Starting a Kids Jiu Jitsu Program: A Practical Guide for BJJ Studio Owners

Running a kids’ BJJ program has taught me three very important lessons: Keep disinfectant close, prepare for the worst, and plan for chaos. 

Let me explain. 

Trevor stood awkwardly in the corner. 

He was supposed to be drilling the jiu-jitsu technique we just covered. But he wasn’t— he was just standing there, looking around to see if anyone was watching. He grunted, squirmed a little, then he shook his pant leg. He smiled suddenly, then he skipped away. 

We walked over to the corner of the mats and looked down. 

Trevor left his mark on the mats—a small, stinky one. We had a germy disaster on our hands. Trevor had brown marks on his Gi, and he hadn’t washed his hands. He decided to leave his mark on three other boys. 

Here’s the surprising part. 

This incident wasn’t a disaster. We had clean loaner Gis on hand for each kid. We prepped their parents well. They kept a change of clothes in the car for each of their kids. We had plenty of soap, wipes, and disinfectant. 

Even better, each of our instructors were prepared. We had a crisis plan so they knew what to look for.  We were able to tag team the boys, getting them off the mats discreetly, while we alerted their parents. 

The parents were grateful and happy; we were able to handle a disaster discreetly without embarrassment.

So is it worth it? Is starting a kids' BJJ program worth it? Absolutely. 

Because we had a plan. 

If it’s structured well, your kids' program can be a wonderful addition to your business. A program that generates a significant amount of cash flow and benefits for your gym. Today, we’ll take a closer look at starting a kids' BJJ program. Use this step-by-step to start your own kids' program. 

1. Planning Your Kids’ BJJ Program

If you’re thinking about launching your kids’ BJJ program, you’ll want to spend the majority of your time planning, structuring, and preparing your program. You’ll want to define your goals, audience, program, age groups, and curriculum.

Define your program as concretely as you can, ahead of time. Then, iterate and track performance, using the data to improve consistently over time. 

Set smart program goals first

Is a kids’ program right for your gym? At the end of this section, you should know: 

1. Who your students are (age, goals, focus areas, etc.)
2. Your goals for you students
3. How you’ll align/accommodate student and parent goals
4. Your curriculum
5. The class frequency and length

Many gyms offer kids' programs, but these programs struggle in the long term. Why? Their kids’ program lacks a clear purpose, goal, or mission. 

What do I mean by goal? I’m talking about business goals—your motivation for starting a kids’ program.  

• Are you building a high-level, competition gym? 
• Looking to generate revenue with a strong after-school program for latchkey kids?
• Is self-defense and bullyproofing the primary focus? 
• Maybe your kids’ program is a helpful tool to keep parents and families engaged in jiu jitsu? 

Take the time to define your gym goals as clearly as you can.  

What about your students? When it comes to goal setting, you’re going to need to address two types of goals: 

1. Student goals: Are you simply offering another extracurricular option? Bullyproofing to address issues at school? Developing high-level adolescent competitors? 
2. Parent goals: Are parents living vicariously through their kids (they won’t admit it)? Are they pushing their kids to be high achievers? Looking for daycare so their kids are safe?  

Can you see what’s happening? 

You’re dealing with obvious and hidden goals. You’ll need to identify where your goals as a gym owner and the goals of your students/parents overlap.

For example, high-level competition gyms (e.g., Kingsway, Simple Man, Checkmat, Atos, Absolute, etc.) focus their attention on winning grappling competitions. Kids and parents arrive with that expectation, which, no surprise, is what they get. 

Why does this matter? When you set goals for your kids’ program, you draw a line in the sand. Goal setting enables you to: 

• Choose the right target audience. If you’re focused on building a high-level, competition program, you may not want to focus your attention on 4–6-year-olds. 
• Set pricing accurately. If you’re running an after-school program for the kids in your program, you’ll probably need to supervise your students for a longer period of time. A 30-minute session at other gyms could be a 2-hour session in yours. You’ll want to set your pricing accordingly. 
• Educate, support, and corral parents. There’s nothing worse than dealing with parents who feel it’s their right to provide unsolicited coaching or criticism from the sidelines or argue with other parents. 

