We were lucky to catch up with Heather Winkeljohn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?
My heroes are many. They are the special needs youth and teens in my program. It’s also the families that raise them. I have learned that these youth with special needs and challenges are some of the most resilient and motivated people on this earth. I am a mother to a 24 year old daughter who suffered birth trauma. The injury resulted in a massive stroke, leaving her with hemiplegia (a form of Cerebral Palsy). I spent years feeling frustrated and alone as a parent trying to navigate the never ending struggles that we face as special needs parents. I saw my daughter flourish and gain strength, self control and confidence, as she grew up and participated, in a our family, MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) gym, classes. Soon, she was executing one arm chokes with the only functional arm she has. I began to realize there was something to this often bloody and violent sport that many of us were failing to see. There was another side to MMA. MMA offers discipline, fitness, motor planning, compassion, self control and bonding. I began to see the value as it relates to those with special needs and for at risk youth. I decided to create a non profit in which the athletes who train at the Jackson Wink Academy (the professional and amateur fighting gym that my husband runs and trains fighters in) would agree to step forward and train any interested kids. My husband, Mike Winkeljohn, came up with a belt curriculum for the students to follow. The fighters who came forward either had family members with special needs or they had come from traumatic, troubled backgrounds. I began to see a transformation in the coaches and the students who they served. Students were getting stronger, more confident, and standing up to bullies. Students were shocking their physicians by developing in some case, straighter spines, more stamina, a sense of belonging and improved health. The coaches were now becoming the mentors that they never really had in their own youth. They realized their ability to positively impact this often overlooked group. Their students struggles were sometimes a painful reminder of how fortunate and blessed we are and how simple, daily tasks that we take for granted are often huge obstacles for their students. This coach and student relationship was mutually beneficial. I have never seen such brilliance, kindness, innovation and resilience until I began implementing this program. The program was healing for me. I met other passionate parents who shared similar struggles and pain as it relates to raising a child with special needs. The program exceeded any expectations I had. Disabled youth often experience isolation, frustration, physical pain, and anger. However, when they enter the world renowned, Jackson Wink training facility for their lessons, they are recognized for the adored, persistent, capable people that they are. The 45 students who enter our gym every month, learn Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing and impart life lessons to those they touch.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I met my husband years ago, when he was operating his own kickboxing school. I began taking kickboxing aerobics and American Kenpo Karate from him. We later married and between the two of us, we have 3 daughters. Fast forward years later, as MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) evolved, my husband and Greg Jackson formed a world renowned training facility, the Jackson Wink Academy. Fighters come from all over the world to live and train for MMA, in Albuquerque.
My husband and I also had a small, family, MMA gym for several years. I helped run this small, gym business and I began to see the value of MMA as it relates to my own daughter with special needs. That led to the formation of my adaptive MMA program, IncredAble Adaptive MMA ( a non profit) which serves youth and teens with special needs. They receive free lessons in MMA and free gear. I also began to see an influx of young girls entering MMA classes and the value of that is indescribable, in terms of confidence building.
I also began to be approached by women who were seeking self defense training for themselves or their daughters. Sadly, Albuquerque has a high crime rate and we are in the top 3 in the nation, for violence against women. I began to formulate a program, Smart Girl Self Defense by Jackson Wink, in which my husband and I taught classes. Most women are busy and didn’t have the time or desire to commit to regular classes like Jiu Jitsu. I also wanted the curriculum to be practical, fun and primarily based on escaping and avoiding danger. Today, I have a gym solely devoted to self defense training for women and girls, which includes fitness classes, self defense classes with guest speakers, and MMA training for those who seek it. The self defense class addresses very important concepts, like intuition, reading people, situational awareness and dealing with the freeze response many of us have during a violent encounter. I am most proud of seeing women who have experienced violence and sexual assault become transformed in these classes, into confident and resilient women. I also devote some of my time to helping people with their gut health. I became educated and certified in Functional Nutrition.
I decided to become a nurse at the age of 53, I now have my BSN and am an RN. It was one of the hardest things to do while running businesses. I love learning about all aspects of health and wellness and I suppose that is why I do what I do. I was very sick at one point due to the stresses associated with my daughter’s birth trauma and disability. My plan is to expand Smart Girl Self Defense with helping women achieve all aspects of wellness (dietary, physical and psychological). I want readers to know that it is from the acquisition of our scars and life lessons that we can become catalysts for change and we apply those painful experiences in a positive manner. By serving others, we help ourselves heal. I also want readers to know that you must become your own self advocate. Learn and educate yourself. Ask questions and never stop learning. Get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. My adaptive MMA students do it every day.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I think my resilience began as a child. My father died suddenly when I was 8 years old. Shortly after, I lost my grandmother to cancer and she was an amazing mentor to me. My mother remarried and we relocated to Albuquerque, NM. The man my mother remarried was an emotionally abusive man and we went through hell for about 9 years. Later after I received my college degrees and became a teacher, I got married and had my first daughter. During her birth, she suffered a massive stroke due to the misplacement of a vacuum extractor on her head.
My first husband was not able to cope with raising a disabled child and used his job as a means of avoiding reality and staying gone. We were divorced after 7 years. . Between the ages of 8 and 28, I learned so many hard lessons about the world; about loss/grief, loyalty and self reliance. I think fostering self reliance in myself and others has become the theme for and mission of my businesses. Surrounding myself with loyal and like minded people has been instrumental in my success.
We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.
My husband and I sold our small family MMA gym after several years. We had some health challenges with our younger daughter and we felt it was time to move on and unload our plate. The Coach who we were selling and transitioning the business to developed a bad drug problem. We began to hear about all the problems happening in the unique gym we created and nurtured for years. It was hard to see the decline of the business happening. I couldn’t let it go. I approached my husband and asked if we could buy it back. We ran if for a few more years and and eventually transitioned the family program to the larger, Jackson Wink Academy. We own the space in which the family gym resided in. Keeping the space and reviving the business was the best decision we could have made. It happens to be the same place where I now operate my Smart Girl Self Defense gym. My advice to entrepreneurs selling their business, would be, make sure you leave your legacy in good hands.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.incredablemma.org/ and https://smartgirlsd.com/
- Instagram: @incredablemma @smartgirlselfdefense
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68B_RXDJo0A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT759hW-QnY
