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Mixed martials arts studio helps at-risk Washington youths

By ROSE LUNDY, The Daily News
Published: June 25, 2017, 2:28pm
2 Photos
In this recent photo, youngsters work out at NorthWest Combat Fitness at the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso. Brittany Marquez is not a mixed martial arts fighter and only recently started to appreciate the sport, so she surprised even herself by opening an MMA studio.
In this recent photo, youngsters work out at NorthWest Combat Fitness at the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso. Brittany Marquez is not a mixed martial arts fighter and only recently started to appreciate the sport, so she surprised even herself by opening an MMA studio. (Associated Press) Photo Gallery

WEST KELSO — Brittany Marquez is not a mixed martial arts fighter and only recently started to appreciate the sport, so she surprised even herself by opening an MMA studio in Kelso just weeks after hatching the idea. Marquez believes NorthWest Combat Fitness will teach skills and resources to local youth.

When she first started to watch MMA fights five years ago, Marquez said she did not understand the sport.

“I thought it was a ‘tough man’s’ sport,” she said. “Then I got to understand it’s wrestling, it’s Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, kickboxing all combined into one sport. It’s not easy to do. . And it’s a discipline.”

Marquez’s fiance, Cesar Rodriguez, has been boxing for 13 years and says the sport taught him discipline and respect. Still, he never considered becoming a coach until he saw young neighbors looking to him for guidance.

“I had a couple teenagers come up to me that had troubled lives,” Rodriguez said. “They were thinking about joining gangs and asked if I was part of a gang. I laughed and said, ‘The only gang I’m a part of is my family.’ “

Rodriguez decided to show these teens a different way to gain confidence.

Over the past six months, Rodriguez has been training six high school students for free. Recently, the group was training at Victoria Freeman Park. Rodriguez was startled when they attracted an audience of youngsters. The teenagers, who had been training for months, took what they learned from the coach to assist these new students.

“Over the course of the two weeks, the older boys have almost turned it into a Big Brother program,” Marquez said.

Marquez started bringing Gatorade for the students and asked them to bring permission slips from their parents. And that is when she formed an idea.

Marquez opened NorthWest Combat Fitness mixed martial arts studio in the Three Rivers Mall. It’s meant to be a place for amateur fight teams to practice and is hosting a summer program for students ages 6 to 21. Three certified coaches will train their amateur fighter teams at night.

The summer program includes training in American kickboxing, combat cardio, Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai and will conclude Sept. 26. The cost is $300 per person. Classes are from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

“At first I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s a money pit,’ ” Marquez said of the business idea. “But the more I’ve seen my fiance work with these kids one-on-one and doing group training with them, and the more I’ve seen the need … It just turned into a different level.”

Marquez, who works 50 hours a week as a nurse contractor, had been saving to buy a house but decided to invest $5,000 into this project instead.

The Longview native wanted to give students in Kelso something to do in the summer that emphasizes discipline and community. A donation of $5,000 has helped sponsor 16 students by covering facility fees and paying for shoes, gloves and headgear.

“We cater to everyone, any gender,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t care if they’re gay, straight, black, Chinese. This is my stress reliever and it worked for me forever, and hopefully it works for someone else.”

When the summer ends, Rodriguez says the program will continue after school with additional classes on life skills such as driving safety and fire awareness.

Marquez believes she made the right decision to invest in the endeavor.

“After how much the country has been split apart, and how people have been feeling segregated, people just seem so angry,” Marquez said. “I think that this program is going to help with that too. Seeing these kids come together and you wouldn’t think it would happen, but it’s happening.”

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