Better Safe Than Sorry

DAYTON - It's not every day Chandra Richardson and Caitlin Riley get to beat up their principal.

But Andy Maheras actually welcomes their screams, kicks and punches because it's all part of a valuable lesson for the 16-year-old high school girls. Besides, Maheras doesn't feel any of it. He's protected head to toe in a Redman suit used in martial arts, law enforcement and prison guard training.

"This is a message that needs to get out: how do you protect yourself," said Maheras, who is well "suited" to play an attacker since he started martial arts at age 9 and has three black belts - one in Daemyong Tendokahn, one in Tangsoodo and one in ITF (International Tae Kwan Do).

"Our societal norms don't support girls defending themselves," he said. "This gives them a chance to really see what it feels like to hit back. It takes more than you think force wise."

Richardson and Riley are among some 20 girls from Dayton's middle school and high school who have participated in a new program, the creation of June Riley, deputy Columbia County Prosecutor (who has a black belt in Kung Fu San Soo) and Ann Passmore, domestic violence and sexual assault victims advocate for the YWCA in Walla Walla and Columbia counties.

The program consists of an educational component, which teaches participants about bullying, harassment and sexting, the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs using cell phones or computers.

It also prepares young women to think about and plan for safety after high school.

"We're preparing them for the risk factors after school," Passmore said. "What does personal safety look like after you leave home?"

Then there is the part where the girls get to rough up Maheras.

"Okay, you know how they show someone grabbing someone else by the neck and shove them up against the wall," he asks the girls from behind his "catchers" mask. "Well, that's not just the stuff of movies. That happens in reality."

During the group's practice session at the Delaney Room, Maheras, Riley and Passmore encourage the girls to act like the human equivalent of a car alarm when they're attacked: make lots noise and cause a scene that will put the perpetrator on the spot.

"Now scream," Maheras urges after one of the girls pushes the Michelin man away from her and elbows him in the chest.

Richardson's mom, Debbie Witt, who watches while her daughter reluctantly takes on her padded principal, notes that the girl should try to go for the attacker's groin, one of the most sensitive parts of the male anatomy.

But Maheras is quick to point out that the girls should be prepared for their attacker to be, well, prepared. He says offenders shield themselves from attack there, so defenders should know other vulnerable spots, such as the throat, abdomen, shins, etc.

Though the YWCA has had defense awareness sessions for girls before, this is the first program of its kind in the area that includes the physical self-defense workshops.

"This is a new model for Columbia County," Passmore said. "We hope to do more in fall and next spring."