Why do you need to define goals for kids and their parents? 

Parents are, at a minimum, the people funding their child’s experience with you. Their kids are the participants in your class. You need engagement from both if your kids’ program will be successful over the long term. 

Here’s the thing about goal setting: it clarifies who you serve. 

As student age, class structure, and parent priorities shift, your target audience—and therefore your pricing and programming—should adjust accordingly. 

Choosing age groups and class structure

If you’ve done a good job setting your goals, you have a pretty good idea of the age groups you’re looking to serve. A common question among parents is age: “What’s the best age for kids to start BJJ?”

Here are several common divisions for kids' classes.   

• Ages 4–6: Focus on movement and basic positions
• Ages 7–9: Introduce structured drills, cooperation-based games, and light positional rounds
• Ages 10–12: Add light rolling and technique combinations
• Ages 13+: Transition toward the adult curriculum

Here’s why this is important. 

Your age groups should inform your class structure. If you’re working with 4–6-year-olds, the following class structures work well: 

• Play-driven: A kid’s job is to play. Sessions should be oriented around playing games that teach them valuable skills. They want to run, jump, tumble, and roll around with their friends. 
• 30-minute sessions: Most kids lack the attention span required to sit through 10-15 minutes of instruction. Spend the minimum time required to demonstrate technique, but keep students busy and active.  
• Guardian required: If you’re dealing with 4-6-year-olds, you’re dealing with unpredictable issues—potty emergencies, sickness, tantrums, and special needs. Parents need to be present to address these issues for their children. If you choose to hire someone to help kids with these areas, your price should be increased to reflect that. 

What about the other age groups I’ve mentioned? 

Set class length and frequency

If you’re working with young kids (ages 4–6 or 7–9), they need shorter, more frequent sessions. 

If you’re dealing with tweens and teens (10–12, or 13+), they need longer, more challenging sessions.

Here’s what that might look like:

Parents and kids need to be happy. 

Yes, each class/session must include the right mix of games, instruction, and rolling. Yes, it’s important that they meet their goals. That said, it’s important that both children and parents enjoy their training with you. 

Why is this important? 

It’s all about engagement. Happy students are engaged students. The more they enjoy your classes, the easier it is to attract, retain, and grow your kids’ program.   

2. Building an Engaging Curriculum

What’s a kid’s job? 

“A kid's job is to play.” Renowned child development experts, such as Jean Piaget and Maria Montessori, famously described play as the "work of childhood." 

This is based on the idea that play is a fundamental practice for childhood. Play is the way children learn, develop, and heal—it’s essential for their cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Children "construct knowledge" and process their world through play. 

How do you create an engaging curriculum, then? You build it around play! Here’s a sample curriculum you can use to build high-level skills through play. 

Create engaging warm-ups and fundamentals

Warm-ups tend to be tedious, miserable, and unpleasant. When I started training, it was common to spend 15–20 minutes on warm-ups—shrimping, rolling, and crawling up and down the mats. 

As you can expect, most students aren’t a fan of warm-ups. 

It doesn’t have to be that way with your kids’ BJJ program. If you start your classes with fun and engaging warm-ups, you can help your students to build strength, speed, and coordination. 

Here’s a list of warm-ups you can use:

• Grappling obstacle courses
• Grab the cone
• Marcelo Garcia's warm-up games
• 5 warm-up games for jiu-jitsu and judo

Use these games, modify them, or create your own. 

Start every class with engaging warm-ups, such as animal walks, relay races, or tumbling drills. Use these to build agility, strength, and coordination in your students.

Next, build your student’s knowledge of the fundamentals:

• Takedown control: Handfighting and takedowns  
• Positional control: Side control, north/south, mount, back control, and half guard
• Pin escapes: Basic transitions and a mix of escapes (2–3) 
• Offensive systems: High-percentage submissions, e.g., armbar, shoulder locks, rear naked strangles, guillotines, triangles, etc. (older kids)
• Submission escapes: Escapes and counters from high-percentage submissions (older kids)

A sample 12-week curriculum could be:

• Weeks 1–4: Pin and submission escapes
• Weeks 5–8: Sweeps and submissions
• Weeks 9–12: Offensive systems 

Student progression is fast, consistent, and efficient when you keep things simple. 

