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Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE
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Anyone got any experience putting their kid(s) in BJJ? Any hard-learned lessons, or tips you wish you had known beforehand? Thanks.

War is god
Last edited by: Crank: Aug 9, 17 10:57
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Post deleted by Duffy [ In reply to ]
Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Crank] [ In reply to ]
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Depends on the age of the kid and the school.

Any exercise is worth getting. We have 3 boys in junior high and early HS. Is brutally hard to get them off of the couch. #1 son has finally become a self starter and is running and lifting weights, but that is the culmination of years of encouragement. The younger twins are required to swim, or run, or lift weights every day. Or soccer or SOMETHING, as long as they do SOMETHING. Mostly all the boys want to do is sit on the couch. An awful lot of the kids in the Jr HS are fat. Is sad. Near as I can figure, a lot of parents suck.

I wrestled (poorly) in HS, and was involved in various martial arts, off and on, in the many decades after. So I have a feel for the various natures of the different martial arts. I've spent time in judo, but not BJJ. I've tried on a couple occasions to get the kids interested in tae kwon do by sending them to camps and classes. Ok, that's the preamble.

Most kids are very whim driven. That is to say what they want/don't want isn't very intense and it's not that hard to get them to change their mind. Imo a kid should be introduced to every sport available. Then see what the kid seems to like and help him/her stay interested in. It's so damn valuable to find an exercise activity that the kid seems to like, that the actual nature of the activity is a distant second in priority. Depending on the kid's age and the BJJ school, the kid might not get much out of it. Or the kid might gain all sorts of skills and self confidence. The important thing tho, is finding an exercise program that the kid likes, and if that's BJJ, open your wallet and make it happen.

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"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Crank] [ In reply to ]
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My 12 and 14 year olds boys have enjoyed wrestling for years, so you might want to try that. They both decided on their own that wanted to try it.
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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"At my academy I see a ton of 5,6,7 year olds and they are basically just in a baby sitting class and a cash cow for the gym. This is my personal opinion and others disagree with it. "


Agreed 100% on this. Our son (5) has been in Judo (with a healthy dose of BJJ mixed in) for about a year now. We decided to pull him yesterday when it became obvious that the class is just too out of control. Even with 2 instructors the class is a shit show. The shit show comes from 2 things: parents treating it like a daycare where they get their kids on the matt (if lucky..often times they just send them towards an instructor with gi in hand with the expectation that he/she gets their kid all set) and proceed to BS and screw with their phones until the end of class. The 2nd thing being (my opinion) a few of the kids are just out of control and it feeds into the rest of the class. 10-15 kids, a handful of which are out of control, 2 instructors, disengaged parents (who could help correct their kids if they were watching btw) = shitshow.

To be fair the dojo does the best it can but considering the age group (5/6 year olds) and all the other factors it's a mess. Our son is also done with it and wants to play more soccer etc so that helps.

We're going to start him back up when he hits 7 which is where the next age group starts.

I agree with you - total cash cow for the gym. $500 for 6 months x 10-15 kids...very expensive babysitting.


I will also say it's a complete bummer to watch these kids do some judo, look over to see if their parent is watching (often just the mom) and see that she is just staring at her phone and missed it.
Last edited by: Skipjack: Jun 13, 17 8:56
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Skipjack] [ In reply to ]
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I think that's an interesting perspective that a parent should be there encouraging their child every time they do something minor in practice. I get tournaments but IMO at some point the kid needs to develop an inner drive and discipline without looking for outside validation at every turn. They need to learn to turn inward to asses themselves rather than looking for external validation.

What you see as a parent not caring may just be a different parenting philosophy that believes the child is capable of validating themselves in rountine activities.
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Moonrocket] [ In reply to ]
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Moonrocket wrote:
I think that's an interesting perspective that a parent should be there encouraging their child every time they do something minor in practice. I get tournaments but IMO at some point the kid needs to develop an inner drive and discipline without looking for outside validation at every turn. They need to learn to turn inward to asses themselves rather than looking for external validation.

What you see as a parent not caring may just be a different parenting philosophy that believes the child is capable of validating themselves in rountine activities.

I don't share your optimism. I think most parents are like most people: distracted beings who indulge in an escape from time to time. Even if they're of a self-determining school of parenting, if they were really interested and engaged then they'd at least watch what their kid's doing instead of thumbing their phones for half an hour.

Anyway...

The Kid's first lesson is today. It's a private (per the school's policy on new students). They'll teach her a few basics and gauge her maturity (read: ability to participate in a group lesson). Then we'll start off month-to-month and see how she fares. Cross your fingers!

War is god
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Crank] [ In reply to ]
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Crank wrote:
Moonrocket wrote:
I think that's an interesting perspective that a parent should be there encouraging their child every time they do something minor in practice. I get tournaments but IMO at some point the kid needs to develop an inner drive and discipline without looking for outside validation at every turn. They need to learn to turn inward to asses themselves rather than looking for external validation.

What you see as a parent not caring may just be a different parenting philosophy that believes the child is capable of validating themselves in rountine activities.

I don't share your optimism. I think most parents are like most people: distracted beings who indulge in an escape from time to time. Even if they're of a self-determining school of parenting, if they were really interested and engaged then they'd at least watch what their kid's doing instead of thumbing their phones for half an hour.

Anyway...

The Kid's first lesson is today. It's a private (per the school's policy on new students). They'll teach her a few basics and gauge her maturity (read: ability to participate in a group lesson). Then we'll start off month-to-month and see how she fares. Cross your fingers!

Neither do I and all evidence, in our experience anyhow, is overwhelming to the contrary. It got so bad that the instructors had to pause every 10 minutes or so due to the students siblings also just running wild on the mat etc because the parents were too busy on their phones.

