Kids Jiu Jitsu

Kids Jiu Jitsu. As a parent or caregiver of a child, it’s important to you that your child has fun, safe, structured activities. You want to put them in an environment that is encouraging and empowering while equipping them with important life skills and connecting them with lifelong friends. The trick is finding an activity that does all this while also piquing your child’s interests, which we all know can be quite the challenge. The answer is in kids’ jiu jitsu.

When you are ready to introduce your child to the amazing world of martial arts, sign them up for kids’ jiu jitsu at Gracie Barra O’Fallon. Gracie Barra is the leading martial arts organization in the world and teaches principles of several different martial arts, including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, judo, and muay thai. Our programs for kids’ jiu jitsu are offered at a variety of times, with additional classes for other age groups. View our schedule or contact us today to unleash your child’s jiu jitsu potential.

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What We Teach in Kids’ Jiu Jitsu

At Gracie Barra, we do not see kids’ jiu jitsu simply as a physical activity. It is a lifestyle and an opportunity to teach children and teens and fulfill their needs in multiple areas. In kids’ jiu jitsu classes at Gracie Barra, we teach young people the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu way of life, from eating healthy foods to stretching every day and practicing things like honoring commitments and displaying sportsmanship.

Benefits of Kids’ Jiu Jitsu

Gracie Barra’s kids’ jiu jitsu programs are full of essential life skills and experiences that are integral to a child’s development. Introducing your child to kids’ jiu jitsu at Gracie Barra is one of the best things you can do for any child. Whether your child aspires to be an elite martial arts competitor or is simply shy or has trouble focusing in school, kid’s jiu jitsu classes will expose them to an extensive list of benefits that will follow them throughout their childhood and into their adult years.

Kids’ jiu jitsu teaches many values and skills, including:

1. Healthy habits. Enrolling in a kids’ jiu jitsu class has many effects on your child’s health. It gives them structure and models to them how being physically active can fit into their daily lives. Aside from encouraging regular exercise, kids’ jiu jitsu can improve sleep, teach the importance of a healthy diet, form proper warm-up and stretching habits, and more.
2. Physical coordination and body awareness. In kids’ jiu jitsu classes, your child will learn and practice technique and physical movements that require fine motor skills, balance, strength, coordination, and grace. It helps children become more comfortable in and familiar with their own growing body.
3. Goal setting. Like some other martial arts, jiu jitsu uses a belt system of progression. Every student, no matter their age, starts as a white belt. They start by learning and mastering the fundamentals. They must demonstrate their knowledge and ability in order to advance to the next belt. This is an excellent lesson in goal setting and acheiving. The extrinsic motivation of earning a new belt and the many small goals your child will set and achieve along the way will help them steadily master new skills and, over time, become stronger, faster, and more technical in their practice.
4. Humility. One element in any martial art is that of competition. All children should be taught how to engage in healthy competition. In kids’ jiu jitsu, your child will learn from their peers and learn how to accept both victory and defeat with humility. Their sense of humility will be key in their social and academic lives as well.
5. Confidence. Martial arts teaches kids to face their opponents and overcome challenges. They will soon learn that with practice and dedication, they can triumph over any adversity. As a child sticks with the sport and advances in skill, earns new belts, and wins matches, they will naturally experience growing confidence in themselves.
6. Focus. Just exposing your young child to a 45-minute class teaches them to learn to focus for a fixed amount of time. In addition, in Brazilian jiu jitsu you must be able to focus on and observe their opponent’s actions in order to react best.
7. Commitment and discipline. Participating in kid’s jiu jitsu classes requires students to practice restraint. Kids must fight urges to act out and instead choose to be quiet, respectful, and focused during class. Learning intricate technical skills requires discipline as well as determination and commitment to learning and practicing.
8. Respect. Kids’ jiu jitsu exposes your child to many different people from a wide range of backgrounds and lifestyles. They will learn to respect peers who are different from them by simply being around people who come from different places. Through the formal practices within BJJ, such as the rituals that come from competition and belt advancement ceremonies, your child will experience the feelings of receiving and giving respect.
9. Relationships. Kids’ jiu jitsu is the perfect atmosphere for building valuable friendships. While practicing a self-defense sport may seem distancing and isolating, in actuality, it is the perfect recipe for making friends. The large majority of practice is spent sparring and practicing with partners. Also, sharing mutual experiences, struggles, and triumphs brings the children in class closer together. In addition to friendships with peers, kids’ jiu jitsu exposes children to relationships with older students and coaches who serve as healthy adult role models in many children’s lives.
10. Practical application. Kid’s jiu jitsu is a martial arts field built around self-defense. However, unlike other martial arts, jiu jitsu has practical application as a self-defense tool. It does not rely on exact conditions or perfectly matched opponents to be useful. In kid’s jiu jitsu classes, you child will learn self-defense techniques that can actually be used to defend against anybody and any type of attack. When they practice, they typically do so at full intensity rather than merely going through the motions. This makes your child even more prepared to deal with real-life situations if necessary.

Enroll in Kids’ Jiu Jitsu at Gracie Garra

Expose your child to the countless life lessons and interpersonal skills and values that kids’ jiu jitsu is all about. Our instructors are both talented martial arts instructors as well as exemplary role models for children. They are perceptive to the sensitivities and needs of a child and know how to encourage them and give them the tools they need to succeed. Enroll your child today or learn more about our programs by calling us at (636) 544-3655 or contacting us online.