Why I put my son in Jiu Jitsu

My son has done football and hated it. He has done basketball and I hated it. He is not into the arts like his dad and he doesn’t like school at all (he is in middle school)

I didn’t know what to do with him as my daughter was in dance and he was just wasting away doing homework and video games. He isn’t interested in anything else so I asked him to pick something or I would pick something for him. Now I know what you might say…don’t force him to do anything but this is my house and he needs to do something to keep active. Plus I needed something that wasn’t too far from me that I can get to in 15 min or less to cut down on all the afterschool driving. My neighbor came up to me one day and said, hey I’m starting a class in the fall (he started in August) and I would love for your son to attend. I ignored him at first because you know how people can force things on you and you ain’t got time or the patience for it but when he came to me the second time I seriously thought about it. He explained to me that Jiu Jitsu is not Karate they are two totally different things so I decided to put my son in to try it out.

Why I put my son in Jiu Jitsu

I actually put him in for one reason and one reason only. So that he can be active and do something…anything. Once a week isn’t bad for one hour for him to do something with his brain other than school work and video games. That’s the simplest reason as to why I put him in Jui Jitsu but he has learned some things. He went from receiving his white belt to his gold belt in a matter of 5 months. I am so proud of him!

White belt above

Gold Belt below

He knows how to break a finger

Get out of a choke hold

Fight off an attacker

Fall without hurting himself

The biggest thing he has learned to me is discipline. I love that he is set to a standard in the class. He has to put his shoes neatly in one place, he has to bow every time he goes on the mat and if he doesn’t…exercise. He has to respect his teacher and recite mantras. All in all, it has taught him to channel his energy in a whole new light and that is what I love most about this class. His class is small as there are only 4 kids in the class so it’s kind of private which gives him the one on one attention that I think he needs. I am not allowed in the class at all and the only time I can enter is when he is getting his belt. The youngest in the class is 5 and the oldest is my son who is 12. I am glad that I put him in! He has said he wanted to quit in the beginning but for the past few weeks, he hasn’t said anything to me about quitting so I guess I can take that as a sign that he likes it. What do you think?

Is your child into martial arts? Would you do Karate or Jiu-Jitsu? Do you know the difference between the two?