little kids in BJJ?

[kata guruma]

i went to visit a BJJ club recently and saw some little kids going at it. (yellow belts.) they went for armbars, chokes, all the good shit. is that safe for little kids though? little kids don't really know when enough is enough and could seriously end up hurting their opponent. in judo you have to be 13 to choke, and 16 for joint locks, (the competitions i go to, anyway.)

no doubt there are a shitload of little kids who've grown up on BJJ, mostly in Brazil where BJJ is the equivalent of Japan's judo. any of you been doing BJJ since a young age? like 10 or younger?

also, something i found odd. the fact that they were yellow belts. now i am not familiar with BJJ grading, but isn't the blue belt the 2nd belt? is yellow belt solely for young kids?

 

[dza76wutang]

i went to visit a BJJ club recently and saw some little kids going at it. (yellow belts.) they went for armbars, chokes, all the good shit. is that safe for little kids though? little kids don't really know when enough is enough and could seriously end up hurting their opponent. in judo you have to be 13 to choke, and 16 for joint locks, (the competitions i go to, anyway.)

no doubt there are a shitload of little kids who've grown up on BJJ, mostly in Brazil where BJJ is the equivalent of Japan's judo. any of you been doing BJJ since a young age? like 10 or younger?

also, something i found odd. the fact that they were yellow belts. now i am not familiar with BJJ grading, but isn't the blue belt the 2nd belt? is yellow belt solely for young kids?

It's not bad. The hardest part is keeping them on task. I taught kids BJJ their ages ran from like 7 to 12. They cry over little things like crossfaces or bumps, but nothing serious. They understand the gravity of submissions even at that age. Although in NAGA if you're under like 10 or so, subs aren't allowed.

 

[village_idiot]

I've always wondered this about little kids

Its probably a dumb question, but since their bodies aren't developed.... are there certain elements of jiujitsu that simply don't work at that age? Like the leg strength to hold another kid in their guard for example.

 

[Thaiboxer10000]

kids in thailand train with elbows headbutts ect, then fight. Very young.

 

[kata guruma]

kids in thailand train with elbows headbutts ect, then fight. Very young.

yeah i saw that in a documentary once a while back. serious shit.

 

[dza76wutang]

I've always wondered this about little kids

Its probably a dumb question, but since their bodies aren't developed.... are there certain elements of jiujitsu that simply don't work at that age? Like the leg strength to hold another kid in their guard for example.

Actually I never noticed anything like this. The biggest difference with kids vs adults:

1) Kids can't think conceptually, so you need to keep the moves super simple w/ lots of repetition

2) Kids are rubbery and recover fast, but are less tough mentally so they'll "meltdown" over constructive criticisms and minor bumps/abrasions

3) Kids lack the finer motor skills of an adult BJJ player so they often lack coordination when trying to do more "leggy" moves.

4) As for strength and stamina, everything is dialed down with kids, however, if they're feeling hyper, then they are more energetic than any adult could imagine being.

 

[NickNack]

kids in thailand train with elbows headbutts ect, then fight. Very young.

Uhhh, no headbutts in Thai Boxing anymore.

 

[Podgorny]

At my school, you have to be 14/15 to even start Judo/Jiu Jitsu.

 

[knoxpk]

Most guys that have taught kids actually tell a good tale. It seems that even small children are more careful than we might think.

That being said, I also wonder if teaching the submissions are a great idea so young. I am not sure a small kid can undertand the real consequense of a misapplied hold.
Worse yet, what if they "choke out" a kid on the playground that does not know how to tap out?

There is a reason children arent prosecuted like adults in the court system. It comes from mental capacity and intent. While fun to watch clips, sometimes I cringe when seeing young kids hitting chokes and armbars.

 

[YeahBee]

kids in thailand train with elbows headbutts ect, then fight. Very young.

and that is fucking clear cut child abuse, to risk potential brain damage like that should be a conscious decision you yourself make as an adult or atleast as a teenager.

As for kids and subs, it is a safety issue, I start to teach them younger then the limits for competition, otherwise other young judokas will ahve an advantage when they come of age but I do not allow randori with it because I want to supervise those sessions more closely.

