For those unfamiliar with the martial arts—to better understand what grappling is, and why we believe that the martial arts, in general, should be a part of children’s lives, it’s important to first understand some key aspects of the martial arts themselves.

Hand-to-hand martial arts can be divided into three types—strikes, throws, and submissions—and while many martial arts concentrate on one or two, many others focus on some combination of the three. Furthermore, styles with similarities can then be grouped together.

Grappling, for instance, is a term encompassing a broad range of martial arts that are based in throws and submissions—such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling, and Sambo. These styles eliminate all striking from their rulesets and curriculums. Because of this, new students can focus on control, technique, and timing a bit easier than when fists and feet are flying erratically through the air; they become acquainted with the feeling of being trapped in uncomfortable situations, forced to rely on their ability to remain calm and think clearly; they learn to practice restraint and match the strength levels of smaller training partners, or to otherwise adjust their strategies against larger ones—all transferable lessons with valuable parallels in the real world.

Simply put though, the grappling arts are methods of controlling another person through means not necessarily based on strength, speed, or force—making them ideal martial arts for children to train in.

None of this is to say that striking techniques are—in any way—less effective or less important than grappling techniques. On the contrary, we believe in children having well-rounded training, and that striking techniques are—in many ways—very dangerous and effective. Whereas grappling most often requires two points of contact to cause harm (control and application) all that’s needed with striking is one—making strikes capable of causing damage in a much more sudden manner.

This danger is especially present in ’randori’ training (non-cooperative, full-contact sparring) and absent of any protective gear. Due to this danger, a student—whether a child or an adult—can never safely train striking techniques to their full potential.

Grappling randori, on the other hand, isn’t susceptible to the same dangers. There is a level of control possible in grappling that the nature of striking itself seems to limit. So even the most lethal of grappling techniques can be used to their full potential when practiced safely between experienced partners, thus creating an environment where children can fully test themselves—both physically and mentally—facilitating learning in a very unique and effective way.

For these reasons, we believe that children benefit the most from martial arts training that incorporates the grappling arts in some way. And although the lessons they learn through the martial arts might be learned in countless other ways; the martial arts—and the grappling arts among them—remain uniquely effective and time-tested vehicles for truly testing the limits of what we each think we are capable of.

Age Groups	Children Adolescents
Community Services	Arts & Recreation Recreation / Social / Sports
Health Services	Medical Health / Wellness / Nutrition
Treatment Services	Outpatient Services Social Skills
Payment Options	Low Cost / Donation

Last Updated: 01/25/23