Diversion - Assisting with a Women's Self Defense Class

I had taken a women's self defense class August 2007 and it was such an amazing experience, I was blown away! Every woman walked out of that class a stronger person -- not only because she knew she was a lot better prepared to defend herself but because that also translated, where needed, into knowing more clearly, in general, that she could stand up for herself.
I expressed an interest in volunteering to be an assistant for the class and was very honored when I was chosen (not because of my incomparable fighting skills but because of other qualities....??).
I wasn't available to help during ski season because I had made that a very high priority for myself.
Last weekend, I finally assisted with a class. The classes are given by IMPACT Bay Area (impactbayarea.org...you can see a video commercial if curious on their web site).
I should first say that the teaching staff consisted of the head teacher, an amazing professional, very grounded/clear woman, another woman who was co-teaching on her way to completing requirements to become a full-fledged teacher, a suited instructor flown out from Columbus, Ohio (in this case a guy who wears a highly padded suit which enables him to take full force blows from the women), a second padded male instructor for days 2 and 3 of the training (as one guy can only take so much abuse) and 2 assistants.
The job of the assistants is to do admin work (like collecting waivers,etc), lend an ear, offer a hug to students or teachers, cheer for them in their fights, offer first aid if needed (very minor injuries), etc.
There were 16 women in the class. They were awesome! It's a pretty scary prospect to get out in the middle of a class and try to take down a much larger guy...but with the training you learn how amazingly easy it can be. Each woman learns that she is capable of generating far more power than she could ever imagine.
It's the power of screaming "No!" at the top of your lungs and channeling the accompaning emotion/rage.....as if to say "No, I will not be an easy victim. Attack me and I will use the skills being built into my muscle memory to look for your weak spots...and beware the consequences." Not that these women are trained to look for a fight at all, quite the opposite. The best alternative is always to avoid a fight. But, given no other alternative, each of these women walks away knowing how powerful they can be.
While they go through the process of learning these skills, they are asked (their choice as to degree) to reveal experiences they want to revisit (put a different ending on), examples of boundaries they want to set, etc. You can imagine that this can be a pretty emotional experience. This group of women was full of courage in sharing many of the experiences they had been through.
As an assistant in the class, there were times when I had to hold myself back from hugging certain women because I felt what they were going through. By the time the class was over, I wanted to hug all of them.
As for me, I got to do 4 practice fights and absorb even more into muscle memory. And, as I drove home the final day, I realized that I felt full and very happy because I had spent that time so well. I was one of the people that helped each of those women become stronger and I saw the looks of gratitude in their eyes; it was very fulfilling and I felt privileged and grateful to have been part of this experience.