Anyone have any experience and can recommend any Women's Rape Defense Programs? Some colleagues (fancy name for training partners) and I are making the rounds and compiling the various types of Rape Defense Programs out there. We're trying to see what some of the concepts espoused are, what they all have in common, what some dangerously inaccurate claims are being made, if any ineffective and potentially damaging material is being espoused as "useful", etc... Of course, you could always argue that any time of "Quick Fix" program is destined to be a failure, and by default argue that EVERY Rape Defense program is crap and worthless. We're not going to argue that YET...but that might be the conclusion at the end. If you have experience or information about specific programs, events, schools, tools, etc... please let me know. By the way, this endeavor began after one of my student's parents went into great lengths about the benefits of a "Defense Seminar" she attended. She claimed that she could effortlessly throw me if I attacked her "like this" (ineffective), that a rapist will be instantly immobilized if she "does this" (more likely to break her hand and **** off the attacker), and that the seminar greatly improved her ability to "defend herself" (she was still an out of shape, untrained mom, only now armed with dangerous preconceptions). I asked her if she was taught to use legal weaponry (small knives, some clubs, tazers, mace, etc...), to which she replied "I don't need them now". I smiled and wished her well, all the while freaking out internally. May you achieve Satori
Funny, whilst I was reading the bit about the woman claiming not to need a wepaon now I find that Alien Ant Farm are singing in my ear: "You should try not to be so courageous." To contribute something vaguely pertinent, women in America have a 1 in 7 chance of being Sexually Assualted or raped at some point in thei life so thses courses ARE relevant.
The people who taught that woman those things should be sent to jail. I would HATE to see someone I know hurt because of those misconceptions.
I highly recommend the Rape Escape self defense classes. I see that you are in Calif..... you can go to http://www.playitsafedefense.com/classes.htm and see that they are offering classes in this system at USA Freestyle Karate in San Diego next Saturday & Sunday. You can also purchase the program (which I have) .... Rape Escape: Beyond Common Sense (contact me by pm for further info if interested)
First of all I agree 110% with WCL (as usual). If you commit to teaching self defense you are taking your students lives in your hands, and anyone who builds false expectations should be locked up. The worst time to experience congnative dissonance is when the feces hit the fan. Ok, to Sat's question: there are some good programs out there. Kickchick (she beat me to the punch and thats why she rocks!) and Tellner can provide some suggestions. I'm personally partial to Tony Blauer's marterial. A short good program needs to primarily cover the emotional and psychological aspects. And it needs to derive it's info from fact. If we're talking statistics, what the program needs to acknowledge that, in the case of rape, you are far more likely to be attacked by someone you know and most likely in a familiar setting. Many programs I have attended stress "stranger danger." The first thing that needs to be gotten across is that for women, while strangers may be dangerous, friends and family can often be even worse. That's not to build up fear but to rather arm with fact. So how to handle the physical. It's important to cover to provide some level of confidence (which is really, really important). Personally I'd cover grab escapes (including working on getting your hand out of the way before a grab occurs), basic open hand stiking, the use of environmental weapons, and a basic understanding of how to deal with being on the ground. That's it (And probably too much for a 2-3 hour course). But beyond anything I'd stress that the two things most attackers are afraid of is: 1. getting hurt 2. getting caught Everyone must understand that anything they can do to convince their attacker that one or both of those things may happen will increase their chances of getting home safely. - Matt
Thanks for the replies, guys. The thing that drives me ABSOLUTELY NUTS is the lack of "legal weaponry" promoted by most "Rape Defense" courses. I don't care who you are, a brief crash course in self-defense will not make your average out of shape, stay at home mom a match for the average man who has the intention of forcibly raping said woman. Oi... Well...thanks for the quick feedback about my little crusade. I'll keep you guys updated. May you achieve Satori
I thought I would throw this out again (copied from CDC late last year). 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced attempted or compleated rape. 8 in 10 victims know the perpetrator. 54% of females who were raped experienced the rape before age 18, of these, 22% were raped before age 12. 64% of women and 16% of men reported being raped by an intimate partner. 19% of rapists are intimate partners. 27% are family members. 29% are relatives, friends or acquantances. 22% are strangers. The highest risk factors for victimization are: youth, drug or alcohol use, prior history of sexual violence, multiple sexual partners and poverty. Point is, rape prevention for most women is sadly too late. It ought to, in my mind, start with younger children. Most of it should deal with self value and an attempt to instill the realization that it is safer to tell when they are raped or molested then to not. (Most rapists and molesters actually threaten the child or woman's family rather then them directly.) As far as addressing the "random victomization" I believe that you should deal with the fact that rapists are preditors and as such, go for the easy victem. Situational awareness and body language should be emphasized. And when you get to physical defense, well, frankly, there are many excellent programs available. Oh, and sorry for repeating much of Matt's response, I just feel very strongly towards this after knowing the facts of rape and watching men prancing about trying to scare young women with irrational fears and bad methods. Addendum: Statistically speaking, the weapon of choice for rapists seems to be the knife. At least here in America. I would have to track down the stats again for exactly how many rapes are commited with a weapon, but as I recall, they seemed to be low. Be that as it may, realistically speaking, any rape defense course ought to at least familiarize the subjects with blade weapons.
