Dog Soldier MMA

Matching martial arts to the culture

By Brandon EcoffeyMultiple strategies have been employed by neighborhood organizers throughout the years to empower communities.

For Vaughn Buffalo Bull Lodge, who lives and works the south side of Minneapolis, Mixed Martial Arts is the chosen tool used to keep kids off the streets and protect Native women from the sex trade.

“There were a number of reasons why we got started, but the biggest was that there was an outcry from the community about the abuse of our women in the city and the high rates of prostitution. It wasn’t necessarily a threat from within the Native Community, but from outside cultures moving in and literally kidnapping women,” said Vaughn. “I had to ask myself, well what can I do as a warrior to step up and make a difference? So with my background in Martial Arts I thought that a MMA gym could be a great place where community members especially our women could learn basic self-defense,” he added.

The gym that Vaughn runs flies under the banner of Dog Soldier MMA and is located at 2929 4th Ave S, Suite 104 in Minneapolis. In addition to self-defense for Native women the gym now provides multiple programs for all members of the community.Comment:  For more on Native martial arts, see Muscogee Creek MMA Fighter and Lakota Black Belt to Teach Self-Defense.