Photo by Emily Varisco • varisco@mscd.edu

Det. Rich Vigil demonstrates the “Hammer Strike” on Cpl. Andy Liska Thursday, April 13 in the Tivoli Turnhalle. The “Hammer Strike” is one of many moves taught in the Rape Aggression Defense course now offered at Metro. The course, which teaches the largest women’s self-defense system in the country, RAD, is sponsored by the Auraria Campus Police Department and is open to any woman on campus.

   Two recent assaults at Metro have raised safety concerns on campus, making the Auraria Martial Arts club an attractive option to learn self-defense and gain confidence.
   A sexual assault on March 3 at around 9:30 p.m. and a physical assault on April 6 at around 5:40 p.m., were reported to the Denver Police Department and the Auraria police. Both victims were assaulted in campus parking lots.
   With these recent assaults on campus, Shawn Sneed of the Auraria Martial Arts club offers a solution to fears that might have been brought on by these invasions of privacy and cowardly acts of brutality.
   Sneed offers simple, but effective self-defense advice and also tries to instill self-confidence in any student, faculty or staff willing to come to an AMA meeting. The meetings, which are free, are held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. until 4:00 pm. in the Auraria Event Center. The club will also try to accommodate schedules with new students to determine if the AMA has self-defense ideas the person can use to their benefit.
   With 35,000 students on campus it is not physically possible for police to stop all crimes before they happen or to be everywhere they may be needed, Sneed said.
“ You are responsible for your own safety,” he said.
   Sneed said the recent assaults on campus prove no one is safe from crime, but awareness and preparation can help reduce vulnerability.
“ Self-defense does not have to be violent. Self defense can be as simple as exerting confidence and carrying yourself in a manner that says you will not be pushed around,” Sneed said.
   “ Power perceived is power achieved,” he said, quoting one of his favorite movies. He said a criminal does not want someone who will put up a struggle and bring attention to the crime being committed: criminals do not want to be seen. They do not want any exposure. Students should hold their heads up and carry themselves with dignity.
“ If you believe that you can do something, other people feel that you’re capable of doing it,“ Sneed said about exerting self-confidence.
   The methods the members of the AMA try to drill home are about using common sense and keeping it simple.
   “ During an attack, it is unlikely that the attacker is going to inform you of his intentions so you may ready yourself for the attack,” Sneed said. “This means you only have a limited amount of time to react. Not to think, to react.”
   “ This is you trying to get yourself home in one piece,“ he said. “When fighting off an attack, you have to remember that it is your job to get away from the attack. It is not your job to win the fight or to dispense justice against your assailant. The practical thing to learn first, how to get out of grabs, is useful because blocking punches is not going to help against someone that sneaks up behind you and grabs you.”
“ Simple and effective is the key,” he said.
   The AMA has six regular instructors and three to four guest instructors who teach a myriad of styles of self-defense. The members of the AMA feel that if they have six different perspectives from six different people who know six different styles, they should be able to help people assess different situations to minimize the likelihood of an attack taking place.
   All new students must sign a liability waiver prior to participating in the training.