I had my girls in BJJ until the kids class was cancelled. They went through two instructors, both BB with two totally different methods. One thing they had in common though was that they kept the energy up and the amount of time devoted to one particular aspect of class was short. Meaning that if they were going over guard, they didn't spend all that much time on it.
If I was evaluating a class to put my kids in, I would like to see more position and transition, less submission.
As a parent, maybe I'll put them in competition, maybe I won't, but I'm more interested in their physical development. I'm not as concerned about the self defense aspect, like protecting themselves from bullying. In my opinion, bullies prey on the weak. You look at a kid that's been training BJJ, that kid is going to have good posture, good awareness and self-confidence. A bully is less likely to prey on them.
And also think of the kid that is now a teenager that has been training positioning and transitioning for years. That kid is going to be sick!
Now using this method, let's say you go over 5 things: closed guard, half-guard, spider guard, classic hook sweep & hip bump sweep. I know some of these are complex but you can spend 5 minutes on each, which will keep it active for them and varied enough to hold their interests. You've taught them fundamental BJJ and kept it interesting for them. Add conditioning and sparring, and you have enough for a class.
As an adult, I don't want it too varied. I want to keep drilling the same things over and over. I also want to spar, a lot! I don't think that's good for a kid.
