and perspective that the female students bring to the program. This is especially necessary with this particular course, Nadeau explained, because it is not uncommon to have students in the class who have been victims of assault.

Occasionally, a survivor of such a crime may find herself reexperiencing some of the attendant emotions and anxiety of the assault while performing the techniques or participating in the dynamic simulation training. Should this occur, the instructor must understand not only how to respond in the most supportive manner, but he or she must also be able to provide the student with information regarding local available resources, such as rape crisis centers.

Thorough research and preparation such as this are evident in all aspects of the program. This is one of the reasons that the RAD System of Basic Self Defense is the only program of its kind to ever be endorsed by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA).

THE STUDENTS

One of the first things that struck me was the obvious enthusiasm that many members brought to the class. This was especially true with the females who had attended the student-level course. These young women loved this program, in a way that I didn't - couldn't - immediately understand.

One of the students, a 19-year old college sophomore, told me that she had taken the student-level program and found it so "empowering" that she decided to become instructor-certified so she could "help other young women develop the confidence and freedom" the course inspired within her.

Among the other women taking the course were a number of full-time police officers. While most of these women exhibited the aggressiveness and eagerness to train you would expect, a few others seemed a bit hesitant about fully participating in the program. I was surprised when one of these women confided in me that she was nervous about taking the course and had felt a bit self-conscious about performing some of the drills. She would tell me later, however, that her apprehensions had diminished as she came to enjoy the program and developed more confidence in it and herself.

Many other participants expressed similar feelings. As for the male participants, most seemed to be thinking much as I was at the start of the course. And that was that the program, while soundly structured and thoroughly taught, appeared to be pretty much a standard self-defense program.

Later I would realize that what we, as males, had failed to see at this stage of the course was the parallel universe that existed all around us - a universe inhabited by more than half of the Earth's population.

THE INSTRUCTOR COURSE

The student-level course we were being certified to teach is well structured and focused. As noted above, avoidance, risk awareness and risk reduction are the principal goals. Assertiveness, verbal confrontation skills and safety strategies are also addressed.

The instructor course is geared, as it should be, to producing a well-rounded and competent teacher who is capable of passing on the specific technical knowledge and physical skills involved in the program. I also found that Nadeau has incorporated enough motivational material to keep the instructors fired up. This is primarily accomplished through the simple and clear philosophy conveyed, the heart of which Nadeau summed up on day one: "During this three-day course, over 1,000 women will be assaulted, beaten, raped or murdered. This is why we are here."

At its core, the basic course is a foundation-building defensive tactics program designed to instruct females who have had little or no formalized self-defense training. To this end, what Nadeau has done is take a lot of different martial arts and defensive tactics movements and forms, and reduce them to a few basic, easy-to-learn and effective techniques.

Besides drawing upon accepted self-defense techniques, Nadeau has also incorporated many other important aspects of self-defense into his program. Mental preparation, perhaps the single most important consideration in regard to developing a survival mind-set, is also addressed. Simple concepts such as maintaining a constant level of awareness about the environment you are moving through are examined, and the goal of avoiding dangerous situations and encounters is stressed whenever possible.

The course employs such sound teaching models as Jeff Cooper's color-coded awareness spectrum to simplify the teaching of these concepts, as well as to help the students understand just what types of physiological changes the body may experience during the stress of a violent encounter.

And here is where the course departs from being simply another self-defense program. By incorporating specific mindset aspects as they relate to the target audience, this basic self-defense course actually becomes, in effect, an introduction to applied aggression for females.

DAY ONE

The program began at 8 a.m. as advertised. After introducing himself and the other instructors, Nadeau had each of the student instructors stand and introduce themselves. This included basic information such as name, rank, department affiliation, training background and reasons for attending the course.

The prerequisite safety briefing and paperwork were then completed, and Nadeau gave us an overview of the course content and what would be required of us to successfully complete it.

These requirements included ego-free participation; simulation exercise participation; practical testing and demonstration of all techniques; and the passing of a 25-question written exam. Nadeau also explained how the RAD network functioned, keeping all instructors informed and communicating through seminars and a quarterly newsletter.

