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The late Frank V. Sanchez is seen in this portrait photo provided by his son Frank Sanchez.

Remembering the sabum nim of Gallup

Categories: Students   Faculty   Staff   Community  

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Longtime UNMGallup martial arts instructor Frank V. Sanchez laid to rest at 82

By Richard Reyes, Friday, June 12, 2026

GALLUP, N.M. — One of the pioneers of martial arts in the Gallup region was laid to rest earlier this year, but he left behind a legacy as an instructor who taught students the art of fighting as well as the values and discipline that come with it at UNMGallup and beyond.

Frank V. Sanchez, who was an adjunct instructor for UNMGallup for more than 20 years, died after a long battle with prostate cancer on Feb. 14, 2026, in Gallup. He was 82 years old.

His son Frank Sanchez currently works at UNMGallup as a technical analyst for the Information Technology Department and continues to spread his father’s teachings through his own martial arts and fitness instruction.

“It’s an honor that I get to carry on his legacy,” Sanchez said of his father. “His style of teaching, the emphasis on martial arts for self-defense. Martial arts is meant to make you physically and mentally stronger. We push people beyond what they think their limits are.”

Memorial services for the late Sanchez were held at Grace Bible Church in Gallup on March 6, 2026.

Sabum nim of Gallup

Frank V. Sanchez was born Nov. 14, 1943, in Gallup.

Described as a “workaholic,” Sanchez worked as a barber at Deluxe Barbershop in downtown Gallup for 55 years in addition to several other jobs throughout his life, including owning a martial arts school and an upholstery business.

As an adjunct faculty member at UNMGallup, Sanchez taught self-defense, karate and eskrima, which is a form of Filipino stick fighting. He also hosted two martial arts tournaments at the branch campus.

Sanchez’s true claim to fame, however, was his status as the master martial arts instructor for the greater Gallup area. He was known by the title of “sabum nim,” which translates to “instructor sir” or “respected coach” in Korean.

“Martial arts doesn’t exist in this community or Grants, New Mexico, without my dad,” the younger Sanchez said. “He and his brother and one of my uncles brought it here and they started teaching it, gosh, back in the ‘70s.”

The younger Sanchez said his family’s martial arts lineage comes directly from the Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan Association out of Seoul, Korea. His father trained with an instructor from Seoul who spent some time in Albuquerque. His father also traveled around the country to learn martial arts.

“He really loved teaching”

The late Sanchez stopped teaching at UNMGallup around 2009-2010, which is when his son took over the martial arts program. But the younger Sanchez remembers training with his father at the branch campus.

“It was his favorite thing, coming here and teaching the students,” he said. “He worked all day at the barbershop and then was super excited to come and teach his classes here. He really loved teaching.”

Sanchez shared one of his father’s life lessons that stuck with him since he was in high school. He didn’t understand it when he was younger, but he found it to be more profound as he got older and has taken it to heart.

“You can’t always do what you want to do,” Sanchez said. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. You have to take on responsibility that maybe you don’t feel like you are ready for.”

Sanchez said that working for UNMGallup was more than a job for his father; it was his calling. Now, Sanchez carries that legacy forward by continuing to teach and mentor others.

Sanchez is scheduled to teach two courses during the 2026 fall semester: self defense law enforcement as part of the criminal justice program and cardio kickboxing for fitness as part of the physical education program.