The 18-year-old TCU RAD program will offer a male-only course that seeks to teach them how to resist using force and to defend themselves in an attack.

The acronym “RAD” stands for Rape Aggression Defense for the female course. For this male course, it will stand for Resisting Aggression with Defense.

Instead of teaching them how to fight, the men’s class will be focused learning how to divert any force if an attack were to happen.

RAD has been offered to female students since September of 1996. It has focused on defensive techniques to prepare women against any kind of attack, according to the TCU RAD webpage.

This is the second semester that the free course for men will be offered. The class will be held on April 12 and 13 for six hours each day. At least 10 to 15 men will need to sign up in order for the class to be held.

“When you have men, you definitely want to avoid force by force, which is usually how men fight,” said Pam Christian, the TCU Police Department’s crime prevention specialist.

She said that the class will teach male students how to resist using force and how to defend themselves.

Christian said that 90 percent of self defense is avoidance. She wants to first teach male students how to avoid bad choices and choose safer environments. The other 10 percent of self defense, she said, is responding to any attack that does happen.

“With guys, if somebody throws a punch, I would teach them how to divert that punch, rather than absorbing that,” Christian said. “Being able to not take that punch and showing them how to side step it and then disable that person that is trying to hurt them.”

Christain said the class will teach these techniques step-by-step, which she feels is very important knowledge for men to have.

“There is a need [for this course],” Christian said. “Not everybody is a big brawny guy. I want everybody to feel empowered and safe in their own environment regardless of where they are. Safety first begins with you.”

Some male students agree that it is an important skill to have.

“It’s an important thing to know how to protect yourself, especially in the world we live in,” said Daniel Myers, a junior applied geoscience major.

Myers said that there is a 10 to 20 percent chance he would take a class like this.

Daniel Rangel, a senior finance and French double major, said that there was a good chance he would take a self-defense class for men.

“You never know what’s gonna hit you and it’s good to always be prepared,” Rangel said.

Christian encourages anyone interested to take the course.

The RAD class for women will be on March 1 and 2. Christian said she will send out separate emails for the men’s and women’s classes. Students interested in taking the courses should respond to the emails, she said.