Assistant instructor Sgt. Kristy Nolet, a nine-year veteran member of the Wellesley College Campus Police Department, then presented a lecture segment. Nolet, an engaging speaker, was also well-versed in the material. After completing her presentation on risk awareness and risk reduction, Nolet dismissed the class for a one-hour lunch break.

After lunch, the class reconvened precisely at 12:05 p.m. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening performing static, fluid and dynamic impact exercises, utilizing the basic stances and movements that have been adapted into the system. These movements included various strikes, kicks and blocks, all of which were reinforced through repetition. Defenses against wrist grabs, bear hugs and choke holds were also addressed.

The class was dismissed at 5:30 p.m

DAY TWO

Day two began precisely at 8 a.m. Lectures were foregone as we headed directly to the designated training area for stretching and warm-ups.

All of the physical techniques learned on the first day were reviewed and practiced. All of the instructors were active during this segment, instructing as well as providing individual spot checks in regard to form and technique.

Additional techniques were then introduced. These were also learned first in static form (slowly and by the numbers), then fluidly (performing the technique as one flowing movement) and finally employed in dynamic impact exercises (striking a bag).

During this segment, Nadeau also introduced various "train the trainer" exercises, having the student instructors take turns running the class.

The class broke for lunch at 11 a.m. Returning at noontime, we turned to our workbooks for an hour of study. Nadeau had made it clear at the beginning that all of the testing phases of the program were legitimate - no open books or other assistance would be permitted. That meant that in order to pass the written test, a lot of material had to be absorbed - and many parts had to be memorized verbatim.

At 1 p.m., we returned to the mats. A few more techniques were introduced, and the movements we had already learned were again reinforced. We worked at this until 5 p.m., when we took a one-hour dinner break. Day two is the "long day" of the course, when the student trainers must successfully participate in dynamic simulation training with four heavily padded attackers in order to become RAD trainer-certified.

Nadeau, wearing the black RAD Aggressor Simulation Suit he helped design, explained how the suit is put on and best used prior to the commencement of the simulation training scenarios.

After he finished, the other three attackers, all certified and experienced RAD instructors, filed into the room. None of these men had participated in, nor been introduced, to the class prior to this segment. This was done to heighten the anxious levels of the student instructors. It seemed to work.

As I watched the first students putting on their protective head, hand, elbow and knee gear, I noticed that many of them appeared a bit apprehensive.

I also couldn't help noticing that the males in the class appeared more at east than many of the females. I wasn't sure whether this was attributable to the fact that we, as males, were conditioned to deal with aggressive behavior more thoroughly than the females or if it was that we were simply better at hiding our apprehensions.

Later, during a discussion about this, Sgt. Nolet would remark that females in our society have, indeed, traditionally been socialized to be peacekeepers - not aggressors. Because of this, they not only have to overcome the normal human reactions to stress, danger and fear, but also the conditioning that has been programmed into them by society itself.

I must admit that in all my years of training both men and women in various tactical disciplines, I had never really given this aspect much thought. But the more I considered it, the more sense it made and the more I came to appreciate the accomplishments of the female students I have taught. For though I have always made it a point to treat all students equally, demanding the best performance they were capable of, I had never considered just how much more the females had to overcome (in the form of preconceptions and socialization) to accomplish the goals. It was at this point that the light began to be turned on for me.

The student instructors then were brought, one at a time, into the center of the room. Other members of the class served as safety officers. Equipped with large pads, these students ringed the training area to prevent anyone from crashing into the walls.

Nolet then spoke briefly to the student, telling him or her to shut his or her eyes and react once the instructors physically engaged him or her. During this process, the black-suited instructors were yelling insults and taunts at the student. As soon as the student's eyes were closed, the instructors would push or shove them and the simulation would begin. The student's primary objective was to escape. In order to do this, he or she had to fight his or her way past the instructors using any or all of the techniques practiced the past two days.

As I watched the students punch, kick and elbow-smash the instructors with all their might, a funny thing happened. Everything that I had learned over the past two days relating to the specific purpose of the training - to teach women to fight back in order to stun an attacker and escape - began to fade from my mind.

