In the age of digital technology and the ever-increasing comfort of home, physical development has been put on hold. People have become so accustomed to communicating through electronic means, that they’ve become socially awkward. This holds especially true for kids.
Modern children have been exposed to this manner of behavior since the earliest age. They can barely walk before they get their first tablet and get plugged into the virtual world. There’s no more playing outside, in the dirt, with friends, or going over to someone’s house.
Most of the contact is artificial, including the time spent at school. This behavior results in children who don’t know how to move and are unaccustomed to their bodies. And Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the few things that can come to the rescue.
“Troubled” Youth
Let’s go through the typical day of a modern kid. It starts off by swiping at the tablet while having breakfast. After that, it’s another monitor at school, with the mandatory phone dabbling on breaks.
Back home, it’s back to staring at the TV, gaming console, or computer monitor, before wiping out the tablet in bed again. And the cycle goes on.
Social behavior is beyond the scope of this article, but it merits mentioning due to its huge importance. Humans are social beings and have been communicating face-to-face since the dawn of time.
Technology has taken us out of context so much that people have no idea how to actually talk to other people without a keyboard. From a health aspect, all the time spent on their favorite devices causes all kinds of problems with kids. All those hours on the phone destroy their eyesight, while prolonged sitting at the computer leads to a plethora of health problems.
Kids nowadays have little idea how to move about, they can’t even run properly, let alone climb trees or play more physically demanding games. Their bodies and their minds are deteriorating, and there is something we can do to help. It is as easy as reintroducing children to motion, using methods such as BJJ training for kids.
The Solution – BJJ Kids Training
Martial arts and sports in general, are a perfect tool for the development of children. They have been used for centuries to promote the development of positive values among our youngest. Sports in general give structure to children, teaching them first and foremost about their bodies.
Kids these days are challenged by the simplest of movement patterns. I have been teaching martial arts classes for kids for over 18 years now. With every passing year, I am amazed at how fast kids are losing touch with their physical abilities.
A new kid walking into class is almost regularly challenged by even the simplest of tasks, like standing in a staggered stance. Add to that an unrelated upper body movement and you’ve lost them.
The importance of martial arts in particular lies in the mental aspects of children’s development, just as much as in the physical one. Through involvement in martial arts, kids learn how to develop both mind and body.
The sooner they’re able to forge such a connection, the more time they have to perfect it. Complex movement patterns require as much concentration as they do physical coordination.
There are countless benefits to enrolling kids in martial arts classes. With a clear bias towards BJJ, let me present how the Gentle Art can help build incredible individuals from the youngest age.
Why is BJJ Good For Kids?
Almost every academy in the world has a kids’ curriculum and assorted BJJ kids classes. Teaching the art to people as early as possible allows them to develop into healthy individuals as well as fearsome grapples.
BJJ offers a different dimension to any other sport or martial art. It encompasses a variety of physical exercises, movement patterns, and technical lessons while instilling important virtues in children. BJJ kids belts also help teach structure and leadership.
The BJJ kids class starts with a warm-up consisting of basic physical culture exercises, which strengthen the body and get kids ready for class. Movement patterns develop the children’s coordination while teaching them BJJ-related movements.
The technical part of the class teaches a technique appropriate to the kids’ age and experience. Before the class ends, kids take part in a game involving all of them, making class a fun experience. The class is concluded with a strong message, delivered by the instructors in a manner that relates to the children.
It is clear that BJJ can offer lots of benefits for kids involved in it. Let’s look at some of the qualities it can develop in future generations:
1. Character
If there’s one thing kids develop when training BJJ it is character. Jiu-Jitsu teaches them to be responsible, honest, humble, and above all, respectful.
These are all virtues that seem to be lacking in modern society and that deficiency is growing more noticeable with every new generation. Building men and women with strong characters can only lead to a better and more grounded society.
2. Discipline
Martial arts have always been held discipline in the highest of regards. Probably stemming from the strict structure of Japanese and Chinese arts, military-like discipline is a staple of combat sports.
In all honesty, BJJ does not adhere to the army style of discipline but is just as effective nonetheless. The BJJ kids belt system provides a structure that yields discipline which presents as increased focus and attention in kids, while also promoting mutual respect.
3. Friendship
BJJ offers a platform on which kids can develop those much-needed real-life friendships that they lack nowadays. Meeting new friends in BJJ is unlike meeting them at school or in other social contexts.
The camaraderie developed through grappling training is a strong bond that very often extends into the personal lives of children. They tend to keep strong connections with their training partners outside the academy and in years to come. This epitomizes the human contact that is slowly fading.
4. Body Coordination
The most important physical attribute of all is the ability to control our own bodies. Muscles can be trained to grow and endurance can be developed at any point in life. Coordination, on the other hand, is a quality best learned at an early age.
When we are kids, we are very malleable and able to learn new patterns with both our bodies and our minds. BJJ uses the ability to develop as diverse individuals as possible, by implementing different kinds of patterns in class.
5. Self Defence Skills
In the technical part of BJJ kids classes, a huge emphasis is placed on self-defense techniques. This allows kids to develop the ability to defend themselves along with the confidence needed to thrive in life.
BJJ doesn’t create bullies or teach kids to fight. On the contrary, it focuses on creating individuals who are not afraid to stand up for themselves and others. It creates confident and strong individuals who can use their grappling knowledge to diffuse and control potentially violent situations.
The message delivered by instructors at the end of class enforces this way of behavior. The mats are no place for bullies, but they do bully-proof every kid that steps on them.
Sign Your Kid Up for BJJ Today!
Give your kids everything they need to grow into a healthy and strong individual, both physically and mentally. Enroll them in BJJ and watch as it transforms them through fun, molding them into exemplary human beings. Watch as they develop confidence, friendships, and a positive outlook on life through the lessons taught by BJJ!
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