Meet Alija Montes of Durham, NC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alija Montes.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story in martial arts started as soon as I could form a coherent thought…

Naturally, when you’re 6-years-old and very cute, all the adults ask you what you want to be when you grow up. The very first answer I ever had was, “I want to be a ninja!” Not long after decisively announcing my determination to become a ninja, my parents enrolled me in tiny tots karate classes for 4-6 year olds.

Since then, I’ve spent hours upon hours in martial arts gyms. Whether it’s traditional karate, tactical striking, or sport jiu-jitsu, my life has been defined by moving in a fight stance, the sounds of muscle slamming into pads, and the power felt when I get to toss someone’s body onto a mat.

Martial arts spaces were often the only place I felt safe in my fullness as a closeted trans, queer person. Even as a kid, I knew I was queer; and as a kid, it always felt like something that was supposed to make me feel smaller. I didn’t know I was trans but I felt it—I felt the expansiveness in my chest that felt suffocating at the time, but would one day blossom into new, radiant versions of being.

Martial arts gave me more room to breathe. I could tap into expressions of my queerness and my transness and it would act as tinder and spark to the fire inside my chest. That still remains true today as I am ever-evolving in the way I move through the world. Martial arts is a catalyst for both 1) being aware of what power exists in my body, and 2) growing the breadth and depth of the power I can generate. It is that endlessly empowering experience that I facilitate for folks who have lived experiences of disenfranchisement.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Before I became a martial arts coach full-time, I spent my entire adult life dedicated to facilitating leadership development programs for youth and adults. At the end of the day, my heart and soul are devoted to empowering individuals to claim their unique strengths and alchemize those strengths into becoming anti-oppressive and action-oriented community members. Everyone is a leader to someone, and no two leaders should look the same.

These values have often gone against our society’s norms of cisheteropatriarchy, white supremacy, elitism, and greed. Because our systems operate successfully when these power imbalances flourish, decisions made with abundance and empathy can feel like I’m failing because my success doesn’t look the same as everyone else’s.

It can be really discouraging to compare myself to other people. But then I remember that I’m not doing this like anyone else explicitly and on purpose. The whole point is to make sure people are able to access martial arts in a world where the average martial arts gym is inaccessible and unwelcoming to people I love and identify with.

When I see folks engage with martial arts with more fervor and passion because of the radical policies and processes I have, it makes it all worth it. After all, the key to our collective liberation is the capacity to create systems that do not rely on imbalanced or extractive power.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
[Not sure what category I should put myself in so I listed “Other”! Please change as you see fit.]

I’m a queer, transgender martial arts coach making martial arts accessible for trans folks, disabled folks, BIPOC, and all those with lived experiences of prejudice and oppression. Through play-centered, learner-led, trauma-informed learning, we learn how to strike and grapple to build presence and power in our bodies.

The way I teach martial arts is distinct in its focus—I combine the presence given from meditation or yoga with the strength built from sports or working out. When we’re able to integrate our internal experience with the feats our body is capable of, we transform our lives from the inside out.

When you step onto the mat with me, your learning is directed by you. As your coach, I teach you techniques and encourage your skill development only in collaboration with your goals, boundaries, and expectations. You’re the captain of the ship—you direct us where to go and how fast we get there. I make sure the ship is in working order to get us where you lead.

How do you think about luck?
I’m lucky to have had the resources to start this whole project! I was lucky enough to have just enough savings to start this endeavor. It’s a risk to step into an industry reliant on other folks’ engagement.

I’ve been lucky enough to find folks who really believe in my mission and my values to find me and stick with me.

To be connected with community is the gift that keeps giving, and the luck that never runs out. I feel extremely lucky to be able to tap into friends, acquaintances, even random group chats where folks believe in me enough to connect me to resources like participants, locations to train, sponsorships, and the like.

Pricing:

• Private sessions (for individuals or groups): $15-$50
• BIPOC only classes: free
• 3-week courses: $90-$300 ($15-$50 for 6 sessions)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://play-fight-move.mailchimpsites.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/playfightmove