Dylan Vargas talks martial arts career, accomplishments

From winning the title of Youngest Grand Champion at six years old to opening his own martial arts studio while he was still in high school, Dylan Vargas is a name known around Gallup. And now he’s got another title under his belt: a member of the 2023 U.S. Sports Karate Hall of Fame.

This marks Dylan’s fourth entry into a martial arts Hall of Fame. He flew out to Houston, Texas to accept the award Oct. 7.

In an interview with the Sun, Dylan explained what this latest achievement means to him.

“Being inducted, especially into this latest Hall of Fame, has just reached new levels and heights for my career. I’ve met so many great people. It’s really an experience I hold fondly,” he said.

Charlie Vargas, Dylan’s dad, got emotional talking about everything his son has achieved.

“I can’t even say [how proud I am] without tearing up,” Charlie said. “It’s been amazing. Words can’t even express it.”

BIG BEGINNINGS

Dylan started his career in martial arts at a very young age. He was a shy kid, and his parents enrolled him in the sport hoping it would boost his confidence.

“When I was three, I was just very shy, non-sociable. We would go to family functions and holiday get-togethers with the family and I would not associate with anyone,” he explained. “I was always hiding around my parents. … So my mom and dad enrolled me in martial arts to try and break me out of that shell and it was just perfect.”

Charlie remembers those early days of martial arts fondly as a parent.

“All the other kids, even the teens, would move around a little bit and fidget, [but not Dylan],” Charlie said. “He would be as still and stiff as a board because that’s what he was told to do. Everything they said he took it overboard and did exactly what they said….”

Fast forward almost 20 years later, and martial arts is a permanent fixture in Dylan’s life.

He attended Gallup Catholic High School, and when the school struggled to put together extracurricular programs, they recruited Dylan to teach martial arts when he was in eighth grade. He taught grades K-8.

Once he moved on to high school at Middle College High School, he opened those classes up to the general public. Two years later in 2016, he needed to open a small studio of his own because more and more people wanted to attend his classes. At this point, he was teaching about 50 students as a junior in high school.

Fast forward seven years, and he’s now teaching classes of about 200 students of varying ages. He’s moved his studio to three different locations over the years as his classes have grown in popularity. Currently, he teaches classes in the Rio West Mall.

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND

When he’s not teaching others his craft, Dylan is still out winning awards. He has won 1,167 trophies and awards, 81 Grand Championship titles, and 117 World Karate Championships.

He’s already done a lot in just 22 years, but as for the future, Dylan doesn’t plan on going very far.

“I’ve always heard my entire life from friends and even family members ‘what are you going to do in Gallup? Why don’t you move to Albuquerque or Phoenix, you’ll have more opportunity,’” Dylan said. “I’m thinking ‘I’m sure I could, but I want to do it here. I can do it here.’ Just because Gallup is a small place doesn’t mean big things can’t happen.”

Just because he wants to stay local doesn’t mean he doesn’t have big dreams though. He said he plans to keep doing what he’s doing and seeing what opportunities come his way.

Hollywood is one of Dylan’s big dreams. It came knocking in 2021 when an opportunity to work with actor and martial artist Bob Wall landed in Dylan’s lap. Wall often starred in movies alongside martial arts legend Bruce Lee, and he wanted Dylan to play a young Bruce Lee in a sequel to 1973’s Enter the Dragon.

Dylan accepted Wall’s offer and shaved his mustache in preparation to start filming in March 2022.

However, it wasn’t meant to be. Wall died on Jan. 30, 2022, and the movie was halted. Dylan said they may pick the idea back up again someday, but right now there are no concrete plans to move forward.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed. If the Lord permits it, then it’s right at the time,” Dylan said.

As for now, Dylan is keeping busy by teaching martial arts and self-defense lessons to the Gallup community. He also plans to keep competing, and hopefully, winning more awards.

By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor

Meet Camille’s Teacher of the Month: Ana Hudgeons

Ana Hudgeons, a history teacher from Gallup Middle School, is Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe Teacher of the Month for January 2019.

Hudgeons was nominated for the award by student council members she led on a trip to Gallup city offices, including the mayor’s office. She says that as the students stopped by Camille’s, some of them spotted the nomination box and put her name in.

“I was really surprised and excited [to be selected],” Hudgeons said Jan. 9.

Hudgeons says the students who nominated her said she was one of the teachers at Gallup Middle School who cared the most about their education and that she found ways to make her material engaging and fun.

In addition, she was praised for investing time in the school and community, and sharing new ideas and knowledge with her students.

Background

When asked what led her to pursue teaching, Hudgeons points out that she comes from a family of teachers. She is a third generation teacher, starting with her grandparents who hailed from distant countries, including Italy.

Despite this, Hudgeons says she has deep roots in New Mexico, reaching back to when the state was just a territory. She says, in the past, other members of her family were educators throughout Gallup-McKinley County Schools.

Hudgeons attended GMCS throughout her academic career, from Roosevelt Elementary School to Gallup Middle School, and then graduated from Gallup High School in 2006.

She went on to the University of New Mexico - Gallup. The initial plan was to study dentistry, but she eventually changed her major to history. This led to a love of learning, which she hopes to pass on to her students.

Connecting with the Community

Ana and her husband Ryan established RAH Photography in 2015. Hudgeons took a photography class in her senior year at UNM-G, spurred by a lifelong passion. Her first printed works were sports shots, which then led to wedding photos, photos of newborns, and photos for high school seniors.

“We use [RAH Photography] to give back to the community,” Hudgeons said.

Taking pictures at local sports events enables students to connect with Hudgeons outside the classroom.  In telling her story she says, “I’ve been to some of the events, and some of the kids will say, ‘Hey, you’re the photograph lady.’”