Structure technique progression with the 80/20 rule

If you’re trying to build a high-level kids’ BJJ program, you’ll want to focus your attention on the 80/20 rule.  Pareto's principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the causes.

This applies to your kids’ training. 

If you want to maximize student success, focus 80% of your time on the 20% of your techniques that produce 80% of your wins. 

If you’re looking at this from a submission-focused, data-driven standpoint, this means you focus your students’ attention on: 

1. Rear-naked strangles
2. Front head attacks (Guillotine, Anacondas, Darce, Kata Gatames)
3. Triangles
4. Shoulder locks (Americana, Kimura)
5. Armbars

Why start with submissions? 

We’re looking forward and reasoning backwards. We review submissions that consistently lead to wins. Then work backwards, focusing on the positions we need to achieve those results. 

What does this mean? 

• If rear-naked strangles consistently lead to wins, your students should be experts at back takes and getting behind their opponents. This should be something your students can do from standing, seated, and pinning positions. 
• Want more front head attacks (i.e., guillotines)? Focus on takedowns that lead to front head (e.g., snapdowns, uchi matas, Russian ties, etc.), and getting to positions that allow you to set up front head attacks (e.g., half-guard top, side control, turtle, back control, etc.). 
• Looking for triangles? Show them how to get to positions that lead to trap triangles and triangle setups (e.g., front head, turtle, guard, back control, side control, north/south, etc.). 
• For shoulder locks, identify the win conditions to get to shoulder locks (e.g., overhook control, upper/lower wrist control, figure-4 grips, etc.). Provide students with the transfer sequences they need to transition from wrist control to a full figure-4. 
• Looking for strong armbar finishes? Provide students with routes to control positions from the bottom (e.g., top lock, high cross, or clamp guard) or strong control positions from the top (e.g., Dorsal Kimura, Seated Head and Arm, Back Control, Crucifix/Side Scissors Crucifix). 

If you focus your attention on a small number of high-percentage submissions, you’ll find your students achieve quick wins and consistent success. 

Why is that? 

Most curricula are broad, offering a wide range of techniques, but they lack depth. If you focus your curriculum on a smaller number of successful techniques, you’ll find that success is easy to manage. 

How do you do that? Keep your BJJ curriculum simple; repeat key concepts consistently. Use games to test students and reinforce skills. 

Use games to reinforce skills

Games make training fun and help children naturally absorb concepts. 

Here are a few examples of games you can play with your students:

• Bulldog: Builds guard-passing instincts
• Spider Kid: Develops grips and movement
• Sumo Push: Teaches balance and base
• Guard Monster: Strengthens guard retention
• Turtle Tag: Reinforces turtle defense
• Belt Tug-of-War: Builds grip endurance

Rotate and adapt games by age and skill level. Use them between drills, as teaching tools, or as class finishers to maintain high student engagement.

Where games fit—after warm-ups, between drills, or as the closer—should reflect your academy’s training philosophy. 

Ecological approaches use games as the core of class; drill-centric models use them as reinforcement; competition-focused programs treat them as targeted conditioning and situational rounds.

3. Managing Operations

You’ll need to manage the day-to-day operations in your kids program to maintain progress. Let’s take a look at the important aspects that need your immediate attention. 

Hire and train instructors (ratios and safety)

Instructors are the glue that holds your kids’ program together. 

It’s a position that demands considerable talent. You’ll need a knowledgeable instructor who’s patient, experienced with kids, and great with parents. 

Your instructors are the backbone of your kids’ program. Look for instructors with:

• A blue belt, at minimum (purple or higher preferred)
• Experience working with kids
• Communication, patience, and enthusiasm

Essential security checks

Verifying your instructors is an absolute must. Allowing people with questionable backgrounds near the kids in your program is a death sentence for your gym. You’ll want to perform the following security checks before adding instructors to your kids program. 

