Every parent researching martial arts eventually asks the same thing: which one is best for my kid? It's a fair question — but I'd argue it's the wrong first question. Here's the honest answer, including real credit to the other arts, and why we chose to build our academy around Brazilian jiu jitsu.
The Real Question Isn't the Art — It's the Instructor
When a parent asks me what the best martial art for a kid is, the first thing I do is redirect it. The better question is: who's the best instructor for your kid?
Martial arts as a whole has lost its way. Too many places have traded the development of the individual — which is the enormous, essential part of being a martial artist — for medals and trophies. They're trying to produce athletes instead of martial artists. Any place that sticks to developing the individual first and foremost is, to me, the most important thing you can find. There also needs to be a legitimate self-defense side, so the child genuinely learns to protect themselves — but that's just one of the tools we use to develop a person into a better version of themselves.
This is why the instructor matters more than the style on the sign out front. A martial arts instructor who's really just an athlete-coach is no different from a coach for a sports team — and a sports coach often only cares about winning the game. They'll look past a kid being a poor individual as long as the team wins. That's the opposite of what martial arts is supposed to do.
Find the instructor who develops the person first. The art matters less than the hands it's taught by.
Why We Teach Jiu Jitsu
I'll always be partial to jiu jitsu — it's the art that truly grabbed hold of me. But my reasons go beyond that. I believe Brazilian jiu jitsu is the best martial art for self-defense when you consider the sheer number of answers it gives you to solve problems from any position.
Think about boxing. It's a great art for developing real fighting skill — but it gives you no answer for when you end up on the ground, on your back. Jiu jitsu gives you an answer from a standing position, from the top on the ground, and from the bottom on the ground. No other martial art gives you the same depth of positional understanding. That total picture — an answer for nearly every scenario you might have to fight or survive from — is what makes it, in my view, the best martial art for self-defense.
The catch: it has to be taught a specific way. Academies that focus on sport jiu jitsu first will often throw that self-defense completeness out the window. Taught right, though, nothing matches its versatility.
How BJJ Compares to Striking Arts
Compared to striking arts like karate, taekwondo, or boxing, jiu jitsu focuses on the grappling aspect — and here's why that matters: if you look at most real fights, they turn into a grappling scenario. If a kid has no way to deal with that, they're going to have a lot of problems. You either need to prevent the grappling exchange or be better than the other person once it happens, and jiu jitsu builds exactly that.
And there's the brain. A grappling-first art means a child isn't taking repeated shots to the head the way they would in boxing or kickboxing. It saves the brain, and it gives kids far more ability to walk away unharmed — which, especially while they're still developing, is the most important thing of all.
What BJJ Does That Others Don't
Beyond the problem-solving and confidence-building you can get from many arts, jiu jitsu teaches something most others barely touch: how to fight and stay safe from the bottom. When you're on your back and someone is trying to harm you, jiu jitsu has answers — and most other arts give that position very little focus. That can be enormous in a real self-defense situation, especially for girls and women.
Credit Where It's Due: The Other Arts
I'm not going to pretend the other arts have nothing to offer — they absolutely do, and a well-rounded martial artist borrows from all of them:
- Boxing is fantastic for learning how to punch and for developing excellent footwork to stay out of danger. It builds real athleticism in the feet.
- Judo develops a lot of that same footwork and, of course, world-class throws.
- Taekwondo is excellent for learning how to kick — they're truly great at it.
There's a lot you can take from each of these arts. Everybody should find what a given art is excellent at and eventually fold those pieces into their training. We shouldn't be one-trick ponies — the goal is a broad understanding of many things, then specialization in one.
The Bottom Line
If a parent could only pick one martial art for their child, my honest advice is to base the choice on the instructor and the values they put out — far more than on the style itself. The instructor is what matters most.
But if you're asking which art I'd pick, I'd choose jiu jitsu one hundred percent — as long as it's taught the right way — because of the versatility it gives you to survive more scenarios than almost any other art ever will. That's exactly what we've built here in Thibodaux: real jiu jitsu, taught by people who develop the individual first.
Come see the difference for yourself. Your child's first week at our Thibodaux academy is free. Claim a free week and meet our team.
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