Expanding Your Capabilites

Raising Kids Who Know Their Own Strength

What does it mean to be strong?

When we think about strength, we often think about physical ability. Being bigger. Being faster. Being able to lift something heavy or overpower someone else.

But strength comes in many different forms.

Strength can be having the courage to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. It can be staying calm when you’re scared or frustrated. It can be trying again after you’ve failed. It can be asking for help when you need it. It can be knowing when to walk away.

As parents, instructors, and adults who care about children, one of the greatest things we can give them is not the belief that they will never face difficult things. It’s the belief that they are capable of handling difficult things when they do.

That is one of the things I love most about Jiu-Jitsu.

Discovering What You’re Capable Of

Children don’t always know how strong they are.

Sometimes they look at another child who is bigger, faster, or more athletic and decide, “I can’t do that.”

Then they step onto the mat.

They struggle with a technique. They get stuck. They try something that doesn’t work. They try again. Eventually, something clicks.

And suddenly they realize:

I can do this.

That moment is about so much more than learning a Jiu-Jitsu technique.

It’s a child discovering that their limitations aren’t always what they thought they were.

The next time they face something difficult, they have a new experience to draw from. They’ve already learned that something can feel impossible right up until the moment it isn’t.