I am not a parent. I don’t know what fatherhood is like firsthand, but I regularly teach kids and teens Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu here at NJU. When talking with the parents of our young students, I’ve joked that I do know what parenting is like . . . for the 45-minute class period, of course! So […]

Recently, I was considering what I should buy for a young relative of mine on her birthday. Now I’m already known for promoting martial arts frequently, so I didn’t get her a kimono or a pair of boxing gloves. After all, parents are ultimately the ones making the call on whether or not their children […]

In my last blog entry, I discussed the art of teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to young children, although I really only dealt with the tip of the iceberg. Yes, there’s a balance between discipline and play, and achieving it is critical to keep children coming back for more than one class. Discipline for the sake of […]

I have great respect for parents who regularly bring their young children in to our academy to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As a teacher of children’s martial arts, I’ve learned to be constantly aware of what type of instruction is right for what child at what point in time. In my early years of teaching, I […]

Day four started with the kids working their escapes from the bottom position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Class. We had a great game of king/queen of the closed guard, where students have to practice their sweeps from the bottom position to reverse their opponents. These kids are getting really, really good, it’s amazing to see […]

Check out some pictures from Wednesday’s Little Ninjas class!

Check out some pictures from the Little Ninjas and Spartans class from today. Instructor Derek is back from his honeymoon in Japan and taught a great Little Ninjas class. The kids practiced their boxing on their feet, upa escapes on the ground and did some situational drilling and “Sumo Challenge.” The Little Spartans got some […]

We had a great time this weekend at NAGA: Kids World Championships in Morristown, NJ. Little Ninja Zachary had an excellent performance today winning the GOLD medal in the Kids No Gi Intermediate division and the GOLD in the Kids Gi Intermediate (under 49.9 lbs) division. As the lightest and youngest competitor in the division […]

Kids MMA Classes in Totowa, NJ NJ United Little Ninja Zach winning by choke from the back at “The Good Fight” in Nyack, NY. Our Little Ninjas kids MMA program is for 5-7 year old students, the perfect age to start your child in martial arts. Our Little Ninjas learn important life skills (focus, discipline,  confidence, […]

Congratulations to everyone from NJ United Mixed Martial Arts that competed in “The Good Fight” in Nyack, NY Saturday! Everyone gave it 100% and left it all on the mats. We had our first Little Ninjas compete in the kids division today. 5 year old Zack had two impressive victories (one by a choke from the […]