It feels awesome to set challenging goals and nail them!

You know how good it feels to set your sights on a goal and then achieve it. It’s empowering and invigorating.

Hitting goals and overcoming challenges is not just a matter of chance. Goal-setting is an important life skill that serves everyone and is especially important for our kids.

The good news is that studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial arts can help your child learn:

• The importance of setting goals
• How to set realistic goals
• How to pursue goals in a way that maximizes the chance of success

Let’s break it down and talk about how that works.

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu’s martial arts instruction uses a series of goalposts to teach kids. You probably know them as belts – and each belt has stripes, too. Each stripe on a belt indicates a level of achievement, and a move from one color belt to a new color is an achievement.

The instruction we provide is carefully calibrated to provide students with achievable goals. They’ll never be asked to make big leaps in ability. Instead, they pursue small goals that allow them to experience the joy of steady improvement.

Of course, in our classes we provide those goals by telling kids what’s expected of them. But we also talk about why the goals are what they are – and we emphasize that slow and steady progress is the best way to master the martial arts.

What does this do for kids?

It teaches them what a realistic goal looks like. They understand that a big goal can be broken down into smaller goals, and small goals can break down into individual tasks.

That’s information kids internalize, and they can use it to set goals at home, at school, and when the time comes, at work. We also talk to them about long-term and short-term goals and the differences between them.

For example, a child might dream of earning a black belt.

We tell them that’s a great long-term goal, but we point out that there are hundreds of smaller goals to be met along the way to earning that black belt. We show them how those smaller goals accumulate to give them the tools they need to meet their big goal!

Pursuing goals also teaches kids that it’s important to challenge themselves.

Kids need challenges to keep them interested. And because they’re competing against themselves in martial arts, they learn the importance of being the best possible version of themselves.

Do you want your child to learn about goal-setting in a fun way? Click here to sign up for a 2 week trial membership now!

Until next time,

Coach Marc Hagebusch

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for Everyone Ages 4/5 Through Adult Men and Women.

No experience necessary, beginners always welcome!