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Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the ideal method of self defense for kids since it emphasizes leverage and technique over strength and power. This focus makes it possible for all children to excel, regardless of their size or athletic ability.
BJJ verses Other Martial Arts for Kids
For self-defense in the "zero-tolerance" school environment, Jiu-Jitsu at its core teaches positioning, control and restraint when addressing a self-defense situation. Other Martial Arts focus on distance and striking techniques to resolve a conflict. In this type of situation students are taught to hit back: Jiu-Jitsu, however, is the more humane option.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu enables practitioners to subdue their opponents without the use of punching and kicking, eliminating the need to use excessive force in a real-life self-defense situation. BJJ is a martial art that uses grappling techniques and is ideal for diffusing school fights. Nobody has to get hurt with Jiu-Jitsu. The idea of "tapping out" during training allows the students to keep their training realistic, yet safe.
For many children, self confidence doesn't come naturally. Confidence is developed over a period of time and as a child accomplishes new goals, his or her confidence level increases.
Children gain self esteem and exhibit confidence with their new-found Jiu-Jitsu techniques, but a good instructor will constantly stress, in class, the value of knowing when to use their skills--for self defense or in competition only! Kids with a high sense of self-esteem have the confidence to stand up for themselves, be more out spoken and more inclined to help others. The confidence gained allows their individual personalities to shine.
Being a Jiu-Jitsu student also means being a better student in school. Kids who participate in Jiu-Jitsu are proven to have better attention spans. They also learn respect, discipline and responsibility. They learn gratitude, loyalty, the importance of staying in school and keeping their bodies healthy and drug free. Every child learns to follow directions, pay attention, participate in class activities and work as a team. These skills help them to become better students.
Kids learn motor movement at a very early age. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu challenges the entire body, developing coordination, balance, agility and poise. These traits are often neglected and not fully developed in team sports. By starting children in Jiu-Jitsu they learn how to fall properly, and how to initiate movement patterns that are inherent to life and any sport they might choose down the road. We also begin basic fitness and calisthenics that will give them a leg-up on their peers who do not engage in fitness activities at an early age.
In Jiu-Jitsu, kids are ranked in a belt system (white, gray, yellow, orange and green) and within these belts they will earn degrees (4 degrees per belt). The belt system allows your child to set long-term goals (becoming a black belt) and short-term goals, such as being able to execute a new technique they learned in class, or achieving their next degree or belt.
Jiu Jitsu teaches children to think instead of panic in potentially serious situations as well as how to react to threats from other kids. Your child will also be taught not to be a bully. For life- threatening situations only, your child will learn practical self defense. They learn how to think fast on their feet, to improvise and avoid trouble whenever possible.
The skills your child will learn in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will empower and protect them for the rest of their lives. Early exposure to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is truly a great gift to your child.
As a kid, it is a perfect time to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because they don't have that awkward teenage stage where they might feel uncomfortable when training with the opposite sex. One important aspect that is so often overlooked by many styles of martial arts is the fact that women when attacked are usually subdue and taken to ground, so ask yourself this questions; how would only knowing how to punch and kick help you when you have a bigger, heavier and stronger man on top of you? Brazilian Jiu Jitsu deals with this specific question and makes it possible for women to even the play field when being attacked, giving them an opportunity to get away and get safe. The idea is not to try to fight back but to be able to remain safe and create an opportunity to escape.
Training BJJ as a young girl is a perfect time to learn the best self defense that would truly help them when they become young adults in high school, college, or life itself.
Do you Teach Katas?
No, Katas are often using in Martial Arts schools as a time-filler. Students in the Kids MMA program learn the importance of shadow boxing to develop proper form.
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