Everything has been leading up to this moment. You’ve taken the classes, studied the books, learned from the experts – you’re as prepared as you’ll ever be, and now it’s time to put it all to the test. You are finally, for the first time, about to drive a car.

Remember that day? Learning how to drive in the classroom was a necessary first step, but not until you got behind the wheel, actually got out on the road, did you truly experience what it’s like to drive a car. For the first time, you had to put what you’d been taught into real-life practice, from manning the vehicle itself to interacting with other drivers.

Learning self-defense skills happens much the same way. At the beginning, you have to start with two basic types of drills: working with a pad (which lets you practice using your full force without actually hurting someone in the process), and working with a partner (which gives you a feel for how your body will move in relation to another person).

However, while both of these types of drills are essential building blocks to learning self-defense, they are limited in their simulation of a real-life fight. And naturally, the closer one is able to imitate a real physical confrontation, the better an understanding one will have of how the real experience would play out, both physically and mentally. (I know that can sound a bit scary, but more on that later.)

Of course, when training for self-defense, safety is key (no picking fights on the street!). So what’s a girl to do?

Enter: The Padded Assailant.

Working with a padded assailant effectively makes up for what was lacking in the preliminary drills. Physically speaking , unlike the partner you worked with in class, the padded assailant is covered head-to-toe in protective gear, so that you can practice fighting a real person full-force without worrying about actually harming him.

And unlike the hand-held pads, the padded assailant is a target with 1) a human’s shape, 2) a human’s mobility, and 3) a human’s ability to act and react. Again, this makes for a more realistic simulation, which increases how prepared you’ll feel should you find yourself in a real confrontation.

Mentally speaking, working with a padded assailant allows you to feel what it’s like to “get in the zone.” It allows you to get a taste of a real, scrappy, heart-pounding-in-your-chest kind of fight (possibly a fight for your life). That may sound frightening, but here is the honest truth: the experience of feeling yourself literally fight through this fear to win the confrontation is probably the most valuable aspect of a padded assailant course.

Here’s why. Speaking from my own and others’ experience, a padded assailant course will empower you to realize that:

…even if you thought you might be paralyzed by fear, you possess the internal strength to protect yourself, and you can still win the fight.

…even if your mind goes blank, you will refocus, and you can still win the fight.

…even if you feel like you’re stuck, you will find a way out, and you can still win the fight.

…even if you are small/injured/shy/etc., the skills you’ve learned really do work, and…you guessed it...you can still win the fight!

Talk about a confidence-booster. (Actually, a lot of women end up finding the padded assailant drills to be fun! Believe me, nothing makes you feel good like proving to yourself that you can hold your own against a bad guy.)

So if you’ve started into self-defense training, do yourself a favor and take that knowledge for a test drive. Practice fighting the real deal with a padded assailant, and you will prove to yourself that you have what it takes to succeed in a physical confrontation…and that discovery is every bit as valuable as the training itself.