Program

Kids Class

Brazilian jiu jitsu for children aged 3 to 13. No hitting, no kicking. Just skill, confidence and a lot of fun.

Ages: 3 to 13, grouped

Striking: None at all

Trial: One free week

Supervision: Coach on the mat at all times

First, the thing most parents want to ask

Will this teach my child to fight?

No. And it is the right question to ask.

Brazilian jiu jitsu has no punching and no kicking. Not discouraged, it does not exist in the art. Children learn to control a situation using position, leverage and balance, which means the skill they build is the ability to stop something safely rather than escalate it.

That is why so many of the children here are the gentle ones. Their parents did not come looking for a fighter. They came looking for a child who does not feel helpless.

Why this works for the child who is being picked on

Bullies choose people they think will not respond. They are reading confidence, not muscle.

Jiu jitsu changes that in two ways, and the second matters more than the first.

The obvious one is that a child who knows how to handle themselves physically stands and moves differently. That alone stops most situations before they start.

The one that matters more is this. A child who has spent months in gentle, controlled physical contact with other children simply stops finding it frightening. The panic that makes a small confrontation feel enormous goes away, and a child who is not panicking can walk away, speak up, or find a teacher. Which is what we actually want them to do.

Nobody injured, situation over. That is the outcome we train for.

Why jiu jitsu and not another martial art

We are specific about this, because it is the reason the whole thing works.

It does not depend on size or strength

The art was developed by a smaller, physically weaker man so that it would work against bigger, stronger opponents. A small child can genuinely control a larger one. For a child who is being targeted because they are small, nothing else comes close.

It prioritises control over aggression

The goal is always to hold, never to hurt. Children learn that the strongest position is a calm one.

It can be practised safely at full effort

Because there is no striking, children can train realistically against a resisting partner without anyone getting hit. They find out what actually works, which is where real confidence comes from rather than the imagined kind.

What your child learns that is not jiu jitsu

Parents almost always tell us the change they notice first has nothing to do with self defence.

Focus. Learning a technique means paying attention to detail for several minutes at a time. It is a muscle, and it transfers to homework and the classroom.
Persistence. Nothing works the first time, or the tenth, and then it works. Children learn what it feels like to get something wrong repeatedly and keep going.
Respect. We bow onto the mat, we shake hands with our partners, and we look after the person we are training with. It is built into how every class runs.
Patience. Belts and stripes here are earned slowly and honestly, so children learn that some things cannot be rushed.
Self esteem that is actually earned. A child who can do something difficult knows they can do something difficult.

Class groups by age

Little Kids, 3 to 5: Movement, balance and coordination through games. Short activities, lots of energy, and the first ideas of jiu jitsu introduced as play. The aim at this age is that they love being there.
Junior I, 6 to 8: Real technique taught in small pieces and reinforced with games and drills. Children start learning positions properly and begin light, controlled partner work.
Junior II, 9 to 13: A more serious class. Full technique instruction, structured drilling, and supervised sparring against a resisting partner. Belt progression becomes a genuine focus.
14 and up: Teenagers move into our adult programs, placed by skill and belt level rather than by age alone.

What a class actually looks like

A warm up that looks like a game. A technique of the day, broken into pieces small enough to succeed at. Drilling with a partner. A game or a positional round to finish.

Coaches are on the mat the whole time, correcting and supervising. Children are matched by size and age for partner work, and nobody is ever paired with someone who could hurt them.

Questions parents ask

My child is very shy.

Then this class was built for your child. Shy children often do better here than confident ones, because jiu jitsu does not require performing in front of anyone. There is no routine to memorise and demonstrate, and no shouting. It is quiet, technical, and done in pairs. Tell us on the first day and we will pair them carefully and let them watch for as long as they need to before joining in.

Is my child too young to start?

We take children from age three. At that age it is coordination and games rather than technique, and the only goal is that they enjoy it. If you are not sure, bring them for the trial week and see how they take to it.

Will my child get hurt?

There is no striking, children are matched by size and age, and a coach is on the mat for every minute of every class. Bumps happen in any physical activity, but the structure of jiu jitsu is unusually good at keeping children safe while they still train properly.

What does my child need to wear?

For the trial week, a t-shirt and comfortable shorts or track pants are fine. If they carry on, they will need a gi, and we will help you get the right size.

Try a free week

Your child can train free for a full week. A week is enough for you to see how they are spoken to and how the class is run, and enough for them to decide whether they want to come back. That last one is the only assessment that matters. Send us a message with your child's name and age and we will tell you which class to come to.

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