PORTSMOUTH
Don Haley stalked up to Juanita Brown, a nurse at the Autumn Care nursing home, grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her close. Her eyes widened with surprise. She held up her hands, elbows out, leaving her body completely vulnerable.
This was absolutely not what Haley had just taught her to do.
Haley stepped back and looked at the other nurse assistants gathered around him on this recent afternoon. Remember, he coached: Crouch low like you're in a chair, elbows tucked in, fists tight. And when you throw a punch, twist it like you're dumping a glass of water. Hesitating could get you killed.
Haley, a Tidewater Community College professor who a year ago felt compelled to create a self-defense program especially for women, turned back to Brown.
"You have a daughter, right?"
She nodded.
"You want to see her tonight? Do it again."
Haley grabbed, and Brown dropped low, jabbing a solid blow to his chest.
"Don't think that, like Melissa Medina did, pleading for your life will stop a man from raping, murdering or torturing you," Haley said, turning back to the group. "I understand you love people.... But you want to go home to your kids."
Haley, director of the Administration of Justice program at TCC, speaks constantly of Melissa, a 15-year-old who was murdered and mutilated in Texas in 2001. He was called last year as an expert witness in the trial of the killer, who is now on death row.
The horror of what the girl endured kept Haley awake at night. As a former police officer in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake who also served in the Marines, he had seen death before. But not like that. He felt he had to do something.
"I thought, wait a sec. I'll train these girls on the side."
Haley, a 42-year-old former boxer, combines techniques from the ring with martial arts and moves from his police and military training. When he heard about the legal troubles of the founder of the video series "Girls Gone Wild," in which young women are videotaped exposing themselves, Haley decided to call his own self-defense video "Girls Gone Safe," a swipe at the porn industry, he said. He sells the DVDs for $20 each, a portion of which goes to charity.
After a shooting rampage earlier this year in a North Carolina nursing home where eight were killed and others were injured, the Autumn Care facility wanted to offer classes to make the staff feel more secure. The administrator had seen Haley teach before and called him.
"It's not like I need the money," Haley said. "I make decent money. It's not about me. The whole setup is to say that this is a little guy who's not in much shape and can do this - you can too.... I can make it so that size and height doesn't matter."
He made his charges believe that Thursday. The 5-foot-6-inch Haley stood in his sneakers, and only one of the nurses, several of them shoeless, was shorter than him.
In an hour and a half, Haley was chopped, kicked and flipped. He demonstrated how to fell assailants with the whipping of feet and fingers, how to fight off chokeholds and how to disarm someone. He even showed the home's elderly residents how to use a cane as a battering ram.
Sweat rolled from his trim frame, but he was smiling. The women were picking up the moves quickly.
"Low man wins!" Haley shouted, repeatedly, crouching to remind them. "Say it after me!"
Women in soft pastels screamed back, "Low man wins!"
One of the last moves was fending off a knife attack. Haley cautioned the women to always comply with demands for purses or car keys when threatened with a weapon. But if they are in danger, he said, they could dislodge a knife by chopping the attacker across the wrist and knuckles. He demonstrated by holding a pen and showing the women the technique.
Haley approached Teisue Mitchell. In a split second, she flicked her hands properly.
"Ouch!" Haley shouted, and the pen flew skyward.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Mitchell said, quickly grabbing his hand.
Haley couldn't have looked more pleased.
"No," he said. "You're making it worth it for me."
Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com
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Nowadays a woman's gotta hit a man
She is woman. She will kick your butt! Make nice.
Don was one of my professors
Don was one of my professors at TCC. He was (& still is, I'm sure) a wonderful, inspiring professor. His energy level is through the roof & he has a kind heart. I'd love to have a copy of his DVD & will get a couple of extras for friends & family. It's always great to hear about someone doing something to help others. Get the DVD - maybe it will help save your life if you are ever in a dangerous situation...Good job, Don!
Self-defense class
Looks like Ms. Sandra and Ms. Wanda were having a good ol' time man-handling him lol get it girlz!! :D
I think self defense classes are generally a good idea for everyone, man, woman, child, it doesn't matter. But, bringing fists of fury to a gun fight may not be very practical.
donnie haley
donnie haley is a great guy!! I went to school with him and actually my sister used to be his aunt by marriage. He is a good guy and we always called each other cous in school. He is forever my hero!!
It never fails....
It never ceases to amaze me that people will still argue on these article comments no matter what the subject. How this turned in to a argument of whether or not you have a gun is beyond me. How about we look at this story for what it really is. A good man reaching out and doing what he can to help others. I realize this is a concept that has pretty much been forgotten about and/or reported on. Why does there have to be an argument? I just don't get it....
Why People Comment
The reason people comment is because the Virginian-Pilot is notorious for telling half a story and leaving out the part that doesn’t fit their bias. This article is a good example.
Tell the other half
Then by all means, Joseph, if you "know" there is half a story missing, you much know which half. Go ahead, fill us in, please.
The Other Half
“After a shooting rampage earlier this year in a North Carolina nursing home where eight were killed and others were injured, the Autumn Care facility wanted to offer classes to make the staff feel more secure.” The article implies that Haley’s hand to hand combat training provides security when such an attack occurs. One participant reports he showed how to disarm an armed man. Dr. Kleck’s book Targeting Guns reports what is not included in the article and what the Pilot never reports. Having a gun and using it is the safest approach to responding to an armed attack. A complete story would report this if the Pilot were really interested in public safety. The Pilot is interested in its biased ideology. This half reporting biases news.
Ok, but...
the newspaper is not a book. The article was simply a byte of information regarding someone trying to do something. It is not job of a newspaper to provide every opinion out there regarding a particular issue. If an individual is truly interested in their personal safety, it is the individual's responsibility to research options; not the responsibility of a newspaper to supply that information. The "article" would then become a book, a journal, pamphlet, or some other lengthy pontification. I see this particular article as informative, one option a specific individual offers. Not everyone is comfortable owning or carrying a firearm, this is an alternative; hardly a biased snippet of info. However, I see your point, but I think your expectations are set a bit high for a local newspaper.
Some tips.
1] be aware of your surroundings.
2] don't look at the pavement when walking. [ I see this all the time]
3] carry pepper spray
4] carry keys between fingers for a weapon.
4] don't look vulnerable, that is how an attacker chooses their target
5] remember: throat, eyes, groin as targets.
6] any size man can be brought to his knees by the bending of his fingers.
Only as a last resort use the methods from a self defense seminar. [ I know of a 3rd degree black belt female who was raped.]
Women are not as strong as men, which makes it very difficult to fight them regardless of training, not to metntion that to be proficient , self defense has to be practiced continually until it becomes second nature.
I would hate to see these students acquire a false sense of security.
If any gal wants to get a wake up call, just watch a UFC fight and see how helpless it is to be on the ground.
Agree, but...
...self defense training can give you that "not a victim" look that helps make you not selected by a rapist in the first place...and, it's not about going toe-to-toe as in UFC, it's about knowing enough to startle an attacker (eye gouge, palm strike to the nose, knowing how to protect your throat) and getting away.
Lorenzo is correct. The
Lorenzo is correct. The shooting of Officer Fleming is a good example. despie being shot 4 times by a thug with a semi auto rifle, Officer Fleming reverted to his warrior instinct and survived.
3 types of people out there. Sheep, who hide their hides or run, wolves, who prey on the sheep, and sheepdogs, who take the offensive. Sheep don't like sheepdogs, but they will tolerate them if they are in danger.
Learn from Master haley, and be a sheepdog
Hire a Track Coach?
“It will give people the idea that they can actually fight back and possibly protect each other and themselves instead of running …” Maybe they should have hired a track coach to teach running. Go to the following website of a Pilot sister paper in Roanoke and listen to the 4 minute and 27 second tape (taken from a 13 minute 911 call) at http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/201127 Those without a gun and don’t believe in the value of self defense should seriously think about what they would do in such a situation. There were children in the house when this attack occurred. What would you do if such a thing occurred at your home or place of work?
How much good will that do?
Most people are actually pretty poor shots with a pistol, now throw in a wolf when you were expecting a scared sheep. It takes a pretty cool character to stand their ground while five or six or more folks are all charging at the same time, I don't care what you are armed with.
It will give people the idea that they can actually fight back and possibly protect each other and themselves instead of running and waiting for the executioner to come.
How much good does it do to take away a persons sense of being helpless in the face of danger and giving them a fighting chance? --- a lot.
Not every situation is a man
Not every situation is a man with a gun...and the confidence and skills that come with martial arts training can make the difference of life and death for a woman in a bad situation.
Fighting Back
I think Mr. Haley is doing something terrific. Learning about self defense is not just about reacting to an attack. It also teaches women about observing their environment and avoiding trouble. It teaches you how to get away alive. If more women knew these techniques it would reduce the number of severe injuries suffered in these attacks and make it harder for attackers to find easy targets.
How Much Good Will That Do?
I’m sure Don Haley is so good at martial arts and moves from his police and military training that he didn’t carry a gun when he went to war or to his daily police duties. The article states, “After a shooting rampage earlier this year in a North Carolina nursing home where eight were killed and others were injured, the Autumn Care facility wanted to offer classes to make the staff feel more secure.” How much good are martial arts and fancy moves going to do against a man with a gun? This article promotes the value of feeling secure just before you’re murdered. How much good will that do?
Lots of Good
Part of the training offered to our staff that day included how to disarm an attacker with a gun. Mr Haley brought a prop gun with him and instructed staff how to remove themselves from the line of fire and demonstrated moves to retrieve the firearm. Mr. Haley proved to us that Martial arts, fancy moves, and the right training can be very effective even when up against a person with a gun.
False Security
“Part of the training offered to our staff that day included how to disarm an attacker with a gun.” Does that mean police officers and citizens don’t need to carry a gun because there will never be any situations where one will be needed to save their own lives or someone else’s? The issue is having a balanced understanding of what is needed for self defense. Our government taught me to kill people with my bare hands, but there are too many situations were I will need something else, including situations where I will need a gun, for self defense. Thinking that a person is secure with only hand to hand combat skills is false security. Not acknowledging this in self defense training will get someone killed.
Joseph, are you a salesman for Smith & Wesson?
If you continually encounter too many situations for you to kill using only your hands, maybe you should speak to a professional about how you view the world around you or consider relocating rather than continually trying to scare the rest of society into arming themselves?