Nonprofit to the rescue? Diné MMA athletes try to help fellow fighters

CHINLE

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is becoming more popular and is drawing in new athletes, including Native Americans.

However, to be a part of the sport, let alone compete, costs a lot and one MMA athlete is trying to help support fellow Natives in the sport.

Nicolette Garcia is half Navajo and half Acoma Pueblo and currently works as an EMT. She first became involved in MMA almost 20 years ago when she was in college.

She was walking with her kids in Albuquerque when she saw a dojo teaching judo. Interested, she joined and slowly became further involved in different martial arts which would lead to MMA.

She joined the world-famous Jackson’s MMA Acoma gym where she learned grappling and kickboxing. Garcia became the first female fighter to represent the school, something she is still proud of to this day.

However, when she started there weren’t as many female fighters and even fewer Native members.

There were times she had to compete against men in competitions because there were no other female fighters.

“Back when I started there was hardly any female fighters,” Garcia said. “It was hard to train because no one took me seriously.

“You have to prove you belong there because it’s really tough and I think for male or female in the beginning you have to prove you want to be there and you have to work hard,” she said. “I feel like it was three times as much work for a female back then.”

Garcia won numerous medals and a belt for the Grapplers Challenge Championship, an achievement she aimed at for four years. That, and becoming an EMT, are two of her biggest achievements.

“People don’t think it’s an art but the way I see it, you are using all these tools to try and defeat your opponent with technique and skill,” she said. “So it’s not just brawling.

“I see it as art and I think it’s a beautiful art … but it was also therapy for me and it helped me with discipline and confidence,” she said. “It was a big-time confidence booster.”

Mixed heritage

Being Native also added to the experience. Her grandfather was a Navajo medicine man and her father was Acoma Pueblo who taught her much about her culture.

Although the two tribes are different, she learned much from them. They are both strong and connected to nature and taught her to be a better person. Garcia feels fortunate to have both cultures in her life as well as good teachers like her family.

She doesn’t compete anymore, but continues to work out and keep up with other Native athletes on social media.

However, she decided she wanted to help Native MMA athletes with expenses, because MMA sports can be very costly.

She first thought of the idea nearly 14 years ago. She wanted to compete in a competition in Las Vegas but needed a sponsor. She reached out to Sky City Casino, who kindly responded but said due to policy they couldn’t donate to an individual, they only give money to organizations.

Garcia found that many other places had similar policies in place.

“I never forgot that,” Garcia said. “So, I thought maybe if I can create an organization for Native American martial artists and get my (nonprofit status), I can help other Native American mixed martial artists pay for their dues or the competition entry fee because it can get expensive and training fees.

“So the problem that I have come upon is the (nonprofit) application and that’s what I’m really asking for is guidance,” she said.

She created the social media group Indigenous Nations Mixed Martial Arts Association that follows and highlights Native Americans in a variety of martial arts sports from boxing to Muay Tai.

She wishes to transform the group into a nonprofit and is asking for guidance on how to do this, especially in regards to legal terms.

She requests anyone with experience creating a nonprofit to reach out to her via the INMMAA account on Facebook, saying that this nonprofit will go a long way helping Native athletes get support.

A friend of Garcia she introduced to MMA is Dr. Glorinda Segay. Segay first began physical sports back in the sixth grade when she joined the wrestling team in Window Rock.

However, she didn’t get a lot of support back then and returned to playing basketball a year later. Now more girls are joining physical sports and she enjoys watching high school wrestling matches and seeing girls competing alongside or even against boys now.

More accessible

“I think it has become more acceptable,” Segay said. “I think the notion is a lot of people they just think if you get into a fight you get into a fight. What they don’t realize there is a technique to it, there is a way to go about things, just like any sport you have to study it, drill it, do it repeatedly, get the drill down and then it becomes second nature.

“I think it’s becoming more acceptable,” she said, “like my girl, she is 7 she is also studying jujitsu and Muay Tai and so she likes it.

“She goes against the little boys in size and age and I think it’s just awesome that the kids can learn it,” she said.

Segay became involved with MMA about four years ago after meeting Garcia.

