The R.A.D. System

From the Participant's Manual by Lawrence N. Nadeau,
Founder of Rape Aggression Defense Systems, Inc.

Rape is something like a pebble dropped in a pond.   It's impact, so visible at first, quickly diminishes as society forgets, leaving the victim alone with her pain. The forgotten pebble is yesterday's rape, tomorrow's statistics.

The crime of rape is reported so infrequently that society in general is oblivious to its magnitude. Until it happens to "them" or someone "they" know and love, its just another headline, just another crime that happens to someone else.

There are a vast number of experts on the subject of rape.  Experts in prevention, criminal motivation, suspect profiling, statistical analysis, social responsibility, psychological effects on victims, etc... And quite frankly, I am humbled by their knowledge and dedication to this issue.  I can offer little to the theories and studies conducted in an attempt to understand rape and its consequenses, but agree that understanding the problem is a key to rectifying it.

My research into defense classes designed for women led primarily to one or two hour lectures that focused on avoidance, prevention and compliance if attacked.  These lectures are good, but fail to fill the need for physical self defense training, and their recommendation of only compliance is libelous and counter to the instinct of self preservation.

To the other extreme, we found the martial arts defense training, generically applied to men, women and children.  This approach is excellent for developing body mechanics, physical fitness and confidence, but the time consuming dedication needed to be proficient is more than most people are willing to endure. In addition, martial arts training and its instructors are often too traditional, regimented and ceremonial for the vast majority of our population.

This research led to the development of the Rape Aggression Defense System, a system of defense for women.  It advocates realistically employable tactics, without the time investment, ceremony or mystical concepts of a martial art.  The R.A.D. System, however, is no quick solution in itself, but a course of carefully selected defense tactics with helpful guidelines for continued personal growth. One can easily refer to the Student Manual and review specific techniques of defense, when time has been set aside for practice.  A person's attitude about safety and even survival is a personal thing and the level of seriousness one has, is usually directly proportionate to training dedication.

The Rape Aggression Defense System is not for the weak at heart, or the conscientious objector.  Our system is specifically designed for women who are willing to consider as a viable option, defense, in situations where their life is in jeopardy.

The R.A.D. System is primarily a basic education of confrontation principals and personal defense.  Our program ranges from awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, to basic physical defense, aerosol defense options, flashlight keychain defense and advanced self-defense methods.