This class is every Thursday 3:30–4:15pm. The session includes about 35 minutes of structured lesson time plus 10 minutes of open play. BJJ Kids is for children whose attention spans are just good enough to start working with other kids. However, they still don’t have quite enough focus for the longer, more demanding Youth Class. If your child is still very shy or not ready to work with other children, then please check out our Li’l Ones Parent-Child classes! See our FAQ page for general questions about Solarte.
A GREAT ACTIVITY FOR KIDS
YEAR-ROUND PROGRAM
BJJ Kids runs year-round, even during the winter, spring and summer breaks. This sport is easy on parent’s schedules, too! Skip the grind of late practices and away games.
SKILLS FOR A LIFETIME
Jiu-jitsu is a great way for kids to develop strength, agility, determination and resilience in a safe yet challenging environment.
KIDS LOVE IT
Kids enjoy our program because the classes are fun and offer just the right amount of challenge. They love the Open Play Time afterwards!
A Family-Friendly Club (and a Note About Coaching Your Own Kids)
Parents and well-behaved younger siblings are welcome to hang out matside during the Youth Class. There’s a comfy chair to sit and read, do homework, draw, play games and nap. Parents often sit on the mats to watch. IMPORTANT: During the BJJ KIDS and YOUTH Classes, parents/guardians are welcome on the mats. HOWEVER, please DO NOT coach your children during the class. This is because the other kids don’t know who you are. This causes concern not only for the kids, but also the other parents. If you are interested in becoming a vetted assistant for the Youth Program, DO contact Jenn. We love it when parents get involved as a trained and recognized Youth Program Assistant!
BJJ Kids Program FAQs
For general questions, please visit our FAQ Page.
Yes! This class is perfect for children who have never done martial arts before.
IMPORTANT NOTE: At the instructor’s discretion, BJJ Kids may be invited to move up to the Youth Class depending on attention span and size. Around age 7 or 8 we often see very differing levels of attention span—our experienced instructor is always assessing the children to ensure they’re in the proper class for their level of development.
Jiu-jitsu a is one of the best sports for building confidence and coordination in kids. Our coaches are experienced at working with all kinds of personalities. Shy, awkward, and uncoordinated—all are welcome here!
For BJJ Kids, students DO wear a gi (jiu-jitsu uniform). Newer youth students who do not have gis can borrow a club uniform until they purchase their own. We recommend Elite Sports Kids Gis or Sanabul BJJ Gis for Kids which include a belt and are sold on Amazon. Both brands are of good quality and well-priced. We do not have a specific color so pick whatever you like! Club patches can be purchased directly from Jenn.
Either way, we highly recommend bringing flip flops, slides or crocs to wear when not on the mats! This type of footwear is easy for kids to slip on and off their feet as they go on and off the mats.
We do provide water, but many students like to bring their own water bottles.
CLEANLINESS: Please make sure your child is clean and wearing fresh clothing for class. They should NOT go barefoot when off the green training mats—wear flip flops/crocs/slides. This is important for preventing skin infections! Immediately before and after training, they should use the wipes provided matside to clean hands and feet. They should also wear a clean cover-up layer before getting into your vehicle to go home. It’s also important for them to shower and wash clothing after every training session.
Children SHOULD NOT come to class with any respiratory/viral/skin infections. Sometimes it’s better to NOT SHARE!!!!
FOR ALL AGES, COMMUNICATION IS KEY! We encourage children to communicate with each other and with coaching staff. It can be difficult and scary, but it’s an important life skill—better to learn sooner than later!
FOR CHILDREN’S SAFETY & HAPPINESS: During class, kids are allowed to take breaks at any time (but can’t leave the building unless accompanied by their parent/guardian.) All kids learn to tap on their training partner (or say, “tap-tap-tap”) whenever they want their training partner to immediately stop whatever they’re doing. Tapping is NOT just for submissions. Students do NOT have to train with anyone they feel uncomfortable training with. We do encourage them to make new friends, but only when the child chooses to do so.
Keep in mind, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a full contact combat martial art. Little injuries are to be expected during any type of sport. However, our style of training + open communication means injuries are rare at our club. We do have supplies such as bandages, alcohol wipes, athletic tape, etc. and are happy to provide them to children whenever needed.
We have a very informal training environment. We do have circle up and “bow in” and “bow out” as a way of clearly marking the beginning and end of class. Before and after class, kids are welcome to play and socialize together on the mats. They should be dressed and ready to go right at the start of class time.
The total class time is 45 minutes beginning with a short warm up. It’s usually an easy going game or skill-building exercise that develops grappling skills while getting mind and muscles ready.
After that, we usually teach a series of games and skill-building exercises that focus on:
- standing (both kids standing)
- escapes and attacks from grounded positions (versus a kneeling or standing person)
- movement, pinning and attacks from the top/back control positions
ATTACKS include sweeps (going from bottom to top position)and taking the back (controlling from behind). At this age, we don’t teach kids to finish submissions such as joint locks and chokes. However, they do learn the basic submissions as controls.
The instructors at the club are NOT gods, Yoda or secret wisdom keepers. It doesn’t matter if they’re wearing a black belt. They’re just human beings who love jiu jitsu and want to share this sport with others. It’s fine if kids call the instructor “Coach” or “Teacher”, but calling them by name is perfectly fine and usually preferred.
Traditional martial arts tend to make the instructors into kings. That can lead to serious problems including abuses of authority, weird culty behavior, and worse. Solarte BJJ stands against that type of creepy power dynamic. Our instructors tend to think of themselves more as jiu jitsu facilitators. We are here to help students have fun and stay safe while discovering and developing their own jiu jitsu. Period.
At Solarte, the children in the Li’l Ones and BJJ Kids Programs are NOT eligible for the optional “belting and striping” program. At this age, it is especially important to help kids develop internal motivation to learn and train. Once children are in the Youth Program classes, they can ask for an evaluation. Please visit the Youth Program page for details on belt promotions and stripes.