A Letter to Parents from Head Instructor Eduardo de Lima

Eduardo de Lima

Dear Parents,

While my “job” is to teach martial arts, my desire is to help children (and adults) improve their lives and reach greater levels of health and happiness. This is why I am concerned about today’s youth. As a parent, you may share many of these same worries.

Today I see too many children in schools that try to cram their heads full of facts and figures so they can pass tests but never teaching them how to use what they are learning. The importance of physical education is undervalued and PE classes are being removed from schools.

When the kid gets home, they are planted in front of TVs, computers and videos games, staring at flashing screens for hours instead of spending time doing healthy activities like playing outside with friends, spending time with the family, playing imaginatively, reading, doing homework or doing chores. The average kid watches 3 hours of TV per day and sees tens of thousands of advertisements each year (mostly for junk food).[1. Your Child | Television | University of Michigan Health System]

America is facing an obesity epidemic unimagined in times before mass production and marketing of junk food. The percentage of overweight and obese children has more than doubled in the last 30 years,[2. Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts, National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions] contributing to a rise in type 2 diabetes.[3. Type 2 diabetes, MayoClinic.com, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research]

These factors—too much TV, lack of exercise and poor diet—have been proven to increase the risk of serious health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke and cancer as a child matures. There is also growing evidence of their role in depression, social anxiety, trouble sleeping, attention deficit disorders and developmental, behavioral and learning problems.[3. Your Child | Obesity | University of Michigan Health System]

I will tell you what I tell my all parents. Ultimately, I don’t care whether or not your child does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. What I want is for them to find a passion that excites them and makes them happier and healthier. It could be anything, from playing piano to swimming to skateboarding or spelling bees.

But I have to say that in my two decades of practicing and teaching the art, I have come to see Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as an almost unmatched means of self-improvement. It offers all of the benefits of traditional sports, but as a martial art is also has a culture that encourages emotional and mental development.

On a physical level, the benefits of regular exercise include increased muscle and bone strength, increased lean muscle mass and decreased body fat and helps maintain weight.[4. Physical Activities in Children and Adolescents, Bright Futures at Georgetown]

Researchers are finding strong positive relationships between physical activity and improved academic performance. Regular exercise aids in brain development and improves concentration, motor skills and coordination and builds self-esteem. Studies have even found cases where devoting more time to physical activities and less to academic studies has lead to better scores in math and reading than study alone.[5. Does Physical Activity Influence Academic Performance?, American Heart Association]

Sports and martial arts have also been shown to improve critical thinking and problem solving, promote social interaction, cooperation and friendship and build self-discipline, trust, leadership and respect for others.[6. Sports and kids: Pathway to healthy development or to unhealthy competition?, NYU Child Study Center]

Sincerely,
Eduardo de Lima
Head Instructor
Third Degree Black Belt
Gracie Barra Clearwater