Your Child's First Class

You booked a class. Here’s everything you need to know before you walk through the door.

Before You Leave the House

What your child should wear: Athletic clothes they can move in. No pockets, no zippers, no velcro. A rash guard and grappling shorts are ideal, but a t-shirt and athletic shorts work fine. We have loaner gear at the gym if you need it.

What to bring: A water bottle and flip flops or slides. Your child will need to use the bathroom during class, and putting socks and shoes on and off eats into class time. Slides solve this.

Remove before class:

• All jewelry: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches. This is a safety hazard for your child and their training partners. Please check before you leave.
• Makeup. It stains clothing and mats.

Nails must be trimmed and filed. Both fingernails and toenails. Long or jagged nails scratch training partners and can catch and tear during grappling. If we see long nails, your child will sit out to trim them before rejoining class. Make this part of your pre-class routine.

Your child needs to be clean. No mud or dirt on their feet. No food on their clothes. No paint on their skin. Your child will be in very close physical contact with other kids, and whatever is on them ends up on everyone else.

When You Arrive

Come in about 10 minutes early. A coach will greet you and your child and show you both around: changing rooms, bathroom, shelves for backpacks, and the mat. When your child is ready, the coach will meet them on the mat.

Before class starts, the coach will walk your child through three things:

1. How class works. A warmup followed by several games. Simple enough that they’ll know the routine within a week.
2. How class ends. Everyone lines up on the wall for a bow and high fives.
3. What tapping means. This is the most important rule in the gym. A tap, whether it’s a hand on someone, a hand on the mat, or saying “tap,” means stop. Immediately. Every time. Your child will hear this explained at their level. For Little Lions (ages 4-7), it’s straightforward: “If you feel scared, squished, or just want to stop, tap. When someone taps you, let go right away.” For Golden Tigers (ages 7-13), the explanation includes more about how tapping works with submissions.

The coach will also announce to the class that there’s someone new and remind everyone to be safe and welcoming.

What You’ll See During Class

For the first game, your child will sit with a coach and watch a full round before joining in. The coach will point out how everyone is moving, ask your child to spot who looks safe and smooth, and talk about being a good training partner. Then they’ll be paired up and jump in.

After that, class follows a pattern: a coach-led warmup with movement games, then a series of grappling games with specific rules and goals. The coach introduces concepts, watches, adjusts difficulty, and gives brief feedback throughout.

A few things that might surprise you:

It might look chaotic. The games have structure even when the room looks noisy. The coach is watching for safety and adjusting in real time.

Your kid might lose a lot. That’s expected and it’s good for them. We design games so every kid gets plenty of reps on both sides of winning and losing. Losing is where most of the learning happens.

It might not look like “martial arts.” Especially with Little Lions, class looks more like structured play than a traditional martial arts program. That’s by design. The grappling concepts are embedded in the games. Precision comes later.

No submissions in Little Lions. If your child is in the 4-7 age group, there are no chokes or joint locks in class. Period. For Golden Tigers (7-13), submissions may be part of the curriculum depending on age and size, but safety is always the priority.

What Not to Do

Don’t coach from the sidelines. No “go for the arm” or “get up” or “use your legs.” We cover this in depth in It’s Just a Game, but the short version: sideline coaching increases pressure, pulls your child’s attention out of the game, and prevents them from learning to problem-solve on their own.

Don’t intervene when your child is frustrated. Getting pinned or losing a game can bring big feelings, especially for younger kids. That’s normal. Let the coach handle it. The ability to experience a difficult emotion and come out the other side is one of the most important skills our program develops. Every time they work through it on their own, they get a little more resilient.

Don’t worry about behavior. If your child is playing around or not paying perfect attention, that’s usually fine. We have expectations for kids to be respectful, but zero expectations for them to be serious. If there’s a behavior issue that needs addressing, the coach will handle it.

After Class

A coach will find your child after class and ask if they had fun. Then they’ll check in with you to answer any questions about the program.

What to ask your child: “Did you have fun?” and “What games did you play?” are great. Avoid “Did you win?” or “How did you do?” The questions you ask after class shape what your child thinks matters.

If your child borrowed loaner gear, please make sure it comes back before you leave. We don’t have enough to let it walk out the door.

What’s Next

• Youth Program Goals to understand what we’re building in your child
• It’s Just a Game for how to support your child’s training long-term
• Questions or concerns? Call the gym directly and ask for the head coach