Your family has found Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, now what can you as a parent of a Gracie Jiu jitsu child do to enrich and get the most out of the experience? Here are some tips:
- Make sure your children are hydrated before class and have a water bottle with them during class. This means they can play longer, harder, and not end up with a headache after class!
- Arrive a little early to class so your child can get the full benefit of beginning with the rest of class and being properly warmed up. This also allows them to change gears from whatever activity or environment they were in before class to the proper attitude and frame of mind for Gracie Jiu Jitsu and self defence.
- Avoid sugary treats before class. They often negatively affect attention and physical capability during class.
- Help you child learn responsibility for their uniform by reminding them to keep track of their belt, gi top, and pants, just like you would want them to for other possessions. Their uniform should be something they respect.
- Help them in learning how to tie the belt properly. The belt coming undone is a fact of practicing martial arts, but any beginner needs to learn how to tie it properly.
- Let the instructors teach the class. Children need to learn for themselves the technique or game. Coaching from the sidelines or interjecting even if the instructor is not speaking can be a huge distraction for your child. You are suddenly in the class and trying to direct as well as their instructor!
- Trust your instructor’s methods and experience in the field. Instructors teach because it is really what they want to do! They are providing you the service of not having to learn the art in-depth yourself, not having to step into the teacher’s roll, and to not have to set different expectations for your child than you would as a parent.
- Bring any concerns or comments to your instructors. Instructors are always seeking to improve classes and direct feedback is the best way of doing that. You are the instructor’s primary source for outside of class knowledge and insight about your child. Just as you would met with your child’s school teachers, meeting with their Jiu Jitsu instructor is another great resource.
- Relax. You may not know what your child is doing in class or the activity may not make sense. That’s ok! Jiu Jitsu can look very different from any other martial art, self defence, MMA, or sport you have seen. Just like its challenges as will its benefits are different!
- Have reasonable expectations. Children will not master Jiu Jitsu in their first day. Adults don’t tend to master it for quite a few years! Your child could be processing something as simple as a new way to move or as complex as being able to follow physically from verbal direction alone. Even if they haven’t understood how to escape from basic positions yet, if your child is enjoying class they are learning.
- Don’t think of winning as the measure of a child’s progress. Sometimes losing teaches them valuable lessons such as no one wins all the time. It also give them an opportunity to look at what they didn’t do as well as they could have.
- Cheer for your child during sparring matches or at tournaments. Your cheering is an example of you being a supportive and involved parent. It lets them know you are happy for them to be doing BJJ.