• Criminal background check: This is a standard check of a candidate's criminal history at the national, state, and local levels for any disqualifying convictions.
• Fingerprinting: Submitting fingerprints is a common requirement for a comprehensive criminal history search. 
• Sex offender registry check: This verifies that the candidate is not listed on any national or state sex offender databases.
• Child abuse and neglect history: Check for any history of involvement in child abuse or neglect cases.

Maintain safe instructor-to-student ratios

The ideal student-to-teacher ratio in martial arts varies. Use this rule of thumb as a helpful starting point.  

• A ratio of 1:5 is excellent for beginners
• 1:8 to 1:10 is often recommended for intermediate classes 
• For advanced classes, a ratio of 1:15 to 1:20 may be acceptable
• Advanced classes for children might have a lower ratio, like 1:10 

Here’s an important detail to keep in mind: your instructor's experience, class size, and the students' age and skill level also influence your “ideal” ratio. 

If you’re dealing with a larger group of kids, enlist assistant coaches or experienced teen helpers to support the students in your class.

What if you’re short-staffed?

Shift the focus to station-based drills with clear visuals and boundaries. Prioritize safety and supervision for each student. 

Communicate with parents and set expectations

Parents are your co-pilots. 

Instructors must foster an environment that emphasizes shared goals and a collaborative approach among parents, coaches, and athletes. Combat sports are difficult for a reason. 

If students are to succeed, they’ll need a supportive environment that focuses on maximizing each student’s development, enjoyment, and overall well-being. 

Here’s the problem—some parents struggle to provide that environment for their kids. These parents:

• Attempt to relive their glory days through their kids 
• Abuse, mistreat, or punish their kids when they don’t do well 
• Are hyper-competitive and quick to get into arguments or fights with other parents/kids 
• Are unwilling to respect the rules and boundaries you’ve set for the gym 
• Believe their rights are more important than the rights of others 

What does this look like? 

Josh, a 14-year-old student, injures Matthew, a 9-year-old. Matthew’s mom, Rachel, is also one of the coaches. She asks Josh to be careful, but Josh decides that it’s a good idea to lash out at Rachel. 

Rachel: “I don’t think you meant to hurt him, just be careful next time, okay?
Josh: “I can do it harder next time if you want.”

Rachel: “Excuse me?!”
Josh: “You heard me.” 

Josh’s dad, Matt, stands up and calls Rachel a Karen; he begins yelling, telling her to calm down. The situation quickly spirals out of control. The head instructor mishandles the situation, and Matt continues to bully and abuse other students and their parents. 

This is completely unacceptable. 

The right policies can prevent these kinds of outbursts. Here are five polices that are simple to explain, easy to enforce, and simple to implement. 

• Respect & conduct: Students and parents will treat all instructors, staff, and fellow students with respect at all times—on and off the mats.
• Safety commitment: Students will train responsibly, maintain control, and make adjustments if an instructor or partner offers feedback.
• Accountability: Students will accept constructive criticism without argument, hostility, or malicious compliance.
• Boundaries: I will refrain from coaching others without permission or creating a hostile training environment.
• Communication: If I have concerns or frustrations, I will discuss them privately with an instructor—not during class or in front of others.

The kids in your kids’ program need structure. So do their parents. 

Create and enforce parent policies

You’ll need to establish policies, procedures, and protocols for parents to follow if your kids’ program is going to succeed. This means you’ll need to: 

1. Define communication protocols. Make it crystal clear that discussions about specific issues (outlined ahead of time) are best handled in a private meeting, never publicly in the heat of the moment.
2. Show parents how to communicate with you. Do you want parents to discuss issues with you before, during, or after class? Should they discuss these issues with you via email, text, phone, or in person? 
3. Establish expectations. Be clear about your expectations for both students and parents. Outline clear terms that explain how issues will be addressed.
4. Set clear rules for parents who attend class. Parents should be there to support their child. It’s completely unacceptable for them to interrupt drills, coach their child, or yell at other students, parents, and coaches.
5. Set and enforce consequences. When parents violate the rules, remind them of the policy and state the consequences if their behavior continues. 

