Self Defense Course Comes to Pembroke

By Lesley Covington

Campus police Detective Edward Locklear first heard about Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Systems at UNC-Wilmington. This fall, he’s bringing it home to UNC-Pembroke.

The course will meet in four sections, one month apiece, starting Sept. 12 and continuing through the spring. Each Monday for four weeks running, female students may attend a free lecture and training course from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Students wishing to participate should meet in the English E. Jones Health and Physical Education Center, Room 1166.

According to the RAD website, the “course has its foundations in education and awareness.” The site further states that the course is “suitable for women of all ages and abilities.”

Counselor Ellen Gooch, also involved with the program, stated, “It’s not so much learning the moves but empowering women,” when explaining the course.

Describing past courses Gooch stated that students often come in “not really sure of themselves. By the time they leave, they have the potential to learn to use their voice, their eyes and their body.”

According to its website, RAD is “a functioning network of dedicated self defense instructors that was established in 1989.” The joint Instructors believe “that self defense should be easy to learn, easy to retain, and relatively easy to employ during real confrontational situations.”

The site emphasizes the instructors’ belief “that self defense training should be accessible and affordable for all women and children.” It also emphasizes that the instructors work as a team in their fight against violence.