how young is too young to begin grappling\joint locks?

[tke010]

I would like to know what everyone thinks is the best age to begin grappling\joint lockups?

I say 13 yrs old, but keeping it extremely light to not affect the growing joints (ankles, knees, shoulders, fingers,...)

and only if the 13 yr old shows a good level of maturity and respect.

I am asking because i drove by a school that was teaching UFC type techniques to kids that looked 7-8 years old .

i was shocked, but maybe I'm just old school?

am i wrong?

[pineapple]

My friend teaches BJJ to young children but they roll only to the point of getting the best position. The children are not allowed to do submissions to each other, however I feel that it is alright to do submission drills as long as they are closely supervised.

[bushido_man96]

If you can teach a level of control, I don't think any of these ages are too young. Kids start wrestling at around the age of 7, if not younger. The problem is teaching the joint locks/submissions. If you can get them to control them, it won't be a problem.

[ps1]

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, Judo is the safest sport for childeren of all ages.

[AngelaG]

I think as long as the class is well controlled then age should not be a factor. The class needs to understand that tap means realease *now*, and that the pressure needs to be applied very gently. They also have to realise that they should not be heroes when it comes to the tap and hold out.. instead tap as soon as the technique starts to work.

As long as the class is run in this manner then there should be no damage to developing joints. The main problems occur from things like knuckle push ups, and bunny hops.

[parkerlineage]

My sensei was showing some grappling moves to our Summer Camp (Ages 5-12). He seemed cool with it, but I was worried! Little kids are mendable, yes, but they also have no cause and effect - I kept seeing some kids messing around, and one of them ending up with a strain or break, or choking out...ugh.

I would say wait until at least 10-12. And even then, be very careful.

[Brandon Fisher]

7-8 is what I voted closely supervised adn restricted on how fast and strong they practice it. Learn the technique and control before speed and power is my philosophy.

[cathal]

I tend to agree with the majority here in that it should be based on how much supervision that the children will be receiving. Maturity is a very difficult thing for kids because many of the simply do not yet understand the concepts of pain they inflict. So in my own opinion I think that they should start around 10-12.

[BLueDevil]

I think it depends on the childs level of maturity, I think someone around 10 could grasp grapling while being supervised.

[legkicker]

I assist in teaching a BJJ class to kids and in all honesty it depends on the kid what they will be taught. We spend at least 15 minutes of the class playing a game where they put a strip of belt in the back and grapple trying to grab the belt from eachother's back. The more advanced kids who are all 8-11 are allowed to go for submissions on eachother. On another side of the mat we spend one on one time grappling lightly with the kids working on points with them.

In fact we have an 8 y/o right now that is the best in the class because he also has done wrestling; we're preparing him for some BJJ tournaments in his age bracket right now. Yes, you have to closely supervise kids, this goes without saying. Can you teach young children? Yes, but you have to mix it in with games and can't expect kids to train the same way adults do in grappling. I don't mean to turn the class into a daycare like some McDojos do, you can have about 60% instruction and 40% games mixed in like the one I described above. I can and have taught kids younger than 7.

Gracie Barra represent zent zent