Should Teens train with adults?

[masherdong]

Hello everyone,

Just curious as to seeing what everyone else does at their schools.

So, do you have a separate class for teens? Also, when do you think they would be ready to join the adult class?

Especially in jiu jitsu, where rolling is involved, would you pair up a teen with an adult female or vice versa? When would you think they would be mature enough to roll with adults?

Thanks for your input.

[stickarts]

We separate our age groups into 4 -6, 7 - 9, 10 - 13, and 14 and up.
I do think younger students should train with older students at least some of the time since they may have to be able to use their techniques against almost any age or body type.

[terryl965]

I am with Frank on this one. I do not see a need to seperate except for certain reason. A 14 year old should be developed enough mentally and physically to train. We also try and seperate by belts as well.

[tellner]

There's stuff we wouldn't want teens to learn until the hormonal storms of early adolescence are well past.

[Drac]

There's stuff we wouldn't want teens to learn until the hormonal storms of early adolescence are well past.

Good point..Ya dont want some 16 year hottie rolling around on the mat with some male in his late 20's, or some 16 year old stud being in the mount on some cougar...

[terryl965]

Good point..Ya dont want some 16 year hottie rolling around on the mat with some male in his late 20's, or some 16 year old stud being in the mount on some cougar...

Only you guys would bring up that subject but you are rigth, we make sure when we do it is with the right type of person to train with.

[stickarts]

There's stuff we wouldn't want teens to learn until the hormonal storms of early adolescence are well past.

That's a good point. Most schools I have trained at ( including my school)do have differences in the curriculums between kids and adults, however, the two can still have periodic training sessions together. At the end of a program we do with the Town, we have the adult instructors put full gear on and try and grab and gain control of the kids. The kids fight for all they are worth against the adults and can be very tough to control when the kids go all out. I think this type of training is important. If kids only train with kids I think they will have a very difficult time adjusting to fighting an adult if the need arose. We are also careful to match up appropriate partners depending upon age and gender and the technique being learned.

[Drac]

Only you guys would bring up that subject but you are rigth, we make sure when we do it is with the right type of person to train with.

GMP went off on me when he caught me doing ground techniques with a stunning redhead while in Jersey..She asked me to train with her...

[terryl965]

GMP went off on me when he caught me doing ground techniques with a stunning redhead while in Jersey..She asked me to train with her...

I can belief that he is real particular about these things.

[grydth]

My daughters are in goju ryu primarily to learn self-defense. Since adults are certainly a class of potential attackers in real life, it is wise that the young ones get some training time with adults.

Shihan Trotman runs a pretty tight ship, so I don't worry much about impropriety. I am always in the stands watching, though. Even if the excellent instructors were to miss something, I would give a free lesson of my own to anyone anywhere who hurts my children.

[jks9199]

I've found that too many teens in a class discourages adults from joining. As a loose rule, I kind of draw the line at being old enough to drive to class on their own, and mature enough that I'm not going to have to modify what I teach like I do when it's younger kids.

If I have a large enough body of teens, I'll set up a separate class for them.

[tellner]

Only you guys would bring up that subject but you are rigth, we make sure when we do it is with the right type of person to train with.

I was thinking more of things that I don't want them to know how to do until there's a better shot at good impulse control. Knives and neck breaks just make uncorrectable mistakes too easy when you know how to use them.

[Tames D]

Good point..Ya dont want some 16 year hottie rolling around on the mat with some male in his late 20's, or some 16 year old stud being in the mount on some cougar...

When I was 16 I was the only teen training with adults. It turned out to be a good experience for me.
There wasn't any females in my classes back then so my only mounting experience with a cougar was outside the dojo... http://martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif

[arnisador]

[quote=stickarts;111123914 and up[/quote]

I think this is about right for 'adult' classes. They need the physical and mental maturity to be in there--but when they have it, it's to their benefit to be in with adults to see the strength and power, and to the adults' benefit to be reminded of the energy and endurance.

[Thesemindz]

We would usually seperate students into under 5, 6-12, and 13 and up. The line where teens joined the adult class was loosely 13 years old, but it wasn't a clear delineation. If it was a big strong 12 year old, or an undersized immature 14 year old, we may adjust accordingly. When a teen enters adult class they are expected to act like an adult, and the adults are expected to understand that it's a teen.


Good point..Ya dont want some 16 year hottie rolling around on the mat with some male in his late 20's, or some 16 year old stud being in the mount on some cougar...

I've found that, generally speaking, if I treat training as serious business, then others will as well. True, there may be individuals who aren't ready for that, but you can pair them off more carefully. The majority of students should be able to do the majority of drills with the majority of partners. In those rare cases where someone was having trouble being appropriate, I would pull them aside and address the issue.

We are all human beings and relationships often form between students, but the studio is not a meat market, and there's no place for that when we're training. Serious business.


-Rob

[Fiendlover]

Hello everyone,

Just curious as to seeing what everyone else does at their schools.

