MAD in Barnum

What would you do if you unexpectedly find yourself before an attacker? What if there were two or three of them? How can you fight them off and protect yourself? If you are concerned about how to care for your personal safety, the answer lies in a recent event held in the residence halls.
Given that there is a growing concern for personal defense, Barnum Hall RA’s requested Martial Arts Discipline (MAD), a student group addressing these issues, to give a presentation on self-defense. A group of martial arts specialists from a wide array of martial arts forms led sessions for Barnum residents on November 29th and 30th. There are plans to have a future defense session for campus residents in Bodine Hall. These sessions aim to arm participants with defense techniques which can be used in a variety of common scenarios which may be encountered.The program was open to all residents of UB and the turnout was predominantly female. To counter the occurrence of an attempted rape and other dangerous situations, the group made sure to include basic moves, which any participant could feel confident doing. It was reported to have been a fun and active presentation with the participants applying techniques on one other. MAD was founded last year for martial artists and beginners to teach defense in violent crime situations. MAD currently holds weekly training sessions at the Wheeler Recreation Center, Friday evenings from 7 to 9pm. MAD sessions are open to all students, who want to learn how to defend themselves in certain scenarios or interested in multiple types of martial arts. Student Indira Griffith believes that the club can offer “different techniques for those with an interest in martial arts and self defense.” Members in MAD have backgrounds in various types of martial arts, including aikido, tae kwon do, judo, jiujitsu, ninjitsu, taiji, and others. Some even enter without a background in fighting. The club members train with people of every size to prepare them for any situation. Junior Malik Church, vice-president of MAD, explains that they practice Bruce Lee’s philosophy, in that “everyone has their own style, which they can develop.” Under that premise, everyone becomes both a teacher and a student to each other. MAD president, Kevin Brabazon believes that through directly practicing the self-defense techniques, one is able to learn best. He states, “The best type of learning is active learning.