Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE -- Every 15 seconds, a woman in America is battered, and sadly, most of them by someone they know.  A University of Pennsylvania study found that domestic violence causes more injuries to women than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined.  But there are ways for women to take this serious matter into their own hands.

"It's important because, first of all, you don't know what situation you're going to get in.  If you don't know what to do, there's nothing you can do for yourself," said Don Peterman, instructor of RAD, the Rape Aggression Defense System at Northern Michigan University.  RAD is a specialized form of self-defense geared towards women.

"Students can come to learn to protect themselves, and that's basically what it comes down to:  prevention and protection," Peterman said.

On Wednesday, I took a jab at the class myself, picking up tips on how I could go, pound-for-pound, with an attacker who would probably be much bigger than I.

Tip one:  use your intuition.  If you're in a situation that doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.

Tip two:  scream at your attacker first.  Verbalize that you want him to stop and go away.

Tip three:  if words don't work, it's time to get physical.  Put your weaker arm in front of your face to block a hit, then strike your attacker where it hurts--in the face or the groin.

Tip four:  use all of your strength.  You may only get one shot at your attacker.  Also, don't discriminate--an acquaintance could be just as harmful as a stranger, maybe even more so.

And confidence is everything in self-defense; taking a class for yourself will only empower you.

"Now I know where to hit them or where to get them if they won't back off," said RAD student, Tanya Bowen.  "I feel like I have more power."

To sign up for the RAD class, you have to enroll at Northern for one credit, but if you don't want to enroll, RAD instructors can at least point you in another direction.