We live in a digitalized era where our kids are spending endless hours on the couch staring at technological devices. They rarely get out of the house to get into actual physical exercise or socialize with their friends.
Teaching your children a new skill is critical in ensuring they grow to be all-rounded individuals and Jiu Jitsu is one such way.
Jiu Jitsu
Jiu Jitsu is a type of martial arts that can be taught to kids as young as 5 years. Just like any other form of sport, Jiu Jitsu has numerous benefits for kids.
For starters, Jiu Jitsu is the perfect excuse for your children to exercise. Jiu Jitsu allows them to be physically, emotionally, and psychologically upright. Furthermore, it is a sport that transforms your body in more ways than one.
A Jiu Jitsu class involves learning various martial art techniques and exercises. Also, some classes will have drilling and sparring. These are intense workouts for children, right?
Wrong!
Jiu Jitsu instructors are experienced and teach kids according to their age and what techniques they can grab at the time.
Neurological effects of practicing Jiu Jitsu
In the quest for longevity, people are seeking exercise as a way of improving their neurological health. As a parent who loves their kid, you need to enroll them in a fun-filled sport that has a profound effect on the brain; in this case, Jiu Jitsu.
As your kids practice Jiu Jitsu, their heart-rate is elevated, pumping more oxygen to the brain. As a result, the brain releases hormones that aid in the production of more brain cells. It also leads an increase in growth factors that make it easy for the brain to gain more neuronal connections. As a result, memory levels are elevated, allowing children to retain memory and do exceptionally well in school and other activities.
Jiu Jitsu also works as an anti-depressant. We are in a world where some situations and experiences may cause children as young as 7 years to suffer from stress and depression. Jiu Jitsu leads to a drop in stress hormones allowing kids to live a fuller and richer quality of life.
The benefits of the sport are directly experienced from its ability to reduce insulin levels in the blood, reduce body inflammation, and in the growth of new blood cells in the brain.
Bottomline
People enroll in Jiu Jitsu classes for various reasons but unfortunately, not many do it with the sole intention of improving brain function. Jiu Jitsu improves your kid’s cognitive function, mental health and hinders the development of certain neurological conditions.
As your child continues to practice Jiu Jitsu, they will experience neurological benefits such as:
- Reduced stress levels
- Decreased social anxiety
- Ability to better process emotions
- Increased energy levels
- Better focus in school
- Longer attention spans
- Slows the aging process
- Improved memory
- Improved blood circulation
Exercising is responsible for enlarging different brain areas associated with memory managing tasks, and coordination. However, to gain this and much more, Jiu Jitsu or any other sport should not be a one-time thing. It should be a regular undertaking of more than 6 months.