Coming out of a bad relationship and raising two kids as well, Garcia started taking MMA classes to learn self-defense and also blow off steam.

She became adept with grappling, ju-jitsu and Muay Thai. She is proud to say at 42 she is able to keep up with the younger athletes at her gym and is able to choke out her opponents or put them in an armbar.

Her kids have also started learning martial arts as well.

Segay appreciates that they are taught to be respectful to their opponents and others, to take care of their equipment and clean their space, lessons that the kids take home with them.

They also practice Navajo traditions with Segay saying prayers in Navajo before each fight, praying for strength and protection from the Holy People.

Segay was planning to try competing, but the pandemic put a hold on those plans.

However, she supports Garcia’s vision of creating a nonprofit to help Natives.

“There are a lot of young kids like my son who is training for a fight and it makes me think, ‘Ok, I need to start saving money. What do I need to do? What the fee is going to look like? How long we’re going to be there?’ So, it would be very neat to get some help on the expenses,” she said.

Fighting for Natives

Another MMA athlete is Marisa Chavez, a Navajo who is just starting her career.

Her fight name is Diné. She wants her opponents and the crowd to know who she is and where she comes from.

She said it can be overwhelming to walk into an arena filled mostly with Caucasians who would cheer when her opponent walks into the ring with Katy Perry playing on the stereo.

But when she walks in, with traditional drums and singing playing, the room will go quiet and she’s reminded of the strength of being Navajo.

“My Native people showed me there is something to fight for, it’s just finding the right path to walk and mine is bringing attention back to my people on the reservation,” Chavez said. “Chinle is where I am from and I will always carry that with me. The fight is for them, the rez showed me there is something worth fighting for.

“I think with fighting, especially with Native people, we have so much fight and so much heart, we’re relentless and resilient…We’re still here, we didn’t fade away.”

Chavez grew up in Chinle, admitting to having lived a bad lifestyle as a teen before moving out to Kansas to be with relatives.

She faced alcohol abuse and bullying on the rez, but was able to find a love for her culture and one she hopes other young kids like her would find too.

While in Kansas she started boxing, finding an outlet for her anger issues and graduating as a good student.

She continued boxing in Chicago before finding a gym teaching MMA, which has become increasingly popular in recent years.

She gave it a try and liked it. She moved back to Kansas for a while before transferring to Albuquerque to fight and train at Jackson Winks MMA Academy.

Help for Native athletes

Even though the pandemic slowed things down for her, Chavez is still training on her own and is planning on continuing her MMA journey.

She hopes that Garcia’s group will get the support it needs so that it will help her and other Native athletes pursue their dreams.

At one point, she had to work five jobs in order to make ends meet while pursuing her MMA career.

For MMA, athletes pay monthly membership fees for the gym, personal nutrition and equipment that is constantly wearing out, especially after a fight.

For competition, they have to pay for gas, food, lodging, equipment, venues and if they have a training partner and coaches, they’d also need to pay for their time as well.

Having a nonprofit to help with expenses will be a game changer and could potentially encourage other Native people to try MMA sports.

Chavez remembers hearing people talking in the crowd about Native athletes, wondering if casinos sponsored them and saying other stereotypical things.

“What would be cool,” Chavez said. “Is seeing INMMAA on the back of a shirt, on the back of a robe, and to bring awareness that, ‘Hey, you guys, get together, and, you guys, stand behind one another. You’ll get backing and get something going.’

“It’ll be easier to get all of us Natives out there,” she said. ‘That’d be cool.”

Chavez said she is willing to speak with anyone on social media should they have questions about joining MMA.

Garcia, Segay and Chavez believe that MMA could prove beneficial for young people, especially on the reservation.

With trauma, substance abuse and bad living choices made, the three athletes believe having an outlet like MMA, or any other activity really, could help the youth to find focus, discipline and place to blow off steam.

People of all ages could learn from MMA, whether it is to blow off steam, stay in shape or learn self-defense, there is something everyone could take away from the experience.

The three fighters encourage people on Navajo to stay healthy, be active and make the right choices as they hope to one day bring MMA teachings closer to home.

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