R.A.V.E.N. - Rape And Violence Extinction Now
by Linda
de los Reyes
R.A.V.E.N. is my baby; it is
my pride, my joy and my very own company.
R.A.V.E.N. (Rape And Violence Extinction Now) was officially founded on
March 11, 2003. The company was created out of what I perceived
to be a sheer necessity.
Having attended a few “Female Self Defense” courses
myself and not liking what I experienced, I felt I had to
do something about it so others wouldn’t go through
some of the nonsense I did. While I appreciated the fact that
some admirable individuals were out there holding such important
courses, I felt that most of the techniques they were showing
were not realistic and nor could they be easily pulled off
under stress; by the average everyday female.
In good conscience I could not turn a blind eye. There were
experiences I myself had had early in my teenage life that
definitely would have ended differently if I had some informative
training available to me.
When I initially started my investigation into Female Self
Defense I was surprised at the lack of female instructors.
Even the courses I had started with were all taught by males.
I began to think how a course of this nature should be one
that would encourage discussion and questions from females.
In my mind, a course of this sort should be warm and conducive
to conversation so that queries could be answered and fears
eased. How open to discussion could some females be if the
person leading the course was of the same sex most likely
to harm her? Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of male
instructors and they are absolutely terrific. It’s just
that when I got right down to it, I felt this was a course
that needed a woman’s touch. Women love to open up to
other women. Who better to teach females about emotional and
physical responses to fear and stress (that will work for
a female) then an actual female herself?
When I decided it was time to get a move on and start something
of my own, my first step to forming my own company was to
join forces with the highly respected “American Women’s
Self Defense Association”, otherwise known as A.W.S.D.A.
out of Lindenhurst, NY. (www.awsda.org)
I obtained my instructor certification under A.W.S.D.A. and
then began to help teach some of the Co-ed Self Defense courses
at the Kombat Arts Training Academy in Mississauga (www.kombatarts.com),
along with Joey
de Los Reyes the head instructor (and one of four owners
along with myself, Greg
Cappuccitti and David
Lanyon), of the Martial Arts club. This is the location
where the R.A.V.E.N. courses
are now held on a quarterly basis. While I know that self
defense is very important for both males and females, I made
a choice and decided that the path I wanted to take was in
teaching females and parent/child programs.
Q. Why separate the females
from the males?
A. Females fight differently
than males; partly due to our physical makeup and partly due
to our emotional/psychological make up. Females have different
fears and worries than men and being a female myself, I fully
appreciate and know what these are, thus some of the female
training has to be different; physical techniques, the mental
training, scenario drills.
So what exactly is self defense?
Self defense is a conscious, proactive approach to living
your life. It heightens your awareness, assertiveness and
the development of strategies to avoid a confrontation or
to manipulate a situation in your favor.
Important Things to Remember:
Avoidance: Common sense comes
into play here. Don’t take unnecessary risks. If you
can avoid a situation then do it.
Awareness: Be aware of your
surroundings at all times and learn to control your own space.
If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, keep a barrier between
you and them.
Attitude: First and foremost,
attitude begins with a genuine concern for your own safety.
Don’t make decisions based on phrases like “It’s
only 2 blocks from the car”, you may cheat yourself
out of a good self defense decision.
Why choose R.A.V.E.N.?
Because you will be taught simple yet effective physical techniques
that when practiced regularly, can be preformed under stress.
You will learn self defense concepts, rather than actual martial
arts techniques that will enhance your ability to perform
and apply the course content in a “real life”
situation.
Another good reason is that I have tried and tested the techniques
myself in the most realistic scenario possible – Mixed
Martial Arts fighting, or as its better known these days thanks
to a popular reality show, Ultimate Fighting. I know what
happens to the body under stress and I can tell you what techniques
you’ll actually end up using when you’re “fighting
for life”.
I believe that Female Self Defense is an absolute must for
all females; especially in this day and age where the news
is filled with an increase in crime and rapists and other
predators are striking very close to home. All women have
great power and strength in them; some just need a little
nudge now and again to remind them of it. 50% of the time
attackers will simply leave if they find that a potential
victim might actually resist. I will show you how.
Statistics on Violence Against
Women in Canada
- Half of Canadian women (51%) have been victims of at least
one act of physical or sexual violence since the age of
16. (www.cdnwomen.org)
- Every 17 minutes a women is sexually assaulted in Canada
( Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women)
- 57% of rapes happen while on dates and 60% happen in private
homes. (Ontario Women’s Directorate)
- Women are much more likely to be victimized by someone
they know than by a stranger. In 2000, 77% of all female
victims were victimized by someone they knew. (37% by a
close friend or an acquaintance, 29% by a current or past
partner, 11% by other family members – including parents)
while the rest were victimized by a stranger.
Self Defense Instruction: Workshops
are held on a quarterly basis and are broken into two Levels.
Level I is an introductory
course that will cover theory as well as offensive kicking,
striking and defensive techniques. You will also learn how
to defend against various types of grabs and holds and will
be introduced to fighting from the ground.
Level II will help you to establish
a good ground fighting base and will provide you with solutions
to the nine most common sexual assault scenarios.
Should you want to learn more please contact me at linda.delosreyes@gmail.com,
or call 905-804-8158.
Instructor Bio:
Linda
de los Reyes is a certified instructor with A.W.S.D.A., as
well as the founder of R.A.V.E.N. She is a student of the martial arts, currently competes in
Grappling and has three pro fights under her belt in MMA Fighting.
She teaches the Conditioning
Class at the Kombat Arts Training Academy & is a Level
II Coach under Sensei Erik Paulson in Combat
Submission Wrestling (www.erikpaulson.com). |
