10 Ways BJJ Will Bully Proof Your Child!

Unfortunately bullying is just part of the world we live in. But bullying at school is getting new attention, as researchers find mental health implications in the fact that as many as one-third of students say they have either bullied someone or been the target of bullying. Researchers also consider it important that some 70 percent of young people who have committed extreme acts of school violence such as shootings were later found to have been either victims or perpetrators of bullying in their schools.

Bullying is and always has been a natural part of childhood. And it sucks. There are many ways to help your kids avoid being bullied, but very few if any provide the benefits that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does. So how does BJJ help kids (and people in general) avoid being bullied? Here are 10 ways:

1. It toughens you up

Nothing makes a person tougher than dealing with adversity day in and day out, and that’s something that happens pretty much from the moment you step on the mat. But our training partners don’t grind us up out of hate -at least I hope not- but rather in an effort to both help us and themselves get better at life as well as grappling. You learn how to deal with and overcome pressure on the spot. Doing BJJ for any extended period of time WILL toughen you up. Period.

2. It’s a social activity

More importantly, people of all walks of life get involved in it. Yesterday I rolled with guys who were substantially older AND substantially younger than me, and we all had the same goal in mind, to improve our Jiu Jitsu and thus ourselves. Most bullying is a result of poor social skills both on the part of the bully AND the bullied. If you fear your kid may be a bully, sign them up for BJJ. Chances are, the douche bag filter (as Eddie Bravo says) that is Jiu Jitsu will help them learn to respect smaller, weaker kids. If you fear your kid may be bullied, sign them up for BJJ. They will learn that the “Bullies and limiting beliefs they may encounter in life are not as big as they thought and they can overcome anyone or thing with leverage and a cool head.  Either way the socialization that takes place in Jiu Jitsu builds very strong bonds, and when you’re on a team chances are you will have fantastic long term relationships with your teammates.

3. You learn how to fight (sort of)

A lot of BJJ is centered on “Self Defense”, namely learning how to close the distance in a street fight, obtain a clinch and then control your adversary. It also gives us something to do once a fight hits the ground -which most do. BJJ provides people a great way to easily neutralize people who aren’t trained in it-even if they are larger, and better yet in the event that you are able to successfully use BJJ in a fight, you are also able to control the precise amount of damage you do to the other person. Wouldn’t you want your kid to be able to protect themselves without receiving a bunch of damage from a “Slugfest”?

4. It’s a fantastic personal outlet

BJJ is a great outlet for frustration, aggression, energy, emotions etc. It gives your child a chance to take whatever we are dealing with and put it on hold. It provides us with a real way to deal with our feelings. Kids, particularly ones in middle, high school, go through so much emotionally that this is especially necessary. BJJ gives us a way to release those emotions in a productive way, making us more even keeled. Bullying is always an act perpetrated by the bully-er, but a calmer-more confident person is less likely to get bullied.

5. It WILL get your child in shape

People who feel better about themselves tend to be treated better. Not only have we seen great some greta strides in physical fitness for some of our students we have noticed a deeper appreciation for being healthy after training BJJ, no matter what your body is like naturally BJJ WILL allow you to be in better shape. People who are in better shape than average tend not to be as likely of targets for bullies, and they tend to feel more confident.

6. It lets a person really test themselves.

Being able to actually test yourself and really see what you are capable of will give you a certain type of REAL confidence based on REAL evidence that you may not have otherwise been exposed to. BJJ is one of the few martial arts that allows us to really push the boundaries of what we are capable of doing and in pushing those boundaries we are able to learn more about ourselves than the average child.

7. It negates size/strength of a potential bully.

I’m not saying that in extraordinary cases someone much bigger and stronger won’t be able to use that strength to effectively negate jiu jitsu, but the reality is that if you practice Jiu Jitsu chances are you will be able to outwork and out-fight a bigger and stronger person who doesn’t do Jiu Jitsu. And if they DO know Jiu Jitsu, well you may just have to make friends with your would be bully because you have something in common!

8. Respect for differences

There’s no room for prejudice on the mat. As you have to actively prove yourself against all types of people, you child will quickly realize that we are all equal in our shortcomings and potentials. The difference lies on how much work we put in to neutralize one and boost the other. This notion most often accompanies your child outside of training as well.

9. It gives kids something productive to do after school.

So many after school activities don’t actually build any real world skills. This doesn’t necessarily directly bear on bullying, but chances are if a kid is doing productive things and learning something really useful, they will be happier, calmer and more confident.

10. Last but not least: CONFIDENCE.

Jiu Jitsu is perhaps one of the best confidence builders available- as it is based on the evidence of being able to handle yourself in a self defense situation. As mentioned in numbers 1-9 Jiu Jitsu grants its practitioners many benefits that can greatly build a person up. Perhaps the biggest way Jiu Jitsu builds its practitioners up is by building their confidence. Jiu Jitsu presents its practitioners with many benefits. Younger Jiu Jitsu practitioners can enjoy being bullyproofed. What are some ways that jiu jitsu has helped YOU?