It's not every day that a government worker trades in blueprints for BJJ belts after clocking out, but TxDOT bridge designer Marty Navarrette is mastering the art of balance in more ways than one. Recently receiving his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Navarrette's path from childhood dreams to state football hero to martial arts maestro is a testament to his enduring persistence and vitality. As an employee and now a "Professor" in jiu-jitsu, he's breaking the mold and setting a sturdy example for his colleagues and friends.
Marty Navarrette's childhood aspiration to be Bruce Lee seemed distant growing up in small-town Munday with martial arts access as sparse as the town's population. Becoming a pivotal player on the football field for the Munday Moguls, Navarrette leveraged his athleticism until he was 38. It was an online ad for a jiu-jitsu class that rekindled his martial arts flame, thinking it the perfect time to dip both his and his young son's toes into the sport. In a statement obtained by TxDOT's recent feature, Navarrette recalls the humbling initiation, "He destroyed me. He tossed me here and there in what seemed like forever."
The brief stint at the Childress school was soon over, which landed Navarrette practicing at home before returning to Munday. Now, his commitment, evident in the seven-day-a-week training schedule with several friends back in Childress, persists unchallenged. His health, already on shaky ground due to a family history of heart disease and diabetes, has seen vast improvement, crediting jiu-jitsu with a fighting chance at a healthier life. As Navarrette said on the TxDOT website, "I have a lot of heart disease and diabetes in my family," demonstrating the personal battles fought outside the jiu-jitsu mats.
The journey to black belt often extends beyond a decade, but Navarrette's hard-worn determination saw him attain the rank earlier this year, making him one of the few to achieve it in under ten years. His disciplined pursuit of martial arts has become a source of inspiration to those around him, from the four-year-old son who witnessed his initial foray onto the mat, to the coworkers who know him as a bridge designer by day. "I knew it would happen one day and it did," Navarrette told TxDOT, who now proudly carries the title of "Professor" in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
