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Our Woman’s Programs
“Aren’t R.A.D. programs
for women offered by colleges and police departments as
well? Why should I take your program and pay for it when
there are colleges and police departments that are
giving the program for free?”
Good question! There are
several parts to answering this question.
First:
Some one has to find the money to pay for these “free”
classes, whether it is college tuition, town taxes or
some other mechanism of funding. At
IN-DEFENSE
we keep our costs to a minimum so that our fees are kept
to a minimum. Our classes are only ~$10/hour. Some
comparable programs (i.e. Model Mugging) run several
hundred dollars for a program of approximately the same
length and content.
Second:
If you don’t attend that college or live/work in the
town holding the R.A.D. program, chances are you won’t
be able to attend. At
IN-DEFENSE
we want to bring safety awareness to everyone,
regardless of whether or not you attend or live in a
town that can afford to offer the program. Also, our
core public program is not dependent upon town budgets,
and therefore gets offered regularly, rather than
sporadically at the whim of the budget climate of the
moment.
Third:
Lots of things make our program unique. All women’s Rape
Aggression Defense Basic Personal Defense programs must
follow the core curriculum developed by R.A.D. Systems,
Inc. including key topics for discussion and a core
group of physical defense skills. However,
IN-DEFENSE
works hard to continually bring new material, and novel
teaching concepts to our programs. Here are some
examples:
· Our programs are 15-30% longer than they need to be to
make sure we cover all of the material and leave time
for lots of questions and answers;
· Our class sizes are small - we will never exceed a count
of 16 first time participants;
· We use multi-media teaching techniques (e.g. posters,
videos, lecture, discussion, etc.);
· We hand out dozens (literally) of informational
pamphlets on various safety topics;
· We are always searching the Department of Justice
website and canvassing women’s assistance organizations
for new information –you won’t see statistics from the
‘80’s in our literature;
· We have instructors certified in the Advanced
Self-Defense Program, so we add some of these techniques
into our Basic Program to spice things up;
· We offer the Keychain Defense Options (KDO) class as a
supplemental 1-night program;
· We have instructors who have taken courses at the
Harvard School for Risk Analysis to help you understand
the conscience and unconscious factors that make us feel
fear, and why and when we perceive risk;
· We have instructors who attend the Annual R.A.D.
Conference to ensure that we are staying up-to-date on
important teaching techniques, important subject matter
and emerging issues;
· We have instructors who have taught individuals with
special needs (physical and learning) and we will work
with individuals within the class format to meet their
needs;
· Our instructors are handpicked to be warm, caring,
supportive and approachable.
LASTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:
We believe that every woman, regardless of age or
fitness level, is entitled to learn safety awareness and
basic defense skills. No woman should have to be a
martial arts specialist or a fitness nut to be safe and
to be able to protect herself from harm.
At
IN-DEFENSE
it is
our
challenge to ensure that
you
extract the maximum
personal
satisfaction and growth from a program that meets
your
unique goals and needs.
Learn to …
“ … be there for yourself.”
Our
Children's Programs
It is
natural for parents to be concerned that their
children might be frightened by some of things that
are discussed in the r.a.d.KIDS programs - these are
scary topics - but In-Defense teaches them them with
positive reinforcement in a non-threatening way. We
want children to feel more aware and less afraid.
Yes, we talk about some of the not-so-good stuff
(i.e. bad strangers) but we also talk a lot about
trust, buddies, trusted grown-ups, safety systems
and support systems within the child's community.
"I
am concerned that 2 1/2 hour sessions are too
long. How is the time structured? I am
certainly no expert, but it seems to me that
there is a fine line between teaching children
about these topics, and stirring up too many
anxieties through hours of discussion."
Firstly, class time and length: 2 - 2 1/2
hours is not long when you consider that
there are 2 bathroom breaks, plus a
drink/snack/bathroom break. The format also
alternates between group work and up-and-moving
about time (e.g. folders need to be put side and
picked up again, groups need to organize and
reorganize many times etc.) so these activities
consume time.
We
also encourage critical thinking (yes, even when
they are 5!) and try not get into the "formula
mode". The length of the program helps us with
this. Formulas only work when everything is
exactly the same all the time, and when has the
real world ever given us that?! We prefer
to teach adaptive thinking and this takes time.
So, the emphasis for teaching is interactive;
lots of games to teach rules, puzzles, word
games, pictures to color, adults dressed up with
funny glasses, wigs, tall hats etc. to
describe, learning to call 9-1-1, learning
how to describe the stranger to a "dispatcher"
on a cell phone, fire drills, physical skills,
learning to use your "big" voice and so on.
The 2 1/2 hours flies by and is done before you
know it!
Secondly, reinforcement NOT just repetition:
One of the things that we feel sets our
r.a.d.KIDS apart from other programs is that we
in fact do not have to dwell on things. We move
through topics, but because the program is not
just a one shot deal, we have the opportunity to
return and reinforce principles from session to
session in different contexts, with different
scenarios and with different circumstances. It
is important to realize that reinforcement is
not the same as repetition.
"Is the time divided for adult training and
child training?"
There is no adult training during the sessions in this program. It
is all about and for the kids. However, having
said this, parents are
provided with a manual that allows them to go
through the material before/after each session
with their children. We also provide homework
exercises for parents to do with their children,
as well as adult reading material for
informational purposes. This is all provided to
the parent at appropriate times as the program
progresses.
"I would like to stay for the classes - sit in back,
or whatever is appropriate - so that I am able to
use the same vocabulary and tone to reinforce the
material with my child afterwards. I think I'd
learn a lot watching too. Would this be possible?"
Parents are welcome!!! If you have the time, you are
welcome to come, sit, watch, or best of all - get
involved! We'll give you a dispatcher script to
read, you can wear a stranger outfit, or maybe hold
a prop or play in a skit. If you are able to sit in
on the classes, you will be in a better position to
understand the material, to reinforce the principles
of the program and to adapt them to your own
specific circumstances. You will also have had the opportunity
to review the manual material along with the class
lessons.
Having said this, typically parents do not sit in
the circle or interject with questions during class.
The class time is really about interaction between
the instructor(s) and the kids. Parental inquires
are handled on the breaks amongst the grownups. We
also do not allow parents to bring younger children
to the session, expecting that they will be able to
participate or to sit with their sibling(s) in the
circle. There is an age restriction for a reason.
If
you are in a jam and cannot make alternate
arrangements for your other child(ren), you must let
us know in advance so that we can work something out.
PLEASE
E-MAIL US WITH ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE
Learn to …
“ … be there for yourself.”
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