In fact, the closer my turn to enter the circle came, the more I found myself reverting to my prior training, experiences and social conditioning. In other words, I found myself wanting to fight, wanting to engage and destroy the enemy - in this case, the large, taunting instructors. I was looking forward to the contact, just as I had been conditioned to in football, boxing, the infantry and the police academy.

And I wanted to hit them hard, fast and first, remembering all the lessons I had learned during real-life engagements on the streets.

So then I'm getting suited up; the aggressors are taunting, hostile. I'm ushered into the center of the circle. They're yelling in my face. And my conditioned response is just as aggressive as theirs, "Yeah, let's go, come on."

And right then Kristy Nolet grabbed me by the face mask and said, "Listen to me, listen to my voice. You're here to experience this as a woman experiences this, so you can understand their world. This is what a woman experiences practically every day of her life �She hears comments and wise remarks - something said to her every day. You're experiencing what a woman goes through, and in order to be able to teach them, you need to experience it on their level. Your objective here is simply to get away. You don't want to fight, you simply want to get away!"

And right then my brain turned back on and crashed into my conditioned threat-response programming, and I caught a glimpse, perhaps for the first time, into the world that females in this country and many others are living in - a world quite different from my own. And as my conscious mind grasped this - but before I could completely absorb it - I was swarmed by the instructors and found myself on the deck. Then the survival responses kicked back in and I fought my way through - to escape.

Afterward, we all went outside for a debriefing with Nadeau and the other instructors. Nadeau introduced these men, and it was apparent that they all shared the same belief in the program's importance. As I studied the faces of my fellow students I had the distinct impression that a change had taken place in many of them. For some of them, this was the first time they had ever employed violence of any kind against another human being. I could actually see the confidence the experience had given them. As for myself, I was still reeling from the realization that I had never been aware of how different the world - our common, everyday tactical environment - was for females.

Then I began to think of all the times I had seen and heard males make off-color remarks and comments to women in passing. How many times I had looked at an attractive woman, thinking nothing more of it, not realizing that I may have made her uncomfortable or even fearful, depending on her perceptions of me and her own past experiences.

The class was dismissed at 8:30 p.m.

That night, I talked to my wife, Kathy, about my amazing insight. Kathy, who holds a master's degree in education, is also a veteran who served in the Gulf during Desert Storm. After hearing my great revelation, she simply looked at me and said, "Well, yeah, what did you think? It's always been that way if you're a woman, and it makes no difference if you're talking about the civilian or the military world. We [women] are surrounded by human animals that are generally larger, stronger, faster and more aggressive than we are, and who often have no compunction about staring unnervingly at us or making unwanted comments or gestures, or even touching us. It often tends to suck."

My response to this was, "Why didn't you ever tell me this?" She replied simply, "It's just the way it is. And besides, you never asked."

DAY THREE

The last day, another 8 a.m. start. We began with some stretching and conversations about the prior evening's simulation training. Everyone felt tired, but good. There were a few bruises and aches, but nothing significant. The rest of the morning was devoted to passing the practical portion of the certification test. Perfection of form and movement was the goal. Everyone did well.

This phase continued until lunch at noon. Most of the students skipped eating, however, preferring to study and cram for the written exam. After a final review, the exam was administered, scores were tallied and the course was completed. We were dismissed at 2 p.m.

SUMMARY

My involvement as a police officer/trainer/writer has given me a great deal of access to various types of training programs through the years. The vast majority of these courses have been well worth the time and expense involved. Very few of these programs, however, have actually given me the opportunity to experience personal growth, providing me with a new perspective that I did not have when I started the course. This one did. On that basis alone, I would highly recommend the program to any male police or military instructor whose audience includes female students, regardless of the specific discipline taught.

The program itself, while sharing similarities with many basic self-defense instructor courses, is uniquely suited to prepare the instructor to help those in the specific target audience - women who will have only themselves to count on for protection.

Perhaps the best endorsement I could give the RAD Systems course and its staff of highly dedicated instructors is simply to say that when my daughter, Katie, is old enough, she'll be attending one of these programs.