Which Type of Martial Arts can Help Children Deal w/ Bullying
Bullying is still very much an issue, and for many parents who have been victims themselves, they tend to fear over the safety of their child while in school. Yet rather than simply agonize over the thought, many parents enroll their children in a martial arts class so they can at least know how to defend themselves against physical attacks. Other parents though are unsure if it’s the right thing to do, as they are also anxious about instilling violence and aggression in their children’s temperament.
Choosing the Right Kind of Martial Art Training for Your Child
Choosing the right kind of martial art for your child is the simplest solution to both worries. All forms of martial arts have structure in methods used in training students, as all types of combat sports aim to promote discipline and physical fitness. However, they differ on the fighting skills that come into play as a form of self-defense against aggressors.
Karate has more focus on combative skills like punching and other styles of powerful hand strikes. Taekwondo focuses on striking with punches and kicks but with special attention to movements targeting the upper body. Muay Thai is similar, but teaches multiple boxing and kicking techniques aimed at injuring the entire body of an opponent.
Braziliab jiu jitsu is a lot different because the main focus of this combat sport is on the application of wrestling moves in subduing an attacking aggressor. In the application of position holds, the purpose is to keep an attacker under control and not to inflict pain by way of injury. Inasmuch as the main reason why parents want their children to learn self-defense is to prevent them from becoming easy targets for bullies, it is quite common for parents to decide on brazilian jiu jitsu training for their children.
Other Reasons Why Many Parents Choose BJJ for Their Children
Brazilian jiu jitsu classes actually allow children to apply the skills they learn through sparring. That way, they can develop competency, while setting goals to achieve mastery. This stands in contrast to other combat sports training, in which sparring among students take place only after several months of training; whilst requiring students to wear heavily padded protective gear to avoid inflicting or to suffer from actual injuries.
Moreover, Brazilian jiu jitsu focuses on developing on the ground combative skills to promote better movements in protecting one’s body against aggression.
As young bjj learners learn to actually wrestle, they develop greater confidence and motivation in performing better. Nonetheless, Brazilian jiu jitsu also teaches humility, by learning to admit defeat by tapping. Here, the discipline is to be humble enough to acknowledge that one still needs to improve on his jiu jitsu skills.
That is why, belt promotions in Bjj classes for children tend to take place much faster than in adult classes. Children are normally less patient and tend to lose enthusiasm easily since they often have other fields of interest that they feel they need to catch up with.
As a final thought, enrolling their children for brazilian jiu jitsu is not intended to make future mixed martial artist out of them; but mainly to boost awareness on how their body can respond in certain situations, especially when there is a need to defend themselves. Developing that kind of awareness also leads to boosting their self-confidence in accomplishing physical tasks not only for combative purposes.