What’s next?

Hudgeons’ goal with teaching at GMCS is to inspire the next generation of learners and educators.

“If they are inspired [to keep learning], I know I’ve done my job,” she said.

Hudgeons believes it is more than history lessons that students learn in class. Students learn life lessons through material that is engaging and relevant to them. “I want to show them how [history] ties into their past, so that they can better understand their future.”

Hudgeons wishes to express her appreciation to Gallup Middle School, the Gallup community, her family and husband, as well as city leaders for continuing to support education.

She adds that she hopes that hearing from students will inspire other teachers, present and former, to give back to the community as well.

Interested in nominating your favorite teacher for Teacher of the Month?

Contact Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe at (505) 722-5017 or stop by 306 S. 2nd St. in Gallup.

By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent

The Gallup Amateur Baseball Softball Association elected new members to the organization’s Board of Directors during an open meeting on Dec. 12. The meeting lasted one hour and was held at Gallup City Hall.

Mayor Jackie McKinney presided over the meeting for about 35 minutes. Outside of folks connected to the league, nobody attended the meeting.

“This is the annual meeting that takes place every year,” McKinney said. McKinney is a volunteer announcer at some league games played at Ford Canyon Park. “When you leave this meeting, you will have new officers,” McKinney said to those in attendance.

WHO’S WHO?

Tammy Houghtaling was elected president; J.P. Madrid is the new league vice president by absentia; Amanda Carey was voted in as board secretary; Christa Raney remains treasurer; and Tommy Gonzales, Jr., is the president of league baseball. Madrid will also serve as the organization’s umpire agent. The board position as president of softball will be solidified at a later meeting.

Charles Lundstrom, who helps run a similar baseball league in Grants, attending the meeting and asked about bringing over two teams which’ll play in the Willie Mays and Pee Wee Reese divisions. The folks in attendance welcomed Lundstrom’s suggestion at the two teams joining GABSA. Lundstrom noted that the Grants summer baseball and softball league is going through some growing pains, saying the number of participating teams in that league has dwindled over the years. Lundstrom pledged to help out in whatever capacity possible.

“We’re very happy with the new board members,” Houghtaling said. “I think everyone looks forward to the start of the 2017 season.”

Raney noted that last year’s city league featured teams ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old. There were a little more than 1,100 participants in the league, which is comprised of baseball and softball teams, Raney said.

In existence for four years, the Gallup Amateur Baseball Softball Association, commonly called the “city league,” is very popular. At least one of the teams has gone to Puerto Rico to play in the past-season. That team lost both times, but players, parents and coaches have said the trips were good experiences for the kids.

The league games take place at city ball fields.

By Bernie Dotson

Sun Correspondent

USMC Corporal Jack raises funds for Toys for Tots

Meet United States Marine Corps Corporal Jack, better known as Travelin’ Jack, the mascot of the Delta Company of the USMC Reserves in Albuquerque. He’s an 85-pound purebred Olde English Bulldogge, and the adorable face who helps Toys for Tots, a local charity program that collects and distributes new, unwrapped toys during the holidays to children throughout McKinley County.

Travelin’ Jack left his mark, so to speak, Dec. 8 at the Comfort Suites, 3940 E. Hwy 66 in Gallup, when he lent a paw to promote Toys for Tots.

This was Jack’s second year at the Gallup event, where he helped raise funds by inspiring folks to donate unwrapped toys for local boys or girls this coming Christmas holiday.

Comfort Suites General Manager Ken Riege said the event has been a success over the past two years, and having Jack and his owner Jill Lane come out is a treat.

Riege, who has been with the Gallup Comfort Suites for the past 10 years, said the toys collected will stay in Gallup to benefit local children.

Riege has worked in the hospitality business for 14 years, but he’s also an Air Force veteran who served from 1985 to 1993.

He met Lane a few years ago and thought it would be great to have Cpl. Jack visit the hotel.

“We’re very pleased to have Corporal Jack and his handler Jill here with us,” he said. “We’ve had guests and several businesses donate toys, which was great, and even some chapter houses as well. It’s been a huge success, and we’re glad to help out.”

As a veteran, Riege proudly displays many service-related items at the Comfort Suites — and Jack adds to the honors on display.

“People ask me why I have all these memorabilia here,” Riege said. “I do it to honor veterans, and family of veterans, and Jack being here is another way to honor Marine veterans.”

Lane, who has owned the now 10-year-old Corporal Jack since he was 7 months old, referred to herself as “chauffeur, personal chef, agent/scheduler, and [the person] who is at the end of [Jack’s] leash.” In other words, she said, she handles all of Travelin’ Jack’s needs and affairs.

The beloved bulldog was at first a model, attending photo shoots for magazines and television segments, but when the opportunity arose for him to become the mascot for the Marines — the Marines’ mascot is, after all, a bulldog  — he jumped (literally) at the opportunity.

“Jack decided to do his civic duty and do his part for the Marines,” Lane said. “[Marines] say that they would love to have him and that’s how he got selected. Since then, he has been active for Toys for Tots.”

Lane said Jack loves to travel and visit businesses — he embodies the belief that no pet should be left behind while people go on vacation.

Lane likes to tell of places you can go with your pet and engage in fun activities. Jack, who was a shelter dog, brings awareness about adopting shelter pets and has helped raise more than $25,000 dollars for animal shelters all over the state.

When asked how his trip to Gallup had been, Jack said: Not so “ruff!”

For more information on Travelin’ Jack, find him on Facebook. Contact Ken Riege at (505) 863-3445. Find Toys for Tots on Facebook.

By Dee Velasco
For the Sun