Why Jiu-Jitsu?
Enrolling your child in a martial arts program has many known benefits. These positive aspects and benefits will impart powerful lasting lessons and positive lifelong memories. Kid’s Jiu-Jitsu programs in particular offer unique lessons and provide indelible benefits beyond what many other martial arts programs have to offer.
Physical Activity
Childhood obesity is a growing problem – and has been for some time. Children that are overweight are more likely to suffer from anxiety, low-self esteem, and to be bullied. Children who struggle with their weight are also more likely to be overweight as adults, and are at a much high risk of developing a host of health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Engaging in regular physical activity greatly reduces the likelihood of childhood – and future adulthood – obesity.
One of the first things a student of Jiu-Jitsu experiences is the physical intensity of the art. It is far more rigorously physical than more “traditional” martial arts such as Karate or Tae Kwon Do. Instead of kicking and punching the air, pads, or compliant partners – with no physical resistance – students of Jiu-Jitsu are moving their bodies in dynamic ways, against the resistance of their own bodies, similar to calisthenics training. As they progress in the art they will start to train more with other students and will face the resistance provided by a peer-partner offering 100% resistance.
Not only will children maintain a healthy weight while enrolled in an Kid’s Jiu-Jitsu program, they will also develop coordination skills, balance, and overall strength. Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that teaches and encourages all of these physical assets, the benefits of which extend far beyond the physical body and into the mind and spirit of the child.
Engagement
Jiu-Jitsu is nothing if not engaging. It is a dynamic and growing martial art, always evolving and changing as the sport becomes more widespread and professionalized. Jiu-Jitsu is often referred to as “physical chess” because of the sheer volume of techniques and variables thereof.
In Jiu-Jitsu there is an endless amount to learn, and for that reason it rarely becomes boring and there are always avenues down which to improve and grow. Unlike other martial arts, you don’t stop learning once you have memorized all of the kata or forms. It can truly be a lifelong path of growth, self-discovery, and mastery.
Jiu-Jitsu is unique among martial arts in that it doesn’t require strength, size, speed, or athleticism to become competent in the art. It requires attention to the details and applications of the techniques, which are based on balance, leverage, and using those to overcome larger and stronger opponents.
For children who lack focus and/or children who lack athleticism or interest in athletic activity, Kid’s Jiu-Jitsu can truly engage them in a way that is meaningful to them. Jiu-Jitsu can provide them with an activity that will foster a lifelong pursuit of self-mastery, discipline, and positive growth. This focus often carries over into their life off the mats: at home, in school, and later in life at university or in the workplace.
Goal Setting
Jiu-Jitsu classes – especially for children and adult beginners – always provide precise goals that are achievable with practice and effort. There is always a new technique to learn, a new position to advance, a new movement to master. Your child will actively experience the power of setting goals and actually achieving them. They will reap the rewards of this empowering experience on and off the Jiu-Jitsu mats.
Confidence
Being physically fit, actively engaged in a growth-oriented activity, setting and achieving goals … all of these things lead to one of the biggest benefits of Jiu-Jitsu: confidence. Your child will begin to believe in themselves. They will see and directly experience that they can enact positive change in their own lives.
Jiu-Jitsu is unique among martial arts in that it provides instant feedback as to the efficacy of the students’ movements and skills. Every day students are working with a peer group to improve their skills and receiving feedback that will allow them to fix their mistakes and improve upon their strengths. In Jiu-Jitsu these lessons are real, they are not theoretical. It is incredibly empowering to receive immediate and consistent feedback, and be witness to your own improvement through trial, error, and effort. Your child will learn that they are capable of doing hard things, receiving constructive criticism and feedback, and actually thriving and flourishing because of their effort and hard work.
This is really an invaluable benefit of martial arts. Confident kids are happier, less anxious, more involved in their school work, home activities, and family life and thus more successful in life overall. Not just hearing about the power that we posses, but actually experiencing it on a daily basis – on the Jiu-Jitsu mats – is a very empowering thing. It isn’t something that can be taught per se, but in Jiu-Jitsu it is something that every student learns first-hand.
Self-Defense
Before Jiu-Jitsu was a popular sport, it was a primarily a method of self-defense. It was created by Helio Gracie, a frail and sickly young man who learned to use the techniques and leverages of Judo newaza (ground grappling) to overcome larger and stronger opponents. The techniques he developed and taught were literally honed on the streets of Rio, in self-defense situations and hand-to-hand combat in the form of organized fights inside of academies and spectator venues.
This core of Jiu-Jitsu as a reality-based self-defense art still remains. Your child will learn to defend themselves against physical attack, and to do so in the most nonviolent way possible: through the control of their own body in order to control their attacker and render them unable to strike or hurt them. All of this without teaching punching, kicking, or other physically damaging or potentially life-threatening techniques.
In addition to learning how to defend against physical attack, your child will learn how to avoid and deescalate conflict before it becomes physical. Jiu-Jitsu truly is the best method of self-defense, both because it is among the most effective and also because it emphasizes grappling over striking, thus lowering the possibility for serious injury for the defender and attacker alike.
Fun!
Last but definitely not least, Jiu-Jitsu is fun! Your child will be engaged in a fun activity with a group of diverse peers, all training and learning together. They will forge friendships on the mat that will extend off the mats and into their later years. They will learn the power of cooperation and teamwork, as well as the humility and respect required to form mutual friendships and meaningful relationships. Social activities with peers generate confidence and happiness. They considerably lower the risk of anxiety, depression, and being bullied.
Why Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu?
The Kid’s Jiu-Jitsu program at Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu is taught by Coach Karen Vieth. Karen has over a decade of experience working with and teaching children within the Madison Metropolitan School District, as well as teaching kids martial arts classes. Her diverse experience and background makes her uniquely qualified to lead this program.
Additionally, Karen is well-versed in the curriculum of our Professor, Caio Terra. Karen has been studying and teaching this curriculum for over two years and has successfully competed many times throughout her career.
The curriculum we teach at Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu was specifically designed by 12x World Champion Professor Caio Terra to ensure well-rounded competency in the art and sport of Jiu-Jitsu. Our curriculum has been successfully implemented in many CTA affiliated academies around the world and has been successfully tested at the highest levels of the sport.
Sign your child up for a Free Trial today, give them the tools to succeed and flourish in their life, and discover the benefits for yourself!