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Are you a parent with a child who’s more Karate Kid than Duplo builder? Maybe you’re thought, “Karate for kids might not be a bad thing to put little Susie in. She’s rough, she’s tough, and she walks around the house karate chopping the cat.”

Maybe you remember the line in the movie, The Karate Kid, “wax on, wax off.” Maybe you appreciate the wisdom of Mr. Miyagi and the focus and discipline he instilled in his student, Daniel.

Just about every parent knows that karate for kids is a good thing. But is it the only martial art that’s good for kids? More specifically, is it the martial art that’s right for your child?

Truth be told, I am a die-hard Karate Kid fan. I’ve seen every movie at least a dozen times, including the remake with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. I’m also a big fan of Bruce Lee and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the 1990’s, when my daughters were children, I enrolled them in Tae Kwon Do, a Korean martial art similar in many aspects to Karate.

My daughters learned forms and they progressed to each belt level almost like clock-work. They learned discipline and how to break boards. They learned some self-defense but not the kind that matters when you’re mugged and dropped to the ground.

As a parent, my martial arts options were limited due to the small military community I lived in; however, today you have many options when it comes to signing your child up for a martial arts program.

I wish I had known about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the 1990’s. This style of martial arts would have been a perfect fit for my daughters that complimented their standing game of Tae Kwon Do.

Jiu-Jitsu offers many of the same benefits that other martial arts programs provide children: focus, determination, exercise, self-defense, and lasting friendships both on and off the mats.

While many martial art styles rely on strength and power, Jiu-Jitsu, known as “the gentle way,” relies on leverage and provides the advantage to the smaller and often weaker opponent.

As a woman who’s trained Tae Kwon Do and holds a second degree black belt in Muay Thai Kickboxing, I didn’t believe the leverage and smaller opponent thing either. That is, I didn’t believe it until I decided to train Jiu-Jitsu.

At 5’3” I’m vertically challenged and my best weapon, my right Thai kick, is useless on the ground.

Important Skills Taught to Every New Jiu-Jitsu White Belt

When I decided to train Jiu-Jitsu, I learned the following skills beginning from day one:

• I learned leverage so that I could roll and submit a man twice my size.
• I learned how to not panic in a tight situation.
• I learned that relaxing into a defensive posture is much more powerful than tensing up and resisting my opponent.
• I learned how to create space to breathe when someone is trying to choke me out. As long as you can breathe, you can decide and commit to your next move.

These are just some of the specialized skills your child will learn in Jiu-Jitsu as soon as they begin training. Your child will also be taught the concept of “either you win or you learn.” When you child is rolling with his or her teammate, your child will either experience a winning submission or experience a learning “tap out.”

The Jiu-Jitsu skill set increases feelings of confidence and empowerment and if it ever came to it, the skill set and techniques your child learns could very well be life-saving.

If you and your child are ready to experience Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, contact Renzo Gracie NH. We’re located in Exeter and Salem, NH. Give us a call, 603-777-2775