Des Moines Jiu-Jitsu kid's club is dedicated to teaching kids the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for self defense and confidence building.

The major skills we work on are: focus, teamwork, control, balance, memory, discipline, fitness and coordination. All of these skill sets are learned while having fun and playing games.

Each class we learn common techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while playing games with other students. All skills are taught in a safe, supervised environment.

Ages

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great art for children as early as the age of 8. This is an age in which children show enough maturity to listen attentively and respond to directions.

We separate children into age specific groups to allow us to teach the older kids more advanced techniques without teaching it to the younger children who may not understand the risks of applying the advanced techniques.

We allow children as old as 14 years old. Due to the differing sizes of children as they grow it is hard to have a firm age.

As children outgrow the kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program, they are invited to participate in the adult program. We continue to charge kids BJJ prices until the child reaches 15 years of age (unless a part of a family membership).

Rules

Class Rules:

  1. Respect all other students, parents and instructors.

  2. All students who are on the mat are required to check-in at the front desk.

  3. No hitting ANYONE in anger.

  4. Competition is how we learn. Winning or losing is not emphasized, doing your best is.

  5. There is NO CRYING in Jiu-Jitsu. If you get hurt, rub it on the mat, it will feel better.

  6. Parents are welcome and encouraged to stay and watch class.

Safety

Due to the nature of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, we emphasize safety in every class. We feel so strongly about safety that we have a safety word that we share with parents and students in almost every class. That safety word is FREEZE.

When ANYONE in the class witnesses a potentially unsafe condition, they yell FREEZE. The children should all respond by stopping and raising one hand in the air. This should prevent the situation from going from bad to worse.

Uniform

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu's uniform is called a GI. It is a heavy uniform that provides handles for both classmates. The gi makes throws and control of your opponent much easier. Because the gi's can be a little rough on the inside, we suggest that all kids either wear a rash guard (explained later) or t-shirt under their gi until they get used to wearing the gi.

We will primarily be teaching the kids class in gi's. But we do occasionally have classes where we will teach with no-gi. On those days, we prefer to have the kids wearing rash guard/t-shirts and long sweats.

Rash Guard - A rash guard is what most people refer to as Under Armor. It is made from a material which wicks sweat away from the body. It also provides a great barrier between the gi and and children's sensitive skin. Most of the adult members have some form of rash guard and it helps tremendously.