These classes are an important part of the community at the gym. If you are a parent who trains, you will be encouraged to join class and share the experience. Our trusted teens are also encouraged to come in early to roll with the younger kids. This both makes them more comfortable switching classes when it’s time, and gives the best kids needed challenges. The teen class also has adults arrive early to train.
Our kids class (12 & Under) is modeled after the adult class, except it’s one hour. They go through the same warmups and a similar lesson. The last 20 minutes of each class is live rolling for 3 minute rounds. Every single roll is watched by an adult who trains, and pairs are picked carefully. I don’t push kids to compete, but fully support the ones who are interested. Our goal in the kids class is to familiarize them with good Jiu Jitsu and encourage them to have fun actually training. We don’t play many games. Self defense, confidence, and discipline are naturally occurring byproducts of actually training.
Our teenage class (16 & Under) is also modeled after the adult class. Again, they do the same warmups. If there’s a crazy cutting edge new version of the week’s lesson, the teenagers will be our crash test dummies. I would rather them learn how to do these things safely than watching a video twice and doing something silly. Also, they are more likely to respect a hard no in the name of safety. I will encourage your teenager to compete. Anyone who trains at that age either secretly or openly wants to be good. They will be encouraged to take every opportunity and problem solve and prioritize to get there. This is also the age where I encourage seminars and open mats.