Brazilian jiuJitsu for children
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that revolves around grappling and ground fighting. Most of the techniques focus on taking your opponent to the ground where you can control and look to submit them – they tap out. BJJ promotes the idea that a smaller, weaker person can use leverage, grip, skill, position plus tactical skills and problem solving to successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by successfully applying a range of techniques like chokeholds and joint locks.
Sparring/rolling is included in the majority of our classes (apart from beginners’ sessions) as it enables students to put what they’ve learnt to the test and many of our members participate in BJJ competitions throughout the course of the year – although this is obviously a personal decision.
Students are ranked depending on their level of skill and experience with children starting as white belts before progressing to become grey/white, sold grey, grey/black, yellow/white, solid yellow, yellow/black, orange/white, solid orange, orange/black, green/white, solid green and green/black belts.
Class Information
Our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes are for 6-9 year olds and 10-14 year olds and are friendly and educational. They give children the chance to make new friends and learn new skills. They also see the importance of working with others and respecting fellow students’ needs and abilities.
Each lesson starts with a warm up consisting of a mix of stretching (to improve flexibility) and some cardio exercises. Depending on students’ ages and abilities we then cover basic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu moves and, for older ones, look at how certain combinations are put together.
These lessons are specifically designed for children in order to develop their confidence, self esteem, balance, concentration, co-operation, co-ordination and, of course, fitness.
Sessions are a great addition to any child’s education and we hope that what they learn here will positively impact other areas of their lives. Parents are encouraged to stay and watch the lessons and see what progress is being made.
Sessions are led by Ricardo our head coach who is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and has many years experience of teaching children and young people.
Equipment
Children normally train with a gi which, as you can see from our BJJ photos, is a two piece judo-like suit and belt.
If they are new to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and don’t have a gi, then it’s fine for them to wear a t-shirt and shorts/tracksuit bottoms (with no zips and/or buttons on either item) for the first few classes.