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Fighting back Bob Pennell photo A series of rapes in Ashland inspired a local woman to organize a full-contact, full-force self-defense class this weekend. Student Karen Zimmer, Medford, fights off instructor Jim Ace, outfitted in protective gear. Ashland course teaches women `not to be the victim' By Joanna Collins ASHLAND -- When Tiffany Hume's close friend was raped by a stranger near downtown Ashland last November, Hume wanted to find a way to help her friend stop being afraid. Since the attack, the victim has led a life full of suspicion. She constantly looks over her shoulder for assailants. She finds it hard to trust others. "I want to have the confidence that I already know what to do if something happens," said the victim, who asked that she not be identified. While talking to someone about her friend's experience, Hume, 22, learned of a nonprofit organization that could help dissolve some of that fear. Bay Area Model Mugging, based in Redwood City, Calif., teaches women full-contact and full-force self-defense. Hume arranged for two BAMM instructors to teach a class this weekend to 12 women, including herself and her friend. The organization makes the trip for anyone who lines up a location and students to pay the $360 fee. "I really felt like it needed to happen here," says Hume, who stresses that Ashland is not as safe as residents believe. Hume says BAMM is unique because regular self-defense classes usually teach responses that are too complicated to remember in dangerous situations. Hume's friend said she was excited when she heard about the self-defense training. "You just don't know what to do when the fear comes over you," said the victim. "It's so empowering. We're actually taking the steps to ... protect ourselves and defend ourselves." The training covers everything from learning knock-out moves to using words to scare off assailants. Participants are "mugged" numerous times throughout the weekend by an instructor dressed in a fully padded suit. The suit allows participants to fight back with full-force body strikes. Instructors create a "high-adrenaline" environment by intimidating the students. "We try to say some of the nastiest things we can in class to get the women terrified and angry," says Jim Ace, an instructor since 1996. These tactics help to prevent women from being shocked by assailants and learn to use fear to defend themselves. Hume says the training teaches women how to fight using the advantage of a strong lower body. Instead of using fists and arms, they learn to use hips and legs. Through a series of easy-to-learn patterns, moves become simple and automatic. Along with fighting, Ace says, the class focuses on exploring the women's emotions. "They're using that emotion to make themselves stronger." Participants are taught to assert themselves verbally, set personal boundaries that won't be crossed by others and defuse potential confrontations. "It teaches you to not play the victim," says Hume. Hume, who has never organized such a project, hopes to see future Ashland training sessions. She also was able to get a local donor to create a scholarship fund to pay for some of the participants' fees. A martial arts expert created Model Mugging in the 1970s after a karate blackbelt was raped in her bed. He designed the program to teach women to use their strengths against a man's weaknesses. Formed in the steps of the earlier effort, BAMM was founded in 1985 and is one of the oldest organizations in the country to teach padded assailant self-defense, according to BAMM officials. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA