5 Diné off to judo championships
Navajo Times | Adron Gardner Kobe Bennett lines up for warm-up stretches at Garcia's Judo Club in Gallup May 16.
Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
Kobe Bennett lines up for warm-up stretches at Garcia’s Judo Club in Gallup May 16.
Five Navajo students from Garcia’s Judo Club in Gallup will travel to the Junior Olympic National and International Championships in Spokane, Washington, next month.
Kobe Bennett, 17, will travel to the Junior Olympics alongside Daniel Wagner, 6; Shyanne Skeet, 7; Jo-cia Long, 10; and Kyle Hollowhorn, 10.
Also qualifying is Nancy Rodriguez, 14, a Latina.
Sensei Miguel Garcia, 64, said taking the students – called judoka – from the Navajo Nation and Gallup area to the out-of-state tournament from June 16 through 18 happens as part of their journey in the first Japanese martial art ever to become an Olympic sport.
“Part of this is taking the kids and showing them the world,” Garcia said.
As a certified judo coach, he has standing with the United States Judo Federation that makes his students eligible for national and international competition.
However, he calls himself a “sensei” instead of coach to honor his training in Japan.
To pick up the skills he teaches his students, he had to travel the world. After completing his service in the Vietnam War, he travelled to the epicenter of judo. He trained at the Kodokan, the dojo created in Tokyo by the founder of judo.
Because of his experience in Japan, Garcia said he teaches Japanese judo. He stressed the combative aspect of that as opposed to the American style, which focuses more on the sport aspect.
Garcia said he sees it on the mat when judoka he trains for a combative style compete against judoka trained for the sport style.
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