Coeds At Carolina Are Being Taught Course In Self Defense
By ANN PAYLOR
CHAPEL HILL - Who
would take a course hoping
they'd never have to use
what they learned?
Students in the self-defense
physical education
course at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel
Hill are doing just that.
The course encourages
students to become aware of
their bodies as they learn to
protect themselves from
assault, said wrestling
coach Bill Lam, who teaches
the course.
"There's no real winner
any time there's a fight,"
Lam said, "but the course
tries to teach students
enough to keep them from
being the losers in an
attack."
The course covers both
theory and practice in
self-defense. Techniques
drawn from karate, wrestling,
judo and "plain old
dirty street fighting" are
pooled to show students how
to get free from an
attacker's hold.
Running is stressed as a
means of escape, Lam said.
One of the course requirements
is that students be
able to run a mile by the end
of the semester.
Class time involves about
20 minutes of exercises and
a lot of practice getting free
from different types of
holds.
Being able to beat up an
attacker is not a course
goal, Lam said. "You can't
expect a 110 pound girl to
smash a 190 pound guy, but
she may be able to use her
head and get away unharmed."
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Allow the fabric' to dry
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Psychological aspects of
an attack are also discussed
in class. "We talk about
what kind of person the
attacker is likely to be,"
Lam explained. "He's not
always a complete stranger,
either, although that's a
common misconception."
Both men and women are
enrolled in the course, which
originally was open only to
women. Lam said much of
the material is geared
toward women, and specific
measure to prevent rape are
discussed.
Dealing with the psychological
damage suffered by
an attack victim is difficult.
Rape presents particular
emotional problems, he
said, and "physical wounds
usually heal faster than
emotional ones."
Lam stresses in the course
that common sense can help
prevent attacks. He said
staying in well-lit areas at
night and walking in groups
cuts the chances of attack
by 90 to 95 per cent.
Screaming may effectively
frighten an attacker or
summon help, but Lam
warned the situation should
determine the course of
action. "Any time a weapon
is involved it changes the
way you look at things," he
said.
Though the course can't
guarantee a person won't
panic when in danger, Lam
th<nks class discussion of
situations may help someone
remember what to do in
an emergency.
A person who may freeze
up and be unable to fight
may remember to "psych
out" her attacker, Lam
said.
"There is no way to
become proficient in selfdefense
in only one semester,"
he said. "Individuals
who study karate, for
example, spend years perfecting
techniques.
Though judgments on how
to react if attacked may be
better after taking the
course, self-defense instruction
does not claim to be an
"answer-all," Lam said.
Measuring the course's
success is difficult, he
explained, because people
who have been assaulted
usually don't like talking
about it.
Donna Arnold, a freshman
taking the course now, said
she has learned to try to talk
her way out of a possible
attack situation. "The defense
techniques aren't
really that helpful for girls,"
she said. "Coach Lam wants
us to know what to do, but he
doesn't expect us all to have
the strength and the
coordination to handle all of
the escape moves."
Senior Robin Shea, who
took the course as a
freshman, believes the
exercise was the most
beneficial part of the course
for her. "I had the class a
night and we Joked that ii
you could get home withou
getting attacked, you woulc
pass."
Pam Bryant, a freshman
currently enrolled in selfdefense,
agrees with Shea
that the exercise is helpful.
"I'm probably in the best
shape now I've ever been
in." Bryant said she has an
understanding of what to do
in an attack, but, "I hope I
never have to use it."