Often, I get asked, “What is the best martial arts for a child or teenager?” As a blackbelt in karate and taekwondo as well as Brazilian Jiujitsu, and furthermore as a coach and all these titles, I will say it depends.
I’ve also tried kung fu in the past as well as part of numerous sparring clubs growing up. History – I grew up in the martial arts starting with Taekwondo at a very young age, received my black belt at a very young age and competed significantly around the country. Then as a young teen I switched to karate and continued such well into my college career, competing nationally and internationally. While in medical school I discovered kung fu, figured I’d give it a try. The teacher was a world-renowned teacher but just for me, Kung fu just did not work for me. My body structure and movement did not match that of a Kung fu practitioner. Finally, at the age of 30 I discovered Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Brazilian Jiu jitsu has been in my life for the past 14 years. So the answer to which is the best martial arts for kids, it all depends on the body structure, movement, as well as the goal. Some kids with long limbs may like Taekwondo. Some kids may like the kata and the intricacy of karate. Some kids might like the flow and movement and flexibility that kung fu / Wushu offers. Some kids like Jiu jitsu or wrestling.
Jiu-jitsu I believe is a very well-rounded martial arts and is very easy to do at full strength with minimal risk of injury. Another positive is less risk of concussion such as boxing or Muay Thai. Very rarely would you ever get a concussion in Jiu-jitsu. There are no strikes being trained in pure Jiujitsu class. Now if you’re training mixed martial arts, combining it with Muay Thai or boxing, then the risk goes up for concussions. But Jiu-jitsu itself has a very low concussive risk.
Mental benefits.
Mentally, it’s a great exercise, almost been described as a human chess. There’s a counter to other moves and there’s always new moves to be learned.
As far as for physical exercise, Jiu-jitsu as is wrestling, a practitioner can exhaust as much calories as a whole football game to a match of jiu-jitsu or wrestling.
Self-defense applications of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is great. It allows you to control the other person and you do get to spar, utilizing 100% effort therefore you know how to apply techniques against a resistive opponent, whereas other arts, you’re assuming you can apply those moves. And when time comes to apply certain said moves, you may actually cause more injury to yourself than others.
Jiu jitsu is also very suitable for older adults because of the low impact training. And remember Master Helio Gracie practiced Jiu-jitsu into his 90s.
There are many parts of the art that can be trained in many different ways and you could truly train Jiu jitsu into your older days.
Another very exciting factor of Jiu-jitsu is the concept of being able to cross train at other schools when you’re traveling. There are plenty of Jiu-jitsu schools and they’re always very welcoming you to the mats when you travel. The Jiu-jitsu culture is very welcoming and a big family. These are the benefits of training in Jiu-jitsu. Looking for "Brazilian Jiu jitsu near me", try out a free week on us at Global Brazilian Jiu jitsu.
By Professor Kevin
Global Jiu-jitsu