And choking or jointlocking is serious business that can end up hurting your partner severly. I do not think kids below 11-12 are ready for it. they don't know their or others limits and are often not as observant as you should be

And introducing submissions too early makes it to be too much at the same time, they should focus on positioning, pins and escapes, good sense of that is the first step towards subs, I do several escapes/sweeps that is basically the motions of subs without the finish, or the same motion but with differnt grips. And of course teach proper technique for thros so that they later in life cna move straight into subs from a throw

 

[JerseyTrash]

Watching the kids class at my academy makes me realize just how uncoordinated little kids are, haha.

 

[neomosh]

my son is 7, is that considered too young to start?

 

[Afrofeet]

my son is 7, is that considered too young to start?

No!
I teach kids from 6 - 15 years old. We have 2 groups, from 6-10 and 10 - 15. Younger kids need more games, they need to play, we have some good excersize which are in the same time fun, safe and practical, but also we teach them positions and how to keep the guard. Young kids are very flexible and their ability to keep and recover guard are insane!

From 11 they can learn and train almost like adults, some moves from beginning needs to be simplified, but as the time goes and as they progress, they learn very fast and can perform almost every move. I have kids 12 years old and they are using delariva guard and some sweeps without any problems.
Just training must be maybe not so long like adults, kids lose concentration faster.
Belt are litle different for kids, yellow, orange, green. Green is equivalent to blue belt technicaly.

 

[Crazy Legs]

Depends on the kid and quality of the instructor really but in my experience kids are safer rolling with each other than adult whitebelts. They have a better attitude about bjj in general and don't an ego (which is positively correlated with injuries).

 

[the_Dark Knight]

at my academy, ive seen my instructor teach the kids class (youngest kid was about 7 or 8 oldest wast about 11 or 12) and what ive notcied the main problem is, as with any group of kids...DISCIPLINE. I hear him constanly threatening them with numerous srpawl, burpee, push up drills. Theres always a clown and always one who has a story thats totally irrelavent. I work at an elementary school, and really would like to start a team one day (when i become a teacher), and alot of the time i really want to help my instructor teach the kids, because after working with little ones for 5 yrs, im more equiped to handle them. As for the starting age for BJJ, i think any age is find to introduce basic concepts, your postions, and basic rolling and even attacks, you just have to teach the kid when to know to let up and when to give up. My girlfriend and I are expecting our 1st baby in a few mths, and i plan on getting him on the mat ASAP. As a baby i ll just practice rolling with him, when he turns 5 and up, well start learning attacks.

 

[teamcarvalhonj]

I started at 14 and my little brother started at 10.We crosstrain bjj and judo.IMO I think kids should not be taught subs at a early age.Let them learn how to control positions and learn takedowns.I go to Naga and GQ tournments etc and see litttle kids trying to perform armbars and chokes before they even have position, and then they get put in bad positions because their subs didnt work.There is plenty time to learn subs.

 

[bjjaz]

I think the kids should know the basic subs, but come on they really need to know position first like the rest (most) of us.

 

[gabranth]

thats why ill be keeping my kids away from bjj until,at least, thier puberty

 

[Mr. Switch]

Not trying to be a smartass but aside from the fact that a broken arm fucking hurts like hell kids generally do better with broken limbs than adults.

Looking at it from a pure physical point of view they're less likely to suffer full fractures. Commonest for kids is stress fractures, where the bone simply buckles and greenstick fractures where one side of the bone breaks and the other just buckles over (like when you try to snap a green sapling plant). Both of these are less likely to lead to neural or vascular problems as the displacement is minimal.

In terms of recovery they often take much less time to heal up (often just under a month compared to 6 weeks for an adult). Also when the bone re-models you have less chance of any lasting deformity. This is why kids need surgical fixation of fractures less often than adults. All this is due to the fact that they are still growing at a phenomenal rate.

The main exception is when they have fractures along the growth plate- which can either be perfectly fine or can fuck the growth of the bone up. This depends on how the fracture line sits along the growth plate. (If you're interested: Salter-Harris fractures - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

So in terms of long term damage a kid can do far less to another kid than an adult can to an adult. That's not to say that we should be allowing kids to break each other's arms but it's food for thought in the whole kids and submissions debate.

 

[Sonnyk]

my son is 7, is that considered too young to start?

My daughter is 7 and loves it.. she's going to a bjj summer camp in June.