Every child should learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - PART 1
When parents look at enrolling their children in a martial arts program, they’ll usually find a similar sales pitch. Billboards, flyers and websites all promote their classes like something straight out of Cobra Kai and a Karate Kid movie! It usually looks something like this:
Martial Arts will teach your child discipline!
We offer Self-Defense and can Bullyproof your child.
They will build confidence and self-esteem!
They will get active, fit and strong.
As a martial arts coach I agree with all of these statements! But very few parents ever scratch past the surface and ask me how? How exactly does training in martial arts provide and develop these key attributes in ones child? I can’t speak for other schools but in my next few posts I will break down how we approach these topics in our Kids & Teens BJJ classes.
#1 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is hard. There is no way around it.
I’ve been working with kids on the mat for close to a decade. And I continue to learn every day. The biggest challenge I’ve faced over the years has been finding the perfect balance of making training fun, easy and accessible to kids of different ages and physical abilities whilst still training in a live and realistic way to develop results. If training is too easy and “fun” kids enjoy it but are not being adequately challenged, or training hard enough to benefit and grow. On the flip side if classes become too hard and physical they soon get de-motivated and quit.
I’ve swung between both extremes for extended periods , yet I always seem to come to the same conclusion:
Wrestling and grappling with another human being is hard, challenging and uncomfortable!
And if I promise parents that their kids will develop skills, there are no shortcuts. At some point is going get hard.
Whether we are talking about a 4 year-old child or 20-year old athlete in their prime, grappling, wrestling and competing against another human being has always been grueling. As a parent it’s your instinct to want to make things easy and accessible for your child. If we can pay for the best coaching, and make things easy, fun and comfortable for our children we are giving them a head start right? But Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and functional martial arts like Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA or Wrestling are unfortunately different. At some point your child is going to face adversity and struggle, get a few bumps, bruises, scratches, cry, scream, fall down hard and find themselves in uncomfortable situations.
Yet this is where the magic lies! There is no equipment to hide behind. By participating in Jiu-Jitsu they will have to push themselves mentally, physically and emotionally. By toughening up, confronting their frustration and emotions on the mat and pushing through this adversity they plant an early seed of resilience. This perseverance will slowly start to show them that they can push through boundaries. They will realize they are more resilient than what they think. It goes without saying that these lessons are something they can carry over into all other aspects of their lives.
A NOTE ON SAFETY: Of course I am not advocating for an unsafe training environment for children. As an instructor every students safety is paramount. But just like in life and parenting, at a certain point too much safety becomes a crutch. I can only make my martial arts classes that safe until we start watering down the training, and we are no longer doing the real thing. At that point everyone loses. The coach is being in-authentic and not teaching the true art. The child is not participating in the activity they are there to do. They won’t go through the hardships and develop the necessary skills or reap any benefits, and the parent is wasting their money and their time sitting in traffic.
The point is that there is no way around the fact that Jiu-jitsu and martial arts training is hard and kids won’t always enjoy it or have fun. But it’s important to understand that this is the exact reason why it is beneficial. And doing it consistently will develop the discipline necessary to do hard things over and over again.
In my next post we will look at whether Jiu-jitsu can truly “bullyproof” your child and teach them realistic self-defense, or if it’s just an empty promise and sales tactic.