So, do you have a separate class for teens? Also, when do you think they would be ready to join the adult class?

Especially in jiu jitsu, where rolling is involved, would you pair up a teen with an adult female or vice versa? When would you think they would be mature enough to roll with adults?

Thanks for your input.

We have 13-17 and then classes for 18 and up but it doesnt matter. if i missed a 13-17 class i could always go to the adult class and in fact i did because i didn't like the teen class. i felt much better prcticing with adults then with other teens.

[stickarts]

I think this is about right for 'adult' classes. They need the physical and mental maturity to be in there--but when they have it, it's to their benefit to be in with adults to see the strength and power, and to the adults' benefit to be reminded of the energy and endurance.

That age works well for us and also if they aren't ready to move to the adult class yet, we will hold them a bit longer until they are ready.

[Tez3]

We have a 15 year old lad in the MMA class, he's mature and adult in the class though his father says he can still be a pain at home lol. I roll with him as do all the others....he taps most of us out! It's no problem at all having him there,being treated as an adult improves his behaviour his family say, they are pleased.

[Drac]

I can belief that he is real particular about these things.

Once I explained that she was not really testing her abilities training with a little girl half her size and weight he understood, I believe that is inital reaction was for theatrical purposes only..She was in the IPDTI class and wanted the certificate to train LEO's...

[KempoGuy06]

Hello everyone,

Just curious as to seeing what everyone else does at their schools.

So, do you have a separate class for teens? Also, when do you think they would be ready to join the adult class?

Especially in jiu jitsu, where rolling is involved, would you pair up a teen with an adult female or vice versa? When would you think they would be mature enough to roll with adults?

Thanks for your input.
i think teens should be put with adults. Teens are more easily influenced than kids or adults. So by putting them with adults it will help them to grow and mature

B

[MJS]

I see nothing wrong with teens training with adults. Of course, the teen needs to be mature enough to handle the adult class, seeing that most adult classes are structured differently than a kids class. The material taught, the intensity of the class, etc.

Its a benefit to them, because they will get the chance to experience larger people attacking, and it'll force them to really get their material down.

As far as working with things that may be a bit risky, ie: grappling, etc. I feel that things need to be done on a professional level. Sure, grappling can put you in some rather embarrassing situations, however, the odds of a female being attacked by another female are probably a bit on the low end, compared to being attacked by a male. So to always seperate the sexes is doing more harm than good.

[Tez3]

I've found that when its mixed gender grappling the last thing anyone is thinking of is any sexual connotations. In fact if anything men are often relieved to grapple with a female as if they aren't used to grappling, doing it with a male is sometimes more unsettling.

[Thesemindz]

i think teens should be put with adults. Teens are more easily influenced than kids or adults. So by putting them with adults it will help them to grow and mature

B


I think this is an excellent point. I've worked with children as an instructor, mentor, and camp counselor, and I've found that treating them with respect and speaking to them like adults raises them to their potential. By the same token, I've often found it useful to speak to adults like they are children.

Kids are capable of alot more than most people give them credit for. They can deal with serious subject matter, if it is approached in a serious fashion.


-Rob

[Thesemindz]

I've found that when its mixed gender grappling the last thing anyone is thinking of is any sexual connotations. In fact if anything men are often relieved to grapple with a female as if they aren't used to grappling, doing it with a male is sometimes more unsettling.

I've found the same thing. I've never been in a training situation, with kids or adults, where people were inappropriate while grappling. Maybe that's because the instructors always acted professional and everyone else fed off that vibe.

The only time I've ever had any discomfort was when a student was questioning me on rape defense. I tried to give her whatever information I had, including grappling defense, but she kept asking how she could make the man stop without hurting him. Eventually I had to tell her that there were circumstances where you may have to resort to violence to defend yourself. She was the vitim of ongoing sexual abuse by her boyfriend and didn't want to resist, but didn't want it to happen. My discomfort stemmed from the knowledge that my instruction wasn't going to help her, because she wasn't going to help herself.


-Rob

[astrobiologist]

Our adult classes usually are around 14 and up, but we have a new student who is 12 in the adult class. I've worked with him individually twice and he seems to be amazingly mature for his age, so I'm okay with him being in the class. However, the decision for who gets to train at what age is not mine at our school. My father and his wife are the school owners and oeprators.

I have to say that I'm not fully sure how I'll run things when I have my own school someday. I know younger teens can do great working through techniques and forms with adults, but when it comes to applications, grappling, and sparring it is far harder to properly match a young teen with an adult. In a way, both students are disadvantaged. The adult really has to hold back a lot and the young person may not have enough mass to really do anything.

Sometimes, though, the opposite is true. I teach a family class on Saturdays and it usually seems that the children act more mature and the adults are more willing to laugh and play a little. I can't get into advanced self-defense work or anything that would be dangerous for the children, but the classes tend to work out very well.