Every child should learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - PART 3
Learning to move your body at any age is essential.
I never thought I would find myself in a position where I would vent like an old man and complain that “back in my day we used to always play barefoot on the grass”. Sadly, with my own eyes I have seen it to be true with the current generation. Kids on average don’t play outside or test their physical limits anymore, some are rarely even barefoot!
A few years ago I walked into my kids class one afternoon and decided to deviate from the standard warm ups in my lesson plan. I casually instructed my students to spread out across the mat and do some cartwheels to warm up. An eerie silence fell over the room... One of the girls stuck up her hand “Coach , I can’t do a cartwheel.” To my total shock I discovered that only 2 out of the 14 children present knew how to do a cartwheel. And the two who could only knew how to because they were put into gymnastics from a young age.
We then proceeded to spend the next 45 minutes focusing on cartwheels and handstands. For me this was a fundamental part of growing up and playing with friends.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is more than just self-defense and exercise.
In Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and grappling arts there’s no complicated training equipment. You have to get onto the ground barefoot and engage and move your own body while grappling with another body. Anyone that has experienced this first hand knows that there is something primal and visceral about the whole thing! From a physical and mental development point of view, rough-and-tumble play is a fundamental part of every mammalian species. Every species teaches their youngsters how to hunt, stalk, and move in ways that their environment will demand of them by “play-fighting” at some point.
Jiu-Jitsu therefore is not just merely a way for kids to get their heart rate up and something to fill the time. It’s a primal activity that can aid in their overall development. It gets them to explore innate movement like pushing, grabbing, pulling, balancing and falling. They do all of these movements while engaging with another body, learning to socialize whilst receiving sensory tactile input. They also have engage mentally and think through problems. Grappling as a whole is just a game of control vs. escape. And every situation requires them to be present and problem solve by using their body.
Making physical activity a lifestyle
I’ve realized that with some of the kids in my classes, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will probably be one of the only parts of their childhoods where they would come together with friends, in an open space with no distractions or screens, and where they will be fully present and barefoot, exploring, playing and learning how to use their bodies. If they stay consistent and it becomes a part of their routine they will form a strong relationship with moving their bodies , which lays the foundation for physical activity that can be built on for years to come.