Women's Basics Course

The IMPACT Safety Women’s Basics course is a twenty-hour nationally recognized curriculum, developed and researched over the past thirty-five years. It is a realistic personal safety course covering many aspects of violence prevention. Participants learn both physical skills as well as experience the emotional connection of confronting fear and gaining confidence as they learn verbal and physical skills in awareness, avoidance, de-escalation, confrontation and full–force physical skills.

This unique training allows participants to practice verbal and physical full–force, full contact skills, on a trained and certified padded assailant in a variety of scenarios and contexts—with strangers and with people they know.

Support for difficult choices and self-determination is carefully incorporated into the course in ways that promote learning on a kinesthetic and cellular level.

The entire course is carefully designed to maximize participant learning. Each day’s teachings are critical to the learning as the course prepares one to physically and mentally handle the full range of challenging situations we face daily.

Graduates of the program cite these benefits of the IMPACT Women’s Basics course:

• Greater awareness and confidence
• Increased self-esteem and assertiveness
• Increased ability to communicate clearly
• Increased creativity and problem solving skills
• Increase in focus and clarity during stress
• Increased feeling of personal power and choice

The IMPACT staff is highly trained and nationally certified. The Basics Course uses a male–female instructor team, each having specific roles during the course. Female instructors teach the physical techniques, facilitate group discussions and individualized process. When themale instructor is suited and his helmet is on, he portrays a realistic potential assailant or someone that could be a potential threat. With the helmet off, he offers participants valuable feedback and support. The staff come from diverse backgrounds and skills such as psychology, social work, education, health care, social services and related fields.

Every woman, regardless of age, fitness, body type and ability can learn these skills. Participants learn how to enhance their own natural strengths and abilities. The limited class size ensures individual attention and personalized instruction.