“I’m so fascinated by it,” she says. “I think it’s very important to teach women—especially young women—how to protect themselves. It’s so intense.”

HUPD Sergeant Wilmon D. Chipman, another instructor, told the class not to be intimidated by an attacker.

“Don’t think of it as overpowering someone who weighs 100 pounds more,” he says. “Think of it as getting oxygen so you can fight. Turn your fear into anger and just go absolutely berserk.”

He pauses and grins.

“We don’t say we’re teaching you to kick ass and win,” he says. “But we are.”

The women make approving sounds as Metivier demonstrates how to break Chipman’s kneecap.

“Seven pounds of force will do it,” she says to the class.

Then the women step up for their turn with the instructor to practice their newly-learned skill. As they approach the pad-wielding instructor, smiles fall off their faces, jokes of “kicking ass” fade away, and they focus on the task at hand.

RAD on the Road

The benefits of a RAD class go beyond personal empowerment, Metivier says, pointing to a case where HUPD offered a special class for Let’s Go guide authors.

According to Metivier, a writer who went hiking in the mountains of Tunisia was followed by a man and then attacked in her tent. She used what she learned in RAD to defend herself and then fled two miles.

“She told her instructors, ‘It happened just like you said,’” Metivier says. “[And] she was not the victim of sexual assault that night.”

The class also attempts to address situations that are more commonplace for undergraduates—including those involving alcohol and so-called date-rape drugs.

“A lot of [assaults] happen at parties, or when you go to final clubs,” Metivier says. “If you’ve been drinking and something happens, it doesn’t mean it’s your fault.”

Cooper says the program is sensitive to the realities of its audience.

“We don’t encourage underage drinking,” Cooper says. “But we’re realistic to know we can’t stop it. It’s a balancing act. We don’t say everything’s cool, go and drink, but if you drink make sure you plan in advance.”

Cooper says RAD is fundamentally a class about fun fighting and important knowledge.

“We all realize it’s a sensitive and serious course,” Cooper says “We have humor and try to make it a good time without making light of a serious topic.”

—Staff writer Hana R. Alberts can be reached at alberts@fas.harvard.edu.