Rodrigo Freitas getting ready for his school’s kids tournament
Jiu-Jitsu schools all over the country are preparing their young athletes to compete in one of the most important BJJ tournaments in the world for children: The IBJJF Kids International Championship, which takes place next Dec. 14, at the Long Beach Pyramid.
A primary skill for a youngster to be successful in competition is experience. That is one of the reasons why training is so important. Having the kids practicing and competing as much as they can generates confidence that helps them excel on the mat, championships and life.
Professor Rodrigo Freitas from GMA Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach motivates his young students to compete because he believes that while participating in tournaments, kids not only inspire themselves to continue learning Jiu-Jitsu, but also they can learn how to deal with stress and other feelings such as anger or anxiety. The school offers not only regular kids class and advanced kids class but also has a competition class for kids every Friday from 5pm to 6pm.
As a result, GB Manhattan Beach built an accomplished team of children that has exceeded in various recent competitions: Colin Yun took silver in the yellow Pee-wee 3, featherweight division at the American Nationals; Kathleen Cruz, light/middleweight, gray and black belt took 1st place at Dream Kids in march, 2nd at the NABJJ LA open, 1st at Kids Worlds, 1st at Vulcan open, 1st in last GB Compnet; Kennedy Jimenez, 9 year olds, yellow and white belt took silver at the medium heavy in the American Nationals in October; Jaden Marshall, yellow and white belt, heavyweight division was 1st place at IBJJF Kids American National, Big John McCarthy’s Submission Only, and Kids Worlds in San Bernardino; Joey Schobel, yellow and white belt, 6 years old, featherweight took 1st place at the 2014 Kids Worlds; and Malibu Rocco, gray and white belt was also 1st place at the 2104 Kids Worlds in November.
Would you like to bring your team to compete at the IBJJF Kids International on Dec. 14 in Long Beach? Click here to register now!
For more information regarding the tournament go to www.ibjjf.com
