RAD
What is RAD?
Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) is a comprehensive self-defense course designed for women which combines physical techniques and common-sense crime prevention methods. WFU Police Department employees have been trained and certified to be RAD instructors.
RAD gives women the tools to defend themselves and builds the self-confidence a woman needs in order to survive an attack. It progresses to the basics of hand-to-hand defense training. The course is not a martial arts program, though it teaches realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. In partnership with Health & Exercise Science, RAD is offered as an accredited class here at Wake Forest. It is a pass/fail course lasting half of a semester.
RAD Contact Info
- WFU Police: 336.758.5591
- Health & Exercise Science: 336.758.5391
- Email: rad@wfu.edu
RAD is taught by certified instructors. Students are also given a reference manual that outlines more comprehensive physical defense, allowing for ongoing learning and personal development.
RAD classes are for female-identifying/presenting individuals and are taught on campus through Health & Exercise Science and the University Police Department. These classes are listed as HES120, and you will receive academic credit.
Faculty, staff, and individual group classes are offered upon request and are non-accredited. (Yes, you can have just your group of friends in one class). Three weeks advance notification is needed to set up such a class.
You will learn how to use easy and proven tactics in various types of attacks. The class expands on the “fight-or-flight” emotional reaction to a threat. Students are taught enhanced defense techniques, teaching them that physical defense can be prudent and necessary. Women gain confidence in knowing how to make an educated decision about resistance to spontaneous, violent attacks.
Facts about sexual assault
- One-quarter of college women polled were sexually assaulted during their four years in college.
- Every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted.
- Alcohol is involved in 75 percent of attacks.
- Voice and physical resistance are the tactics most often used by those who avoided rapes.
- Many students enter college already having experienced situations in which their boundaries have been violated. Self-defense can feel empowering for those students.
- Sexual violence is never the victim’s fault – the responsibility for preventing sexual violence is always on the perpetrator.
History of RAD
R.A.D. Systems is a functioning network of dedicated self-defense instructors established in 1989. This alliance of instructors believes that self-defense should be easy to learn, easy to retain, and relatively easy to employ during real confrontational situations while also being accessible and affordable for all women and children.