Beyond the obvious physical benefits, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu assists with emotional regulation, social development, and building resilience in children.
Jiu Jitsu is a martial art originating in India around 2,000 BC based on the values of the Buddhist system of acting in a non-harmful way, showing respect, persistence, discipline, and the pursuit of self-mastery. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting, and submissions. It revolves around the concept that a smaller individual can successfully defend themselves against a larger opponent by using leverage and weight distribution.
Like most sports, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (or BJJ) can bring benefits such as improving your health, weight management, body strength, endurance, and core stability. However, apart from those obvious physical benefits, it can also assist with other areas of children's development.
Children with emotional regulation difficulties related to anger management, controlling their own emotions, or even identifying when they are escalating can find at jiu jitsu a place to improve and develop self-control. Training Jiu Jitsu at Rockstar Martial Arts gives the opportunity to experience challenging and even stressful situations where you are expected to remain calm. One of the axioms of this martial art is learning to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations. So children might get a bit stressed or panic for a short time until they realize that they need to keep calm in order to escape from that difficult position. Slowly the kids learn to reproduce this knowledge to other aspects of their lives.
Jiu Jitsu is a sport that requires teamwork. Children need a training partner to practice the techniques. They learn to trust their training partners, to communicate efficiently, to read body language, and to support each other in the training process. The interaction with other children of different ages, sizes, and backgrounds helps them to develop social skills such as empathy and tolerance. The shared experience of struggling together and improving together creates friendships that often last a lifetime.