“Mom I don’t wanna go to Jiu-Jitsu.” How Parents Should Handle It

Wednesday class was packed! 👏

Almost 30 kids ready to train Jiu-Jitsu and learn wrestling at our new Westland campus.

On my way to the mats I see a mother sitting at the table looking defeated. 😞

🦊: “Hey Mom, how we doing?”

Mom: “Yeh we’re gonna need to pull “Landon” (alias) out I just don’t think he’s ready.”

*Now…..I absolutely LOVE her son Landon.

He needs the confidence that comes from Jiu-Jitsu more than any other kid in the class.

So I look over at him and I see he was recently crying. 😭

🦊: “Lemme guess, he was giving you a hard time huh?”

Mom: “Yes he was.”

🦊: “Well don’t worry mama, we’ll get him on the mat and he’s gonna be smiling by the end of class.” 😊

Now, on Wed we do takedowns (at Westland) 🤼‍♂️

It’s by far the hardest class of the week. 😓

There was a couple times little dude starting crying and looking for mama (whom he could see through the glass wall of the parent lounge).

Mom came out naturally to help. 🤗

🦊: “Mama. I got this. He’s good.”

Fast forward ⏩ 15 min later he’s laughing, smiling and saying he loves Jiu-Jitsu!

Surprised?

Don’t be.

The lesson?

1. Parents are your child’s authority. Not their friend. And not their “Yes man.” 👌

2. You can still be an authority figure and have a positive attitude without a dictatorship role. 😊

3. The entire time during class, I was telling young man how brave and courageous he was to finish and how I knew he could do it.

By the end, mom was thanking me and appreciated the help.

This is the 3rd time this week I’ve had a parent of a young child throw in the ropes early.

Mom.

Dad.

Please listen to me. 👂

When you make a decision to enroll your child in combat gym….whether that’s Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, MMA, or wrestling…..I can guarantee you there will come a point when it becomes difficult.

And when it gets difficult your child will want to quit.

That will be a DEFINING moment in your child’s life.

A paramount teachable lesson answering the question:

“When things get hard what do I do?”

Fight? 👊

Or flight? 🏃

Somebody: “Oh Coach Fox you’re being dramatic it’s just Jiu-Jitsu, that doesn’t have practical application in real life!”

🦊: “Bet!”

When it’s time to apply for college (if you go that route instead of the trades)…..is that going to be a cakewalk?

How about when they fall in love and get married? Will that always be sunshine and rainbows? ☀️. Of course not?

How about when your job is on the line due to budget cuts and the highest performer stays?

Or when inflation totals 50% in 4 years leaving more bills and less income.

What then?

They will either rise to the standards you’ve set and taught, or they will fall to the amount of times you’ve let them quit on themselves.

See you on the mat,

Written by Coach David Fox