Overall a positive experience for our kiddo (he is taking a break for drum lessons and soccer) but a real eye opener when it comes to other parents etc.
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [Crank] [ In reply to ]
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My kids are not great athletes, but I insist they do something. I did have them in Hapkido and my daughter did well in that. The problem was I looked at the kids who stayed in it long term. They didn't do much outside. They'd travel once in awhile to practice with other masters but that was about it. I felt the dojo and master were good, but it also was a money machine. I want my kids learning a sport that won't cost them a monthly fee later in life. The master was sort of grooming kids to be instructors for other little kids and felt it was required to give back, while he spent less time at the dojo.

I pulled them out and got them in indoor rock climbing and on a local team. It was great. They met other kids, worked out aerobically and built muscle and we went on outdoor trips climbing outside with camping or day trips. It's something we do together and they do it with just their friends. If we travel, we'll pack our shoes and harnesses and try out other indoor gyms.

I'm not big on traditional team sports, mainly because I don't see anyone doing them once they are out of high school or college. I have my kids on the mountain bike team now. They are just beginners, but they'll learn something they can do all their life and enjoy the outdoors.

They've tried archery too. It wasn't very athletic, but it was fun and something I could do with them. So my take is not very positive on martial arts unless the kids really are into it and are getting some really good instruction.
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [damn lucky] [ In reply to ]
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All I can really add is this is a good read.

My daughter just turned 4 and we want her to start sampling sports. We are looking at gymnastics and maybe swimming lessons or ice skating lessons.

Gymnastics place seems to be a cash cow. You can do a membership which is $50 fee plus $55 a month (9 month schedule). Or $65 for a sample month. Doing the math and people pay over $500 for a 4 year old to do gymnastics??? Wow...needless to say we are doing the sample package.
Last edited by: AndysStrongAle: Aug 9, 17 12:54
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [AndysStrongAle] [ In reply to ]
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I suggest that you get her into Little League baseball and AYSO soccer.
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? [Crank] [ In reply to ]
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How old is your kid?

Remember that it's important to develop a variety of skills. Our daughter (now 14) decided on her own to go out for tennis- solid lifetime sport. She's done cross country, softball, and swimming. I've taught her the "big 5" in the gym this summer- she's gone from barely able to deadlift 40# to 105# for reps (brag there!) Really more of an academic, but she understands the importance of being active and in good condition. My boys' 13th birthday present will be a trip to the iron temple to learn proper squat and deadlift technique.

Mass kid classes/activities live and die on the instructors. My boys are in soccer- high quality program, and all of these kids are skilled and in shape (boys are 8 and 5). The older boy did the neighborhood swim league with his sister, little guy will join in next summer; again, quality instructors and well run by parent volunteers.

Older boy did 3 years of kids martial arts, and the instructor was good with kids and kept them focused and disciplined. I've seen other classes that are a zoo.

Bottom line- the instructor and parent engagement makes the class/activity, and make sure it's something the kid likes. Giving your kids the gift of fitness is priceless.

******************************
If I don't, who will? -Me
It's like being bipolar in opinion is a requirement around here. -TripleThreat
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [AndysStrongAle] [ In reply to ]
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I forgot to mention that you should volunteer to coach the teams. Kids love it.
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [damn lucky] [ In reply to ]
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It is interesting to me that you see the grooming of kids to be instructors as a bad thing. We do taekwon doe as a family and separely and this is also some thing our gym does, but I see the leadership training as an over all positive and something I appreciate them helping my son learn. I will admit some of it helps their bottom line when they use volunteer councillors for their paid summer camps, but that is happening more and more at for profit places I am noticing.

As a bit of an aside I am also a cross country ski coach and one of the things Cross Country Canada really pushes is that kid shouldn't focus on one sport until about 16 but instead should try different sports on all manner of surfaces, so running jumping, sliding etc to become better over all life long athletes. I have really taken this to heart and we have mixed up teaching him sports we know ( man biking, rock climbing, back packing) with paid programs. I don't care if he ever specializes so long as he stays active.

Ben
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [abies] [ In reply to ]
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My 12 year old son does wrestling, soccer, volleyball, and baseball (he loves to play first base).

My almost 15 year old son is doing varsity wrestling, soccer, and hopefully making the varsity baseball team as a catcher, pitcher, second baseman, and outfielder. He has played everything except first base.

The key is being there as a coach every day if you can or at least watching and cheering during the games to make sure that they know you are there.
Last edited by: jimatbeyond: Aug 9, 17 23:04
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Re: Kids' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? UPDATE [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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Replying in general (not to jim)

We have a 7yo girl and a 10yo boy. The girl is pretty easy, she enjoys doing activities, currently in swim lessons (for 4 years now), gymnastics, dance class.
The boy, he's a 'f*cking challenge. Wants to stare at a screen 12 hours a day. I've tried all sorts of sports etc and none hold his interest, he just wants to know how soon we can go home, drives me nuts. And unfortunately he is over weight too.

A few things I've done with him, still had to force him, but gets him away from the screen:
1. He has taken general swim lessons since he was 3, and we continue to make him do that. Lessons run during the school year, once per week.

2. Started him in taekwondo a year ago, and he goes twice a week. Hates going. Like most things, he has an OK time when he is there, but getting him to leave the house/screen...

3. During the winter, I take him skiing one day most weekends. He doesn't love it, but it gets him out of the house for several hours.

4. This Summer I bought one of those $250 single person cheap kayaks you can buy at home depot, and I take him to our open water lake swims. He paddles next to us, so usually gets him 2-4km of easy paddling. Again, have to force him to.

Its a big challenge and constantly stresses me out!
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