Training gives participants realistic tactics and techniques to defend themselves in threatening situations
BY RACHELLE COOPER
Having your throat grabbed from behind by a stranger would be a terrifying experience for anyone. But the 256 U of G women who have been trained in the Rape Aggression Defence System (RAD) feel empowered knowing they now have the skills and techniques to defend themselves against a throat hold or any other physical assault.
“At the beginning of every RAD course, the participants tend to be shy and timid, and some of them have trouble making a fist or even saying ‘no,'” says Karen MacDonald, a RAD instructor and U of G fire prevention officer. “At the end of the course, they hold their heads up high, feeling confident and empowered.”
MacDonald says that although she's always been athletic and strong, she feels a lot more comfortable when she's alone at night since taking her first RAD course in 2001.
“I now know that if I'm ever in a tough situation, I'll be able to survive and get away.”
The RAD program was developed in 1989 by U.S. martial arts expert Larry Nadeau. His goal was to create a self-defence course for women that was widely accessible, affordable and made up of realistic tactics and techniques, says MacDonald.
“When designing the course, Nadeau used his mom as a guinea pig. If she wasn't able to do the technique, the average woman probably couldn't do it either, so it wasn't put into the program.”
RAD is now taught at more than 250 colleges and universities in Canada and the United States and is the largest physical defence program for women in North America.
U of G began offering the two-day course to faculty, staff and students when Robin Begin, acting director of Security Services, became a certified RAD instructor nearly a decade ago.
The program is now available to all female U of G members by request, to students through their residences, and to faculty and staff through the Human Resources professional development opportunities series. Every female custodian at the University is also given the opportunity to be trained in RAD techniques during their shifts.
Custodial Services department head Ed Martin says when he heard about the course in 2002, he immediately offered it, at his expense, to the 80 female members of his staff.
“We have a fair number of staff who work at night on different floors,” he says. “It just gives them more confidence that if they run into someone, they have something to fall back on.”
U of G's RAD instructors work around the custodians' schedules, training them during their night shift or day shift. Even though the custodians range in age from 20 to 65 and are of varying fitness levels, they all rave about the course, says Martin.
“They say it's made them think more about their actions, like parking near lights in a parking lot so they can be seen.”
Reducing the risk of abduction is 90 per cent of self-defence, says MacDonald. The instructors tell people to go outside their home and look at it from a perpetrator's eyes.
“We often have people come back and let us know that they've changed their drapes, put in motion-sensor lights or got their first name taken off their apartment building directory.”
Linda Trouten-Radford, a research technician in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science who has taken RAD twice through Human Resources, says the course has made her more aware of what to do in an emergency. “It emphasizes the fact that you need to be aware of what's going on around you,” she says.
In addition to explaining how to reduce risks, the basic RAD course teaches women punches and kicks, how to get out of chokeholds and bear hugs and how to defend themselves if someone's on top of them. Participants get to practise all the moves on a partner and on an instructor holding pads or wearing a padded suit.
“The techniques are geared to be used by women of all sizes and ages,” says Trouten-Radford. “I have arthritis, and the instructors were very good at showing me alternatives.”
The advanced RAD program builds on the skills learned in the basic course, teaching women how to defend themselves when the aggressor has a weapon such as a knife or gun.
Although U of G currently offers the course only to women, MacDonald says there's a RAD course for men that Guelph may consider offering in the future.
Steve Forbes, a special constable with Campus Community Police who just completed his RAD instructor training, says that allowing women to practise defence techniques on a man makes the experience more realistic.
“If I play the aggressor, it makes the situation more real and really helps build the participants' confidence, knowing they can defend themselves against a guy,” he says.
Forbes and MacDonald encourage more people to take advantage of U of G's RAD program.
“It's mandatory for first-year female university students at some universities in the States,” says MacDonald. “Even if you don't think it's required for your job, personal safety is a big part of life. Recent stats tell us that one in three Canadian women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime.”
For those who would prefer not to wait to take RAD through a scheduled course, it is also available to groups of six or more by request, says MacDonald. A $10 deposit is required for students, which is returned on completion of the course. For staff and faculty, the program is free if it's taken through Human Resources, $20 if it's by special request (to cover the cost of the manuals). To request the course, call Campus Community Police at Ext. 53131.