What are some examples of these protocols in action? 

Best practices:

• Send weekly or monthly updates via email or through your gym app
• Provide parents with written policies on attendance, behavior, and communication
• Define (in writing) your observation rules and progress reporting schedules

Rules for parents:

• Observe only from designated areas 
• Communicate with instructors after class or via email
• Be respectful to all students, parents, and coaches
• Support respectful behavior both on and off the mat

Encourage parents to train with their kids at home, attend family open mats, or join the adult fundamentals class. Parents who understand jiu jitsu, have a better understanding of their kids’ experience. 

They’ll also be in a position to support them when they run into challenges. 

Address bullying and conflict immediately

Bullying is a major threat to your kids’ program. 

If it’s not addressed immediately, you’ll find that student churn rates increase dramatically as kids pull out of your program. If their parents are students in the adult program, this usually leads to the entire family leaving the gym. 

It’s a serious threat to your gym’s cash flow. 

At some point, every gym deals with bullying. It’s an issue you’ll need to face whether you’re dealing with kids or adults. 

Here’s the most important part about bullying. Your response sets the tone. If you’re dealing with kids, you’ll want to: 

• Intervene quickly and separate involved students
• Discuss behavior privately and constructively
• Involve parents early when you’re dealing with serious issues

You can take a proactive approach to bullying through role-playing, positive reinforcement, and a strong team culture. Your students should understand that grappling skills come with a heavy responsibility. 

Aggression shouldn’t be the default. 

Manage boy-girl pairing concerns

It’s a good idea to pair kids by size and skill. 

Parents who are inexperienced with jiu-jitsu may feel uncomfortable training with the opposite gender. Do your best to address parent concerns with transparency and supervision. Avoid getting into situations where you’re making special concessions for individual students.

Some students only feel comfortable training with specific kids or adults. Others prefer training with same-gendered students.

These preferences can become expectations if they’re not managed well.

If you choose to make concessions for students, make it abundantly clear that any arrangements are temporary and dependent on factors like availability. 

4. Growing and Sustaining Your Kids’ BJJ Program

If you can track the performance of your kids’ program, you can improve it. If you were to ask instructors why their kids' class is succeeding (or failing), the majority couldn’t tell you.

Performance tracking changes all of that.  

Track progress and offer flexible memberships

Take the time to track your student’s progress and attendance. If you’re a gym owner using Gymdesk, it would look like this: 

Kids blossom when they receive consistent praise and recognition. Use the belt and stripe system to provide students with frequent, attainable milestones. Track simple metrics like attendance, skill mastery, and behavior. 

Here’s what that looks like:

If you’re using Gymdesk, this is a semi-automated process. If you’re tracking this manually it doesn’t need to be complicated; it just needs to be consistent. You can use spreadsheets, punch cards, or standalone third-party apps. 

Progress trackers are a great way to manage engagement. 

A simple progress tracker helps you to identify students who are disengaging. This gives you a chance to re-engage students before they quit/churn. What does this look like? 

You’ve just promoted Mitch, one of your kids, to yellow belt. 

He was driven, disciplined, and focused on meeting the goal. Once he met his goal, he disappeared. He worked so hard to get to his next belt, and the only thing waiting for him was more hard work. 

Can you blame him for stepping back? How do you deal with that? 

You start with a re-engagement campaign. You reach out to Mitch and his parents. You spend some time listening, supporting, and guiding Mitch. You let him know that you’re ready when he’s ready, no pressure—just a reminder that he wants to win the next ADCC Youth Championship. 

Use a variety of channels—phone, text, email, and in-person chats. This isn’t about force or pressure. 

It’s you reminding him that you’re always focused on the goals he brought to you. If you’re using gym management platforms like Gymdesk to manage student attendance, parent communication, and billing efficiently.

Variety helps retention and family participation.

Family discounts encourage parents and siblings to join—it’s a straightforward way to build a strong community. 

Use simple tools to manage classes

This is a lot to track on your own. 

If you’re like most instructors, you just want to train your students. If you’re a new gym owner, you’re not all that interested in the administrative tasks. 

