The Rape Aggression Defense Systems or R.A.D. program is a comprehensive, womans-only course that educates awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance and the basics of hands-on defense training.
“I’m not going to teach you to kick his ass,” said Sergeant Kenneth Schmidtling, R.A.D. instructor from St. Mary’s University Police Department . “The point is to create space between you and the attacker to run away.”
Five women attended the first session April 3 and learned that basic defense is 90 percent educational and 10 percent physical. In a two hour lesson, Schmidtling lectured on the importance of being aware of your surroundings, areas most vulnerable in the event of an attack and warning signs to always take in consideration.
“I’m so used to being by myself and I need to be more aware of my surroundings,” education junior Jackie Mendoza said.
Mendoza added how informative Schmidtling’s lesson on car decals was, and how they can easily give away too much information.
“I hate car decals,” Schmidtling said. “They’re a pedifiles dream.”
School or sports decals often include the names of children, school and/or team name and team number, giving out enough information on “where to find little Johnny” as Schmidtling said.
“I never thought of decals on the cars like that, it changed my way of thought,” Mendoza said.
Limited seating is available so Student Life and Wellness asks that people call ahead and reserve, and since the second and third session is a more hands on training please wear appropriate clothing for physical contact.
For more information, call Jolene DesRoches at 210-784-1336 or Kathleen Frank at 210-784-1338