Take a look at the site where my wife and I keep our women's self defense class notes. There's no physical technique there, but a bunch of other useful material and background. I can't recommend the Association for Women's Self Defense Advocates highly enough. They aren't a particular system or style; they're an international membership organization of people interested in self defense. Lots of instructors, clinicians, political advocates, self defense students, cops and so on. If you're looking for programs they can help you find teachers. The annual convention/seminar (in Toronto this year) is a wealth of useful information and contacts. I'll sqaush thirty years of good research into a couple sentences: Do nothing, the rape happens 90% of the time. Show up for the fight ready to fight and it drops to about 20%. Combine that with other strategies and the completed rape rate gets much smaller. Use a gun or knife (not always available or legal) and the statistics get as close to "ain't gonna happen" as a statistician will admit to. I'll have to disagree. If a short course does one thing - makes it more likely that the defender will fight back - it's done the only really important thing. Remember, this isn't a match in a tournament or a cop making an arrest or a soldier in battle. The goals and dynamics are much different. All the defender has to do is prevent the crime. Of course, more training is always better. Before you say "they're all crap and worthless" I suggest you correspond with the people at AWSDA headquarters or a place like Modern Warrior (they share space). She's put thousands of women through everything from short courses to twelve year martial arts programs and has a huge database of case histories and outcomes. See above. If you'd like to talk offline I would be glad to bend your ear for a while about our experience over the last fourteen years. The technique we teach is a bit different than that. So are the attitudes. Any reputable instructor will tell you up front that there are no guarantees this side of the grave. But there are attitudes and skills you can learn in a pretty short time that will shift the odds in your favor. We've been doing weapons based martial arts for about twenty years from sticks to knives to pistols. We both have concealed carry permits, and I carry much of the time. We talk about these tools and encourage students to learn about them. We do not and never will teach them in a beginning self defense class. Here's why. The most important thing you can do in a self defense class is change the student's mind, flip the switch from victim to fighter. Teaching reliance on a tool keeps her dependent. If the magic wand isn't there or doesn't work as advertised the immediate reaction tends to be "I'm helpess!" Teach them to be dangerous. Give them inanimate tools later. I'll qualify that. This is for normal able-bodied students. There are special circumstances where I'd teach weapons first - like my teacher's student who is heading of for Iraq. He got lots of knife stuff right away. Regards, Todd
Weapons are a oddity because it takes away from the attackers feel of pure manly dominence. Most rapes are not actually about the sex, most rapes are commited because the man wants to feel in control of a woman. Sometimes a particular woman which is why the majority of the time its by someone you know. A friend who wants more than a friendship but you do not is a good example. Besides already harboring these sick ideas of rape they now feel rejected by you and have a need to feel that they can control you. Sex if more often than not the outlet on what they do this because its what they feel they can take from you or they feel that you WANT it to happen but won't admit it. Scary thing is, talk to a rapist and they have no remorse, they do not feel they did anything wrong at all. Thats the scary part, these people do not feel it was wrong and will do it again if given the chance which is why I believe it was 95% of rapists are repeat offenders. I guess we'll never learn to quit letting them out. I personally think we should bring back public hangings and hang these sick bastards, BUT, we won't so I'll just continue to hope that one day I catch someone in the act. AciDRaiN
according to the stats it is 1 in 5 to be raped (RAINN) and 1 in 4 for our women in college... tasers, mace and other weapons require too much training for depoyment and retentionin close quarters.. plus for the inexperienced... the temptation to thtreaten rather than use them has proven them pretty ineffective knives are great if you are trained in depoyment, protection.. 56% of college men claim them would rape a women if they knew they'd get away.. that repeat offended stat is wrong and is for stranger rapes....(US dept of justice) the knife in untraind hands is likely to end up at the women's throat.... prevention is real... graple to position to be able to yell and fight.. and get a hold of an oppurtunity to strike with enough force to get away... i refer you to my last post in the GD section
Weapons of any sort are a very small minority. Most often it's physical force and intimidation. Which weapon is most popular among rapists depends a lot on the country where the crime is taking place.
When you consider how few rapes are done by the classic "strange man in the dark" that women are tought to be afraid of, I have no doubt that rape at weapon point is low. I merely stated that if one feels the need to address weapons in a self defense class, then the knife would be the weapon that needs addressing. The use is low, but it has the highest use during rapes. And Acid, just to be clear on your post. Duh. I have been trying to make that arguement for years now. But its hard to guys to believe it because for most "healthy" people sex is about, well, sex. Its a sick step from sex to power and control. Most people, fortunately, have trouble making it. The unfortunate part is that the inability starts to flavor women's self defense classes with innane statements of "don't wear provocative clothing" and other such, well, crap. If this were really such a great idea, then there would be no rapes in the very traditional parts of the Middle East. But we all know that is not true.
...and juries are conditioned to regard as the only real rapes, alas. I'd say rather that more most "healthy" people have trouble copping to it. Sex is seldom just about sex. It's tied up with a lot of other things including aggression, dependence, self-concept and more.
I don't remember where it was exactly. Search for rape stats or some such. I waded through the site, you can, too. Besides there is so much interesting stuff to wade through on that site. It might be under women's health issues or somesuch though.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/svfacts.htm found this so far, nothing on this issue yet but has some interesting stats, although I'm really wondering what they're talking about with pms being a physical consequence of rape... I thought it happened anyway
