Throughout my career as a martial artist I’ve gotten many different looks at how safety is handled at a variety of Jiu Jitsu schools and other martial arts. Sadly, I have far more personal experience with bad or VERY bad examples on the topic (chiefly from the Jiu Jitsu school I spent my formative years at). The silver lining here is that those years gave me the insight to do this immensely better in my own school. While there is always a risk when doing any physical activity, most of the injuries I’ve seen are directly or indirectly related to how leadership has instructed their students on staying safe. Here are some of the things I put daily effort into that make my kids program a safe and happy training experience.
Fostering a Positive Culture
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practice is competitive by nature. Even in my most beginner kids classes we are always doing something where there are clear winners and losers. The way kids approach these activities and how they react to them is as varied as their personalities. Some take losing a game or a sparring exchange very personally. Some are really tunnel visioned on winning and might barrel through 3 other kids to achieve an objective. Part of my job is to foster a mindset where kids value the well-being of their classmates in any given activity. Few days go by where I don’t say some variation of the following things:
- “You can win without hurting your partner”
- “It’s more important to keep your training partners safe than it is to win.”
- “If you have to choose between losing and hurting your training partner, the right choice is to lose”
- “If your partner says ‘ow!’, ‘ouch!’, or ‘stop!’ you have to stop what you’re doing right away and make sure they are okay”
- “If your partner taps for ANY reason, even if you don’t understand why, you stop right away”
- “You’re a lot bigger! You don’t have to let them win but definitely don’t hurt them.”
It’s been my experience that all kids are very well intentioned at heart. They just need reminding of what’s important. Keeping a positive culture is daily work, but it’s an absolute joy to see my kids treat each other considerately and compassionately while still improving their skills and having a great time.
Breakfalling
The first thing I get new students used to is breakfalling and we practice it together as a group at the start of every class. Breakfalling is the practice of proper falling technique in order to reduce the wear and tear of practice and minimize risk of injury. Base animal instinct in most humans is to stop a fall with outstretched hands or elbows and this could lead to injury. The injuries I’ve seen from a bad fall have almost always resulted from poor/zero instruction or under emphasis in this regard (not in my school, mind you). Proper breakfalling technique disperses the impact of a fall over a wide area, keeps kids from letting their head hit the mat, and builds the confidence to take a fall (which may be the most valuable bit).
Being A Helicopter Coach
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a combat martial art after all. Kids can be pretty creative with ways to inadvertently hurt themselves or each other. Focus and vigilance from an experienced coach is the biggest part of the safety formula. The stakes are not terribly high but I have had a number of “dad saves” (a fun little YouTube rabbit hole if you need to kill a few minutes) in my time as a kids Jiu Jitsu teacher.
I am proud to boast that at the time this article was written there have been no serious injuries in any kids class at Living Art BJJ. With ongoing examination, revision, and updating of safety practices we hope to make that statement true forever.