“Defensive stance!” barks BUPD Sergeant Jefferey Burke, holding up a faded red punching bag with the word “Macho” stamped in zigzag letters across the front.
“No!” shouts COM Senior Amy Mahlar as she bends her knees and raises her arms, connecting her right balled-fist and the bag with one powerful “swoosh.”
Welcome to RAD class, a self-defense program offered exclusively to female students at BU’s FitRec. Founded in 1989 RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) teaches women the basic skills and safety techniques to defend themselves against male aggressors. BU offered the course at FitRec from 1999–2001, when the program was cut due to budget concerns. Now just a decade later RAD is back. Although off to a somewhat slow start, Officer Burke prepares to teach the young women of BU the art of self defense hands-on.
“The problem this semester was a late invitation after most students had already picked their schedules,” says Officer Burke, referring to RAD’s hasty addition to the 2011 University Class Schedule just a week before registration for spring semester.
Results of such last-minute planning for the rebirth of RAD at FitRec show at Monday’s 10 a.m. class, where only four young women enter the back court and sit timidly cross-legged in a small circle. Of the four Mahlar, with her curly bronze hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, appears the most enthusiastic, already flipping through her RAD manual to check out today’s lesson.
Interested in the RAD program but unable to join any of the three night courses offered at BU, Mahlar, Chair of the Advocacy Committee for the Student Union, began talks in September with Warin Dexter, director of the Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (PERD). Plans to incorporate RAD class back into FitRec commenced soon after.
“The main reason I began advocating for the RAD class is because of the many instances of petty crime that I’ve heard happen among peer groups and friends,” says Mahlar.
A statement validated by Officer Burke, who confirms as of mid-February three incidents of women reporting restraining orders against men to the BUPD. With on-campus crime on the rise, Burke, a certified RAD instructor since 1992, finds it important that women are aware of the skills offered through the program.
“Although in most cases men are able to exert more physical strength over women, it’s important that women know how to protect themselves when approached in such situations,” says Burke. “We don’t teach women how to fight, because in most cases the man will win. Instead we teach them how to react, because it’s something that a macho male would never see coming.”
And this is exactly how Burke and his BUPD partner Officer Dean conduct the following week’s class – as potential assailants unwilling to show any mercy towards their victims.
The four young women take a brisk two-lap jog around FitRec’s basement gym and line up at center court, prepared to review the skills from last class. Upon Officer Burke’s command “Defensive stance!” the four timid girls sitting quietly at the start of class last week metamorphous into a group of powerful, headstrong young women. They automatically bring their left arms up to protect their faces and place their right arms down at their sides, ready to attack. They go over blocking and striking motions, including a powerful swing called the Hammer Fist, then move on to kicks and knee strikes.
Following review Officer Dean introduces a one-minute exercise where he “attacks”
each girl from all sides with two hand-held punching bags, mimicking an actual male-aggressor situation.
“It might seem pretty scary and intimidating at first, but imagine how much scarier it is in real life. You won’t believe how long a minute can last,” says Officer Dean, who stands over six-feet tall and weighs over 250 pounds.
Officer Dean addresses the girls, letting them know that if they can escape from him, the chances of them getting away from an actual attacker are definitely higher.
The girls soon learn the seriousness of the drill when Officer Dean overcomes his first victim, Mahlar, in a flurry of aggressive thrusts and loud daunts.
After the mere four-minute long exercise that leaves each girl breathless, Mahlar and sophomore Lauren Fragoza discuss the importance of always looking your attacker in the eye, something BUPD Officer Diane Smith drilled into their heads last class.
“Look down one second to check where you want to hit the guy, and he could overcome you in an instant. I learned that today the hard way,” says out-of-breath Fragoza as she takes a sip of water.
Both girls agree that this hands-on experience makes RAD a successful self-defense program, since minor things like keeping your eyes focused are what come into important play in actual assault situations.
Mahlar admits that swinging at a stationary punching bag is a lot easier than striking at one attached to the thick, swinging arm of Officer Dean.
“Hopefully these young women will never have to face such a dangerous situation in real life, but if they do, they’ll know how to handle themselves because of what they’ve learned in this safe environment,” says Officer Dean, with drops of sweat dripping down his dark forehead.
The positive reaction to hands-on self defense amongst the students motivates Officer Burke to get the word out to more college females. Although RAD obligations fall on the backburner when it comes to more-pressing BUPD issues, like dealing with actual on-campus crime, Burke hopes to increase promotion at popular student hangouts including the GSU. He considers it a good thing that RAD FitRec classes are scheduled in the morning, since most on-campus mischief takes place at night. Burke has yet to miss a class because of any outside BUPD duty.
