What Jiu-Jitsu can do for your child

How the art helps children of all kinds, from the perspective of those who have experienced and guided the transformations - and a guide to knowing who to trust with the little ones.

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The subject dates back further than one would imagine. Back in 1948 a book came out by Carlos Gracie, titled Introduction to Jiu-Jitsu, in which the grandmaster expounded his reflections on the usefulness of learning Jiu-Jitsu at an early age. What's more, the patriarch warned of the dangers of growing up without the lessons of the gentle art, and even proposed Jiu-Jitsu as a sort of salvation from a good part of the problems young people face. To the skeptics, he would say that sometimes the solution is really quite simple, but the intricacies of our reasoning keep us from seeing it.

Thus, Carlos Gracie holds a discourse in Jiu-Jitsu. While still in the beginning of the book, he alleges to use the art as an educational tool. According to him, Jiu-Jttsu practitioners grow up without fearing the bigger kids. Carlos goes as fat as to say that parents should sacrifice everything to not let their children to be humiliated such is his faith in the sports' benefits. He also says Jiu-Jitsu is capable of dispelling inferiority complexes - and adds that, if adults who start practicing the art feel the benefits, they are even more pronounced in those who begin as children, as they will always he free of such problems.
Thus reason enough for teaching Jiu-Jitsu to children is presented-reasons that, to Carlos, and his followers, had been obvious for decades. These days children's Jiu-Jitsu is not last a reality, but an industry that fills academies worldwide. The reasons for signing a child up in an academy, however, remain the same. But what has been leaned about Jiu-Jitsu for kids in the last 60 years? What hypotheses have passed the test of time, and what new problems are teachers facing? Now adults, have former child - students truly benefited from Jlu-Jitsu throughout theft lives? GRACIE Mag consulted instructors, a psychologist, prepubescent students, proud parents and families to gather varied and convincing opinions, end demonstrate why your son or daughter is already at the right age to wear a gi.

Health

Pedro Valente is not a Jiu-Jitsu professional. However, at 69, this successful surgeon is proof of what Jiu-Jitsu can do for a person from several angles. Signed up at the famous Gracie Academy on Rio Branco Ave at 13, Valente was firs t a student of Joao Alberto Barreto, and late, of Helio Gracie - he too believed in a Jiu-Jitsu education for his four sons, two of whom are now owners of Gracie Miami, Pedro and Guilherme. Among the many aspects of Jiu-Jitsu to benefit the prepubescent boys (who, according to their father, upon birth, were given gis, and Vasco da Gama soccer jerseys), one of them is proper eating habits. "They don' t drink, don't smoke, never drank soft drinks, never ate candy," says the proud father. "They don't just follow the Jiu-Jitsu part of Hello, but the hygienist doctrine of Carlos."

When talking about Hello's disciples, one would be hard-pressed to find someone who started earlier than his son Royler, who starting at 7 years of age helped teach class, and now commands Gracie Humaita. To it's ail a chance to be a positive influence on the little students' lives. "It I ask a child what lie eats and he answers. `coffee and milk,' l show him my biceps and tell him he'll become strong if he eats papaya," he, cheerfully, says revealing one of his tactics. "That's how I was educated at home, and that's what I try to pass on."

Honesty, loyalty

The sense of right and wrong is a delicate subject in a child's development. But, with the proper orientation, a student should reach adolescence with a good idea of what it means to be good-natured, as the well-oriented owners of Gracie Miami explain: "The most important value I learned was to always do the right thing, without worrying about the consequences," says Pedrinho. When we suffer a physical attack, we develop the habit of, by way of Jiu-Jitsu, responding with the right reflexes. In the same way, when exposed to different situations in life, we should develop the right habits and reactions. We should act correctly the whole time, and not just when it's convenient. For example, children know eating sweets is bad for you. But parents sometimes say there's no problem in eating them once in a while. So I try to teach them the value of never opting to not do the right thing-starting with what they eat, and going on to the way they treat others: never lying, never disrespecting others, being good to those who are weaker without fearing those who are stronger, protecting one's self and defending those
being bullied.

Guilherme finishes. "Grandmaster Helio always said that there's no shame in fighting for what is right and losing - the shame comes in not fighting when you need to. Loyalty is also very important- Starting with my grandfather, our family never trained with anyone but Hello or a student of his."

Competitiveness, purpose

Red belt Joao Alberta Barreto was a great vale-tudo lighter, trained by none other than Carlos and Hello Gracie, who he met in 1951 -But he was also the instructor who taught the most classes in the Gracie Academy on Rio Branco, and has led a distinguished career in sport psychology since 1975. It's with this experience that he advises, in an article train 2007, of tilt benefits of the competitiveness in Jiu-Jitsu. According to Boucle, it's important to prepare the child for the world through competition, so they may have the proper conditions with which to face life's many challenges.

Friendships, contacts, adaptation

The environment in the Jiu-Jitsu academy can take kids a long way, even in the field of medicine.  No, you didn't misunderstand. The relationships kids develop with their colleagues can, in fact, define the courses of their lives. Ask Pedro Valente, and he will say: "Through The Gracie Academy I met Dr. George da Silva, the plastic surgeon with whom I initially learned plastic surgery in Brazil."

Psychologist Joao Barreto points out the fact that children also suffer stress from the hardships of adapting to new environments - like when they leave home for school for the first time, and he prescribes Jiu-Jitsu as a way of alleviating the stress, thanks to the exercise and self-confidence acquired through training.

A way to make a living

It makes sense that cases like that of Pedro Valente father (who saw success outside JiuJitsu, without ever having to stray from the Gracie doctrine) are noteworthy. But we should not forget that, with the constant expansion of the sport, Jiu-Jitsu has proven to be a dignified and prosperous vocation, as Pedrinho Valente tells us. "Grandmaster Helio always told me that being a Jiu-Jitsu instructor is the best profession in the world, because of the positive impact you have on people's lives," he says- "I never planned on being a teacher until I moved to the USA- When I was in college, I taught Jiu-Jitsu part time; basically as a way to train. When I graduated from the University of Miami, besides the Jiu-Jitsu classes, I started working in tele-communications. When I compared the two professions, there was no doubt that I wanted to wake up every day and help people through Jiu-Jitsu."