Do you remember when you were in school and you had to take a PE class? How awesome would it be could do Jiu-Jitsu in PE?
For many non-athletes PE was easily the worst class. But if we introduced Jiu-Jitsu, then maybe everyone would enjoy it more.
This has in fact been done in some ways in the world already. In the U.S, I have seen certain schools implement similar programs, and I have also seen colleges hold Jiu-Jitsu as their PE elective.
Also worth noting is that Jiu-Jitsu has become pretty commonplace in the UAE school system. While the ability to study these problems is limited, and it will be a while before we can see long-term results, I believe we can all see the good that the program could do.
Here are just a few benefits of having Jiu-Jitsu taught in schools.
- Less Bullying– This has gotten worse over the years, and I am sure we have all seen those videos of kids being beaten while everyone just stands around (although we have also seen videos with some brave heroes who step in). If we introduced Jiu-Jitsu in elementary school, then I believe most of this would stop. Children would have more respect for one another and would understand the seriousness of fighting.
- Confidence– Jiu-Jitsu inherently makes us more confident in every aspect of our lives. So many kids these days second guess everything. I think if they had sense a self-confidence instilled in them at a young age, we would actually see big changes in their lives, from grades to what they decide to do when they get older.
- Health– I have said this in many of my writings, but obesity in America is terrible. If kids were taught Jiu-Jitsu in school and they enjoyed it, I believe this would combat the obesity epidemic in a long-term way. PE tends to keep kids semi-fit, but then once they are not required to take it, we see changes. If Jiu-Jitsu became a long-term hobby, then we would not see this change. In fact it is reasonable to believe some kids would actually still sign up at an academy for after-school training as well.
While there are financial and liability issues involved with teaching Jiu-Jitsu in the public school system, it can be done. We have seen in, but we have a long way to go if our goal is to create programs on a mass scale.
Although long term results are something we do not currently have, I believe we can all agree on the three listed above.
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