How to Offer Parental Support for Youth BJJ Competitors Part 1: Pre-Competition
Part two of this blog post is located here.
Competition is a great way for dedicated youth Brazilian jiu jitsu students to test their skills, represent their team, and challenge themselves mentally and physically. But stepping onto the competition mat in front of friends, coaches, and hundreds of other spectators can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially without strong parental support leading up to the event. The coaches at Oregon Grappling Arts recommend the following pre-competition approach to ensure that your child has the most positive possible experience.
Before the event:
Don’t force your kid to compete in jiu jitsu. If your child is on the fence about competing, a little motivation and encouragement are great, but don’t force youth students to compete. Just training BJJ is physically and mentally demanding; having to compete against kids you don’t know in an extremely loud setting with a referee standing over you and everyone watching presents a much greater challenge and simply isn’t for everyone. The pressure of competing certainly promotes technical development and cultivates mental fortitude for many kids, but pushing youth students into competition could ruin the experience for them and may even cause them to feel differently about the BJJ training they once enjoyed. Unlike other sports, jiu jitsu competitions take place year-round, and at least every few months in the Portland area, so competition will always be an option for your child if and when it’s something they want to try.
Bring your child to watch their BJJ team mates compete before signing them up for a tournament. This will allow your child to both experience a jiu jitsu tournament without worrying about their own performance and make a more informed decision about whether competition is for them. Attending a competition will also give you, as a parent, a better idea of what to expect.
Explain to your child that choosing to compete necessitates a deeper commitment to their jiu jitsu training. In general, training once or twice a week will not adequately prepare youth students for competition. Part of being a supportive parent to youth competitors includes helping your kid understand that competition preparation requires hard work and dedication to their BJJ training. Be sure to let your kid know that they can’t control the outcome of their matches, but they can control the effort they put into preparing.
Don’t make your child lose weight to compete. Forcing children to lose weight to compete is unhealthy and unnecessarily stressful. As such, parents should choose a weight class that their child will easily make on the day of the tournament. Most BJJ events will not make allowances for kids who fail to make weight on competition day. In some cases, this may mean that your child will be at the lighter end of the weight class you select, but this is totally fine.
Read the competition rules, weight restrictions, tournament schedule, and uniform requirements in full. We’ve heard from many parents that they experience anxiety while their kid is competing in jiu jitsu. OGA coaches will take care of the technical and strategic BJJ coaching, but you may find it easier to follow the match (and less stressful) if you have a solid understanding of the rules and event logistics going into the tournament. ‘
Part two of this blog post is located here.
-OGA Staff
Oregon Grappling Arts offers kids’ jiu jitsu classes six days a week in Portland, OR. All classes are led by black belt head instructors Hannah Sharp and Eddie Jamrog. If you are interested in having your child try out Brazilian jiu jitsu, feel free to reach out to us. All prospective students receive a three-day free trial.
You can read more about our youth jiu jitsu classes here.
You can learn more about coach Hannah Sharp here and coach Eddie Jamrog here.
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