Women of NIU can learn self defense through a course offered by the kinesiology department with the help of Rape Aggression Defense instructors.

A one-credit course, KNPE 101 is offered to women every half-semester. The course focuses on awareness and risk-reduction strategies while providing physical defense lessons, with participants learning kicking, punching and blocking.

Classes also include lectures on health enhancement and victim advocacy.

The final class of the semester includes a simulation exercise where minimally padded students use their skills to defeat trained attackers played by police officers.

“These classes are to empower women and educate them in terms of their ability to defend themselves in case of an attack,” said Lesley Rigg, KNPE 101 instructor and faculty member. “It’s just the notion of being ready and prepared.”

The campus has six Rape Aggression Defense instructors, two of whom are NIU detectives Jason McCauley and Dan Mojica. The Rape Aggression Defense Program is a national organization that trains instructors to provide educational opportunities for women to create a safer future for themselves.

Wayne Finley, university libraries assistant professor and class instructor, said the Rape Aggression Defense system was introduced to the KNPE 101 course last semester.

“It’s been really great to see how the course does transform the women,” Finley said. “You can see a confidence change from the beginning to the end.”

Rigg and Finley wrote a proposal to Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to fund the Rape Aggression Defense instructor training. The proposal was accepted and a grant was issued in 2012.

Finley said he felt compelled to do something to help keep women safe on campus after the murder of freshman Antinette “Toni” Keller in 2010.

“It’s been great and a lot of fun,” said Megan Sieg, senior biology and psychology major and a KNPE 101 participant. “I think it’s pretty important for people [to know] how to defend themselves, especially when they don’t feel safe.”

The last class of this semester was on Wednesday. It will be offered again in the fall.