Sto r y a n d photog r a ph y b y
K r i s t i n G oo d e
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I
spent a good portion of my formative years protecting my neighborhood from bad guys who were around every corner — well, at least imaginary bad guys around every corner. As a child of the ’80s, I had small-screen role models like She-Ra and Wonder Woman who could kick some serious tail. Quite frankly, it never occurred to me that I could not take care of myself. Here’s the rub, though. This was all in theory. Some 30 years later I hadn’t taken so much as an intro karate course. If actual trouble materialized, how would I react? Thankfully for me and the other women of Brunswick County, the answer to such a question can be found in a safe environment — in a R.A.D. class. Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) classes, offered free of charge by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, provide foundational self-defense knowledge over a relatively short time frame. During four three-hour sessions, instructors like Sergeant T. K. Nowell teach participants strategies that give them a fighting chance should they ever find themselves in real trouble. And real trouble is out there. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five women experiences rape in her lifetime. RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) puts it another way: On average a
Top, Participant Christy Hutchins, left, breaks a wrist hold from instructor Sergeant T. K. Nowell; middle, Sergeant T. K. Nowell, left, and First Sergeant Bert Reaves; bottom, participant Stephanie Boehmer
Fall 2014
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