Self-defense course teaches more than fighting techniques

Photo By Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy | Spc. Helene Buckley, a Soldier with 62nd Medical Brigade, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, uses techniques taught during the 18-hour Rape Aggression Defense course at McVeigh gym on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, April 8, 2016. The course includes lecture, discussion and self-defense techniques suitable for women of all ages and abilities and is the only existing program with a free lifetime return and practice policy, honored worldwide.  

FORT LEWIS, WA, UNITED STATES

04.11.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy 

28th Public Affairs Detachment

He came up behind her, you could tell by her body language, the tensing of her neck and the look on her face, that she did not like it. “Hey baby, what’s your name? You got a boyfriend?” he asked as he moved inches from her ear. “Go away,” she shouted. “Leave me alone.” Instead, he grabbed her from behind and forcefully pushed her face forward into a wall.
Today, she would not be his victim, nor was this an actual attack. This was part of an aggression scenario in an 18-hour Rape Aggression Defense course taught to female Soldiers assigned to 62nd Medical Brigade, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command on Joint Base Lewis-McChord as part of April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month, April 8, 2016.
The course includes lecture, discussion and self-defense techniques suitable for women of all ages and abilities.
“We cover what is legally approved for self-defense,” said Sgt. 1st Class Scott Acosta, a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, assigned to the JBLM Sexual Harassment Assault / Response and Prevention Resource Center. “If someone attacks you in an elevator, and you beat them down to the ground then the doors open and you can get out - you can’t continue to beat on them - you have to leave them alone and go away or you are going to get in trouble yourself.”
The course not only taught the Soldiers defense techniques but also built self-confidence in their ability to fight off an attacker.
“This course is designed to teach (women) self-empowerment and get them to understand that they are not weak. That they are extremely strong,” said Acosta. “Until you put somebody that is bigger and stronger in front of them and let them cut loose on them they really don’t get that.”
“I think the aggression piece is what ties the program together and they start to realize that they are strong,” he added. “By the end they love the program and want to come back.”
Master Sgt. Kimberly Nieves, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 62nd Medical Brigade, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, set up the classes with Acosta and although she had some background training she said she found great value in the course.
“I like to learn different ways to defend myself and this is unlike any class that I have taken,” said Nieves “I have taken boxing lessons before and I am level two combatives certified and I don’t feel as if those prepared me as far as the aggression part goes. With this class, I think I will be more comfortable if someone comes up behind me.”
During the aggression simulation training the Soldiers went through three different scenarios with instructions given at the start of each one. The main focus was not to stay and fight the aggressor but use force when necessary and to get to safety as quickly as possible.
Nieves says she was glad she took the class and said everyone else said they enjoyed it as well.
“I saw shy Soldiers turn into straight warriors during the simulation training,” said Nieves. “Soldiers that didn’t think they would be able to endure all three iterations, ready for more and ready to tell their friend or family about because no longer did they feel timid.
One Soldier who learned a lot about herself during the course and was complimented several times on the strength she didn’t know she had was Spc. Kasey Boyd, brigade schools representative for 62nd Medical Brigade, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command.
“I had a lot more instinct than I thought I had,” said Boyd. “It is a real confidence booster. I thought looking at
(the aggressor) with all his gear he for sure is going to overpower us.”
Boyd was one of the quickest on her feet and got a complimented for power and technique.
“The class is not about fighting it’s about getting away,” said Boyd. “I guess I know now I don’t have to worry.”

For more information on attending the R.A.D. course, contact the JBLM SHARP Resource Center, Bldg 2027C, Pendleton Avenue, JBLM Main. For questions or to schedule a training event, please call [phone]. Also see: https://www.facebook.com/I.CORPS.SHARP/?fref=ts

• Date Taken: 04.11.2016
• Date Posted: 04.11.2016 21:04
• Story ID: 195086
• Location: FORT LEWIS, WA, US