After the Bell With CCHS Staffulty Member Whitney McHaffie

Have you ever wondered what teachers and school staff do when they are not at school?  We decided to find out!  

This is the 7th in a series of stories about some of Central Catholic’s faculty and staff members and what they like to do after the bell rings at the end of the day.  Some have surprising hobbies, others have creative talents.  With this series, we hope to shine a spotlight on the special people who work with our students every day!

Mixing it Up

Whitney McHaffie has been teaching senior theology at Central Catholic since fall 2022.  She earned a BA in theology from Lourdes University with a minor in philosophy, and she is pursuing a master’s degree in theology from Franciscan University.  Attending college classes at night and often walking to her car when it was dark led to her desire to learn how to defend herself.  She now enjoys mixed martial arts, including Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo, boxing, Aikido, and wrestling.

“Jiu Jitsu is a grappling art that incorporates wrestling basics into more complex techniques via positions of control and submissions,” Whitney explained.  “Aikido taught me how to defend myself eliciting compliance via joint manipulation, take downs, and strategy when attacked with weapons and by multiple attackers.  Judo is a takedown art.  Boxing and Muy Thai are both striking arts.  The use of kicks, knees, and elbows is permitted in Muy Thai.”

Whitney has competed in martial arts in the U.S. and Japan.  She earned gold in all three of her recent competitions - Buckeye Grappling Championship No-Gi, FoxHole Foundation, and Rumble in the Pit II.  She is also a USMC martial arts instructor, specifically teaching martial arts combatives.  

Whitney’s martial arts instructors, as well as three generations of her family members, are veterans, and they inspired her to enlist in the military.  She joined the Marine Corps in 2017 as an aviation mechanic, and she became a corporal.

At Central Catholic, Whitney started a Martial Arts Club for students, and she is the moderator.  She has also offered self-defense classes.  “My primary goal is to serve the students in a way that helps their mind, body, and soul to grow and to provide them with skills that could potentially save someone's life,” she explained.

Previous Editions of “After the Bell”
Kim Bremer (August)
Ernie Lamb (September)
Logan Lorenzen (October)
Kylee Stewart (November)
Tyler Kleeberger (December)
Abigail Kruse (January)