Setting up kids for success in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (and life)!

There is an art to balancing discipline with encouragement. Make sure that your children are training with instructors who teach with this in mind!

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 quickly took note of two principles that are vital for teaching a martial art to young children:

1. Don’t be flimsy in terms of discipline. Teach, stay on-target with the lesson, and drill the moves again and again.
2. Don’t be a disciplinarian who tries to turn 6 year-olds into world champions every day!

Therein lies the critical balance that every BJJ practitioner needs, whether child or adult. You can’t make BJJ a chore or a second job. Now I’ve never actually seen someone who intends this to happen, yet it’s a natural byproduct of too much point #2. It can occur through a coach who’s obsessed with his young students being android-like medal-accumulators, or a parent who has rarely (if ever) trained, yet wants to live through their children’s skill and power.

“Praise your kids. Inspire and motivate your players with praise. Ten years from now it won’t matter what your record was. Will your kids love you or hate you?” – Jim Harrick

But the flipside is the kids’ martial arts class that becomes a lackadaisical babysitting service. In this case, the kids turn out happy as Spongebob Squarepants on a sugar rush, but you don’t know what they’d do if a bully put them in a headlock. You simply can’t be a flimsy coach or enforcer (an oxymoron if there ever was one). However, this can unintentionally occur in parents or coaches who know the dangers of the hard-nosed disciplinarian all too well.

The key is discernment. There are times to be a disciplinarian, and there are times to take a water-break and play some dodgeball. In my next blog entry, I’m going to delve more into this idea. And although there’s no quick-fix to balancing or discerning anything, the best you can do is to have your children learn from instructors who have years of experience in maintaining this balance!

JJ Mike

Come train at NJ United Mixed Martial Arts and take advantage of our 7-day free trial offer! Whether you’re an aspiring competitor or casual student, you will benefit from training in our friendly, professional, and ego-free environment. Call us at 973-638-1570 to schedule your first class, and visit us on the web at http://www.njunitedmma.com/ for more info.