Even with a busy schedule, Mahlar manages a shout-out to the RAD program on the Student Union’s website to help increase awareness. In blog-esque fashion Mahlar signs off, “While we can’t account for the unpredictability in life, we can do our best to arm ourselves against it.”
“No!” shouts COM Senior Amy Mahlar as she bends her knees and raises her arms, connecting her right balled-fist and the bag with one powerful “swoosh.”
Welcome to RAD class, a self-defense program offered exclusively to female students at BU’s FitRec. Founded in 1989 RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) teaches women the basic skills and safety techniques to defend themselves against male aggressors. BU offered the course at FitRec from 1999–2001, when the program was cut due to budget concerns. Now just a decade later RAD is back. Although off to a somewhat slow start, Officer Burke prepares to teach the young women of BU the art of self defense hands-on.
“The problem this semester was a late invitation after most students had already picked their schedules,” says Officer Burke, referring to RAD’s hasty addition to the 2011 University Class Schedule just a week before registration for spring semester.
Interested in the RAD program but unable to join any of the three night courses offered at BU, Mahlar, Chair of the Advocacy Committee for the Student Union, began talks in September with Warin Dexter, director of the Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (PERD). Plans to incorporate RAD class back into FitRec commenced soon after.
“The main reason I began advocating for the RAD class is because of the many instances of petty crime that I’ve heard happen among peer groups and friends,” says Mahlar.
A statement validated by Officer Burke, who confirms as of mid-February three incidents of women reporting restraining orders against men to the BUPD. With on-campus crime on the rise, Burke, a certified RAD instructor since 1992, finds it important that women are aware of the skills offered through the program.
“Although in most cases men are able to exert more physical strength over women, it’s important that women know how to protect themselves when approached in such situations,” says Burke. “We don’t teach women how to fight, because in most cases the man will win. Instead we teach them how to react, because it’s something that a macho male would never see coming.”
And this is exactly how Burke and his BUPD partner Officer Dean conduct the following week’s class – as potential assailants unwilling to show any mercy towards their victims.
The four young women take a brisk two-lap jog around FitRec’s basement gym and line up at center court, prepared to review the skills from last class. Upon Officer Burke’s command “Defensive stance!” the four timid girls sitting quietly at the start of class last week metamorphous into a group of powerful, headstrong young women. They automatically bring their left arms up to protect their faces and place their right arms down at their sides, ready to attack. They go over blocking and striking motions, including a powerful swing called the Hammer Fist, then move on to kicks and knee strikes.
Following review Officer Dean introduces a one-minute exercise where he “attacks”
each girl from all sides with two hand-held punching bags, mimicking an actual male-aggressor situation.
“It might seem pretty scary and intimidating at first, but imagine how much scarier it is in real life. You won’t believe how long a minute can last,” says Officer Dean, who stands over six-feet tall and weighs over 250 pounds.
Officer Dean addresses the girls, letting them know that if they can escape from him, the chances of them getting away from an actual attacker are definitely higher.
The girls soon learn the seriousness of the drill when Officer Dean overcomes his first victim, Mahlar, in a flurry of aggressive thrusts and loud daunts.
After the mere four-minute long exercise that leaves each girl breathless, Mahlar and sophomore Lauren Fragoza discuss the importance of always looking your attacker in the eye, something BUPD Officer Diane Smith drilled into their heads last class.
“Look down one second to check where you want to hit the guy, and he could overcome you in an instant. I learned that today the hard way,” says out-of-breath Fragoza as she takes a sip of water.
Both girls agree that this hands-on experience makes RAD a successful self-defense program, since minor things like keeping your eyes focused are what come into important play in actual assault situations.
Mahlar admits that swinging at a stationary punching bag is a lot easier than striking at one attached to the thick, swinging arm of Officer Dean.
“Hopefully these young women will never have to face such a dangerous situation in real life, but if they do, they’ll know how to handle themselves because of what they’ve learned in this safe environment,” says Officer Dean, with drops of sweat dripping down his dark forehead.
The positive reaction to hands-on self defense amongst the students motivates Officer Burke to get the word out to more college females. Although RAD obligations fall on the backburner when it comes to more-pressing BUPD issues, like dealing with actual on-campus crime, Burke hopes to increase promotion at popular student hangouts including the GSU. He considers it a good thing that RAD FitRec classes are scheduled in the morning, since most on-campus mischief takes place at night. Burke has yet to miss a class because of any outside BUPD duty.
Even with a busy schedule, Mahlar manages a shout-out to the RAD program on the Student Union’s website to help increase awareness. In blog-esque fashion Mahlar signs off, “While we can’t account for the unpredictability in life, we can do our best to arm ourselves against it.”