Gym management software simplifies everything by automating your:

• Attendance tracking: This helps you to identify disengaged or at-risk students.
• Progress tracking: Measures engagement, skills, and students ready to be promoted.
• Parent communication: Gives you the communication channel you need to send updates quickly.
• Billing and payments: Reduces late fees and manual labor; with the right software, you spend less time chasing your student’s parents for money.

This is the kind of automation you need. 

With the right automation, your instructors can focus their attention on teaching, not on administrative tasks. This helps your kids’ program grow smoothly.

Your Kids Program Needs Structure and Community to Grow

Your kids' BJJ program will thrive when families feel connected to you (the instructor), the gym, and other students. Build a strong bond with students by initiating:

• Parent nights and open mats
• Demonstrations and belt ceremonies
• Surveys and regular feedback

Do what it takes to build strong relationships and a family-friendly atmosphere. 

Many gyms offer kids' classes, but these programs struggle in the long term. Why? Their kids’ program lacks a clear purpose, goal, or mission. Does the thought of potty emergencies and screaming kids put you off? 

Don’t let it bother you. 

If it’s structured well, your kids' program can be a wonderful addition to your business. Just focus on these five areas. 

1. Set and define the goals for your kids program. Are you running a competition gym? An afterschool program that bullyproofs students and teaches them discipline? 
2. Create an engaging program that meets student and parent expectations. The more engaging your curriculum, the easier it will be to attract and retain student and parent attention. 
3. Hire the best your money can buy. Perform the necessary background checks on your instructors. Maintain appropriate and safe student-to-instructor ratios. 
4. Communicate with parents regularly. Keep parents in the loop, give them important but necessary updates on their child’s progress, general expectations, wins, and success stories, even illnesses in the gym. Do your best to keep them informed. 
5. Track performance and changes in your gym. You’ll want to focus your attention on the metrics that matter including leads, conversion rates, attendance, engagement, and churn. 

Our kids’ BJJ program showed me the importance of disinfectant, worst-case preparation, and chaos planning. It’s been a rewarding experience; careful planning keeps my attention fixed on the details that matter. 

It’s all about our kids. 

Don’t allow the administrative side of your kids' program to distract you from teaching. Use gym management tools like Gymdesk to manage the day-to-day operations of your business. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial. 

FAQs about Starting a Kid's BJJ Program

Let’s dig into any last lingering questions before we say goodbye.

What is the ideal age for children to start training BJJ?

It’s a good idea to make this decision on a case-by-case basis. While most children are ready between ages 4 and 6, it’s not a guarantee. Kids are generally ready once they can follow instructions and participate safely in group activities.

How much should I charge for kids' BJJ classes?

Rates vary by region; if you’re in a city or state with a huge jiu-jitsu community (e.g., Austin, Texas, NYC, Los Angeles, etc.), or you’re part of a competition gym, prices may be much higher. An average price tends to range between $100–$175/month, depending on class frequency and value offered.

How do I structure a belt system for children in BJJ?

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. You can use the belt system recommended by the IBJJF. This system is widely recognized in our sport. Students receive frequent stripe promotions and belt progressions to keep them motivated.

What equipment do I need to start a kids' BJJ program?

The same things you need for your adult classes—quality mats, child-sized gis and belts, safety gear, first aid kits, and basic training tools like cones and balance balls.

How do I market my kids' BJJ program to parents?

Remember the goals I mentioned earlier? You’ll want to address those goals; if you’re speaking to competition-minded families, address that. Offering a latch key, or bullyproof program? Lead with that. Share social proof—offer photos, reviews, and success stories.

Should kids' BJJ classes focus on self-defense or sport jiu-jitsu?

You need a balance of both. If the training in your kids' class includes live sparring, your students will be better able to handle self-defense situations. 

How do I handle a child who is disruptive in class?

Set clear expectations and rules upfront; use positive reinforcement and engage in crucial conversations. Work to involve parents constructively when it’s needed. If they’re unwilling to respect those boundaries, then enforce the consequences you’ve set. 

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