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Studant admit they find the psychological boot camp shocking at first.
    I "thought I was going to die." said Cynthia Jean-Pierre, 34, a former student. "the class is very intense."
   But the singer-actress said she soon learned to appretiate the training because it taught her not to be so naive - the way she was when she confronted a man in a New York nightclub after he groped her but.
   Instead of apologizing, he punched her in the face.
"It never crossed my mind that he would react that way," she sau. "But now I pay attention. You never know when they'll attack."
Used as a last resort
   Most of the time, Moskowitz urges his students - who range anywhere from age 10 to 80 - to talk their way out of a situation before attempting anything physical. He remembered a former student - a 70-years-old woman - who fended off a mugger by speaking calmly to him an caressing his face.
   "She started talking about his mother, " said Moskowitz, "and he ran away."
   One of his new students, Simone Palma, 23, of Forest Hills, is happy to report that she hasn't used her moves yet because her newfound awarenedd has consistently kept her out of harm's way.
   She was walking home alone a fez weeks ago when she noticed a group of man ahead of her in the darkness.
   So she crossed the street and grabbed a cab.

" I don't think I have to expose myself to danger just because I learned these techniques, " Palma said. "It's the opposite. you learn to avoid it."
   Moskowitz also tailors his training to suit acqauntance rape situatuons - wich make up about 60% of rapes nationality.
   "What's good for the guy on the street is not right for your boyfriend or your husband," he said.
   He shows students restraint tactics - subduing the attacker without breaking bones - that allow them to escapestandard attack moves without inflicting permanent damage.
   "If you poke a guy in the eyes, he'll never forgive you," Moskowitz said. "Peolple have to learn how to fight people they know."
   According to Patti Jo Newell, spokeswoman for the New York State Coalotion against domestic Violence, self-defense classes such as Moskowitx's are helpful - as long as they don't rely on a "cookie cutter apporach" to escaping a dangerous situation.
   "That well-rounded approach is relly what women need," Newell said. "No one thing will keep you safe."
   Moskowitz's female students say the training gives them exactly that: a realistic, but empowering, sence of confidence.
   "Most of the time, as a woman, you rely on someone else - namely a man - to protect you, "Jean-Pierre said. "it feels good not to rely on someone else. I'm not just this helpless chick."