Aaliyah Naraì Garza:The Girl Who Was Told She Was Too Small Is Still Fighting for the Stage
Nominated by Aaliyah Naraì Garza
Aaliyah Naraì Garza was six when her parents enrolled her in karate. The smallest and quietest child in her class, she was being bullied, and they wanted her to learn how to defend herself. At 21, she is still practicing, competing and now teaching the sport that helped her find her confidence.
As a child, Aaliyah Naraì Garza, dreamed of standing on a stage and hearing a crowd cheer her name. Karate gave her a place to pursue that feeling, along with the training and discipline it took to get there.
Over 15 years, she has earned a second-degree black belt and five state championship rings. She was a triple crown holder in 2018 and competed at the US Open in 2022. Today, she is also an instructor at her dojo, helping students learn a sport she first entered as a quiet six-year-old.
Her life outside karate has grown, too. She is a senior at the University of Texas at San Antonio, majoring in kinesiology and preparing for Doctor of Physical Therapy school. She hopes to specialize in working with Paralympic athletes.
A first-generation Latina college student and the eldest daughter in her family, she carries a strong sense of responsibility toward where she comes from and the younger generations watching her. In her submission to DRAFTED, she described wanting to show them how the things they love as children can become part of the lives they build.
“Karate gave me confidence, discipline, resilience, community, and a place where I learned that being small never meant I was incapable of taking up space.”
Her next goal will take her into a different kind of work with athletes. As a physical therapist, she wants to bring the same belief in resilience and possibility that she developed through years of karate.
The sport remains part of her plans. She continues to train and teach while preparing for graduate school, carrying 15 years of experience into the career she hopes to build.
“It has shaped the person I am becoming,” she wrote, “and the physical therapist I hope to be.”
Follow her journey in karate and beyond on Instagram @karategirl_alyy.
