Smyrna Police Department began offering Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes in July 2002. It has been found in many studies that most rapes and/or sexual assaults in our country remain unreported and that approximately one out of every four women will be sexually assaulted. Smyrna Police Department offers these classes to provide women with viable options of self-defense in the event they are attacked. By taking a proactive role, we hope to limit the number of rapes that actually occur. We also hope to promote a relationship with the women of our community wherein they would feel comfortable reporting a rape or sexual assault to us if it did occur.

The RAD system is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. It is a comprehensive course for women that begins with:

bullet Awareness
bullet Prevention
bullet Risk Reduciton
bullet Avoidance

It progresses on to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is not a martial arts program. The RAD system is dedicated to teaching women defensive concepts and techniques against various types of assaults by utilizing easy, effective, and proven self-defense tactics.

RAD is a system of realistic self-defense that will provide a woman with the knowledge to make an educated decision about resistance. RAD operates on the premise that a spontaneous violent attack will stimulate a natural desire of resistance by the victim. This notion has been supported by research about the “Fight or Flight Syndrome”. This physiological response is discussed in RAD. Enhancing their options of physical defense is not only prudent, but a necessity if natural resistance is to be effective. Participants are able to employ the techniques they have learned in a realistic dynamic simulation training exercise.

The Smyrna Police Department RAD Program is taught as a twelve-hour course. The class is usually broken down into four meetings that are three hours long. There is a $25 fee for this course. Each participant receives a manual, a T-shirt, and free lifetime return and practice. Participants may return to our program or any other RAD program to exercise this lifetime return and practice policy.

Our program was initially funded through a budget allocation from the Town of Smyrna and a donation from the Smyrna Police Department Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni Association. By charging the nominal fee, we hope the program will be self-sustaining.

If you would like more information concerning this class, please contact Gretchen Woodruff at (615) 459-9742 ext. 7417.

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