Jiu-Jitsu Parent Keeping Kids on the Jiu-Jitsu Path
When I was a kid, we were inspired by Bruce Lee, The Karate Kid and of course, Rocky. Nowadays, as I think about kids and martial arts, I often wonder, what do they watch that would inspire them to train? There’s no more Bruce, Daniel-san, or Rocky Balboa. It seems that they would need to be inspired by their parents, the same people who guide them to the soccer field, ice hockey rink, or T-ball diamond. While many kids, with their parents’ blessings, might show an interest in martial arts, many parents don’t know where to start: What does little Joey train in and what school should he attend?
In comes jiu-jitsu. Young students can practice in jiu-jitsu and immediately have fun, improve fitness, gain confidence, and learn self-defense. Given this backdrop, let’s consider why a young boy or girl might consider jiu-jitsu. Further, let’s take a look at this from the parent’s perspective and how they can help provide encouragement along the way.
THE CHILD
The potential student might have an issue that he/she would like resolved by training in self-defense or the decision has been made that jiu-jitsu would be a great program to help shape his/her life. Here are the specific reasons why kids gravitate towards jiu-jitsu:
1. Personal Hobby. Many children are shy and have trouble making friends, while others do not care for team sports. Perhaps the answer is simply an individual sport that will begin building character and confidence from day one. Is there any better training ground than jiu-jitsu? With the right instructor and environment a kid can prosper. Having jiu-jitsu as a hobby can help transform one’s personal identity outside of school life and provide a sense of achievement.
Once the child grows and matures through the jiu-jitsu experience, the parents can, again, encourage other activities, such as the team sport they might have shied away from at an earlier age. With that in mind jiu-jitsu provides another benefit. If the child does decide to play sports in school, the jiu-jitsu training will be invaluable and will strengthen their mental and physical abilities to participate and succeed.
2. Self-Defense. Many types of martial arts systems offer anti-bullying programs which cover role playing, scenarios, physical assault, verbal abuse, and taunting. At some point, self-defense will be taught, but if the instructor’s technique lies in a kick or a punch to the face or body, rather than a controlled move learned in jiu-jitsu, the inflicted damage can cause a dicey situation after the incident. Jiu-jitsu training not only teaches kids to defend themselves standing up, but also against an aggressor if the altercation hits the ground and without doing severe damage.
Even more, there is a strength-building element in jiu-jitsu and being strong certainly doesn’t hurt when it comes to self-defense. Other martial arts training typically includes core exercises, pushups and sit-ups, but grabbing, pulling, and sweeping a body with weight similar to yours builds superior strength, fitness and mental toughness.
3. Fun. In competitive youth sports, there’s always the discussion about “having fun” vs. “playing to win.” Another great aspect of jiu-jitsu is that students can tailor their approach based on desire. If they want to simply go to the academy and enjoy the environment in class, that is fine. If the student wants to enter a tournament and finds that level of competition to be fun, it’s readily available. The key is that children can decide how they want to shape their jiu-jitsu hobby without others impeding the natural course for enjoyment. Even in class rolls, where there’s a bit of competition with a classmate, jiu-jitsu emphasizes learning over winning. Any good jiu-jitsu school will offer a kids program that encourages fun, good spirits, no pressure, and friendships.
THE PARENTS
Although one of the key attractions to jiu-jitsu is the individual participation for the student, parents are obviously still part of the process. One of the challenges that might arise from the jiu-jitsu journey is when a child loses interest, or perhaps becomes more involved with school, local sports and friends. Given that, what can parents do to help encourage children to stay with their jiu-jitsu training?
1. Set Goals. Inspire the child to stay with jiu-jitsu for a certain length of time or a level of accomplishment and then make a decision at that point. The old adage about “quitters never win and winners never quit” might not be fair for an extracurricular activity that could go on for years. Thus, setting a timetable or achievable goal and working with the child to stay with it until achieved, followed by a period of re-evaluation, seems reasonable. With that in mind, jiu-jitsu should not be all encompassing and it’s important that a youngster have a balanced life between school, extracurricular activities and down time.
2. Recruit a Buddy. Ask around and see if there’s another friend who might want to attend jiu-jitsu. This friend could come from the son or daughter or by parents reaching out to other parents in the community. After attending class and making friends, the child might find a new buddy to team up with.
3. Mentor. Children often look up to kids who are a couple of years older with more experience. Sometimes it makes sense to work with the instructor and discuss the child’s needs, after which a class mentor can be assigned to help with the transition into the school and along the way.
4. Collaboration. If a child is considering leaving jiu-jitsu, it would be good to have a conversation with the instructor about how the child is feeling rather than simply leaving the program. An instructor who understands the maturation process for a young student, emotionally, physically, and educationally, will listen and be attentive to the parent about their child’s needs. It might even be prudent to have the child take a solo private lesson or with a friend to get more one-on-one instruction.
5. Wrestling. Depending on the child’s interest in grappling, a wrestling lesson on the side could be quite beneficial to jiu-jitsu as a complement and as an incentive to stay with jiu-jitsu. The student might even decide to enroll in a more formal wrestling program at some point and train in both jiu-jitsu and wrestling.
6. Choose AN Instructor Wisely. Parents will want to observe classes and ask around about the instructor’s temperament and class culture prior to enrollment. Instructors should be encouraging, always praising, positive, and focused on building confidence. Safety should be paramount to anything that happens in class and should be a common theme that is discussed. Instructors typically insist on good sportsmanship and respect and although some might encourage tournament competition, look for a school where it is an option and not a requirement. The school environment should be enjoyable and fun, and kids like it when the class ends in some form of non-jiu-jitsu game, such as tag, dodge ball or team challenge.
Some instructors even go above and beyond and offer programs like special events, summer camps, school vacation clinics, press releases in hometown papers about promotions, patches for grades/class attendance/leadership, and sharing success on the website, social media and in the school.
Jiu-jitsu is a way of life. For adults, it can become a centerpiece for better health, conditioning and day-to-day living. But for young kids, it means something different: an opportunity for finding confidence and self-assurance. With parents encouraging their children to participate in a suitable jiu-jitsu program, under the tutelage of a qualified children’s instructor, the benefits can be plentiful for years to come.
