ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (April 15) -- Instructor Meredith Haggerty walked around the group exercise room in the Richter Center. One by one she blocked punches from each of the 10 students repeating the blowout drill she had just taught them.
“Keep your hands up,” Haggerty said to sophomore Kelley Burke as she practiced punching. After a minute Burke finished. Exhausted, but with a proud smile, Burke continued other exercises as Haggerty moved on to the next student.
The Sandra A. and William L. Richter Center now offers weekly Krav Maga classes on Wednesdays at 5 p.m.
Haggerty learned Krav Maga, an Israeli form of hand-to-hand combat, in her hometown of Towanda, Pa., and wanted to teach others.
”People think it’s something you automatically know, but it’s not,” Haggerty said.
Haggerty asked Rob DeFazio, the director of the Richter Center, the campus recreation facility, if she could teach the class.
“She came to me interested in teaching,” DeFazio said. He thought it would be a good experience for students and agreed to add the class.
The first 45-minute class began with jogging, stretching and warm-up exercises. Haggerty sat the students down to introduce the material she would teach. She taught how to avoid dangerous situations and how to be aware of surroundings, exits and threats. Haggerty prepared her students for an attack and how to defend themselves.
Students learned combinations of moves and the right way to stand and hold their hands.
“She demonstrated combination hitting and how to properly stand that was easy to follow,” said freshman Katherine Caboot, an education major.
In future classes Haggerty said she plans to review what she has taught and add more each week. Eventually she plans to use props to mimic attacks.
“I am planning on using an assortment of blocking pads for punches and eventually I am going to roll up magazines to simulate guns and knives,” she said.
Vito Czyz, the director of the Office of Safety and Security, read about the class on the Notice Board and decided to observe the first week.
“She’s teaching stuff that can be applied everywhere in everyday life,” Czyz said about Haggerty. He said skills and techniques impressed him.
Czyz said it’s good for students to have an individual self-defense plan.
“No matter where you are help always takes at least three to five minutes to arrive,” he said. “Anything can and will happen.”
Burke, a journalism and mass communication major, became interested in the class after a friend told her about it.
“I thought it would be cool to learn how to defend myself and learn about some of the signs when someone is going to attack you,” she said.
After the class Burke said she felt more confident and independent.
“I don’t feel like I need a big strong guy around to protect me,” Burke said.
Like Burke, Caboot wanted to learn how to protect herself.
“People target women because they see them as weak and less powerful, so I think for a woman learning how to protect herself is very important,” she said.
However, Caboot disliked the short length of the class.
“If the class was an hour or an hour and a half it would be more beneficial because the class is only once a week,” said Caboot.
“It seemed like everyone had fun,” Haggerty said with a smile on her face before she left.
They did.
Burke and Caboot both enjoyed the class and planned to go again.
“I plan on going to going to the next session and also in the weeks to come,” Caboot said.
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