Those kicks were fast as lightning

Sept. 23, 2024 

By Ginger Wilson

CHILDRESS — During the workday, you can find TxDOT employee Marty Navarrette at his desk designing bridges. What may surprise most people about Navarrette is he recently became a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to be Bruce Lee when I grew up,” Navarrette said.

Growing up in the small community of Munday, martial arts wasn’t an option for his family. A natural athlete, Navarrette put his athleticism to use on the football field as a member of the state runner-up Munday Moguls.

Following high school, he never gave up on the idea of one day training in martial arts, a dream he wouldn’t realize until he was 38 years old.

“I was looking on my phone one day when an ad came up for a jiu-jitsu class being offered in Childress,” he said. “At the time, I had a four-year-old son and thought it would be the perfect time to get him interested in the sport.”

Once he met the instructor, Navarrette would soon find a place in the sport he had been interested in all his life.

“The instructor asked me to step on the mat, so I took my shoes off and did.” Navarrette said. “He destroyed me. He tossed me here and there in what seemed like forever.”

Once the demonstration was over, Navarrette asked, “Where do I sign?”

The school would soon close and Navarrette would have to continue his training at home for a few years. He recruited a friend and would eventually go back home to Munday to train. He now trains seven days a week with several friends in Childress.

It’s a passion that has only strengthened over the years. Navarrette’s dedication to learning more about the sport never waivered.

“I have a lot of heart disease and diabetes in my family,” he said. “I had four uncles die of heart attacks and I knew this sport could help me stay healthy for my son. At the age of 51, I feel like jiu-jitsu has helped me win that battle so far.”

Weeks, months and years of training finally paid off as Navarrette earned his black belt earlier this year.

“Very few people can earn their black belt in under 10 years,” he said. “I knew it would happen one day and it did.”  

Now, Navarrette is considered a “Professor” in the sport and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. He may have never become Bruce Lee like he hoped to when he was a kid, but he’s an inspiration to his family, friends and co-workers.