Children Training in Jiu Jitsu, Expanded

Ok, I have about a minute and a half to spare, so I am going to spew out my thoughts on children training in jiu jitsu:

I agree it has some great benefits-teaching children discipline and respect at an early age, and not to mention with jiu jitsu and judo, you are teaching children to not fear falling, which sounds odd as a benefit, but I believe most people are injured more than they had to be because they freaked out too much when they fall, trip, etc. If they had some training there would be less injury, less broken bones, and so on. It’s a great way for the child to defend themselves from the bigger, stronger bully they (hopefully won’t) have to meet.

I am also a supporter of getting kids out there and social with other children: it forces the practical application of respect, manners, and proper socialization and communication skills.

My only concern, and it is probably completely unfounded, but here it is: would be the assumption that other children would know how to properly defend themselves and the use of these techniques used on the playground. I don’t know about you, but our playground was actually a street that was blocked off in the middle of the day, not some cushy rubber thing like they have now. I would be concerned that a kid would go for a play osoto gari on an unsuspecting kid (or one that would claim he knew how to take the throw) and would end up in the hospital needing stitches in his scalp. Which is not fun. Trust me, I know from experience.

Please also understand that I have no offspring of my own, so I have no idea what to expect from darling little ankle biters. I also have relatively little experience with martial arts training as a small child (long story behind that, just trust me). I know you can teach a child, and tell them what to do and not to do, but children sometimes are just as prideful as their parents, wanting to show what they can do, or even just playing around like they do with their other friends at the academy.

And let’s be honest, did you follow absolutely every rule your parents made? If that were the case, there would be no such thing as time-out.

Or would I just be worrying about a consequence that would never happen? I know it deals a lot with the temperament and intelligence of the child, but I would still worry.

So those are my thoughts; when weighing the pros and cons, I would probably have my child train at a young age, but seriously impart on them the idea that it is for self defense, or the mat. Or something to that effect, just no busting kids’ heads open on the school yard and such.

Your thoughts?