It’s 6:19 AM as I’m writing this… The date is Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025. Last night, I taught my last kids BJJ class at Affinity Academy (the BJJ gym I’ve been training at for the past 4 and a half years). The image above? It was taken at the end of last night’s class. The reason it’s my last time teaching there is that I’m moving to Kelowna for a new job.
For the past 6 months, I’ve been teaching kids’ BJJ—and it’s been a blast. It’s a bittersweet moment… I’m excited for this new chapter of my life, but I’m also down about leaving everything behind, including these munkins. The cool thing is that these kids taught me a lot, and I wanted to share a few of those lessons with you.
3 Unique Takeaways Of Teaching Kids’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
It’s strange… You don’t realize how powerful a phase of your life is until it’s about to end. It’s only then that you see how that period has shaped you. The lessons, the insights, the takeaways… They all seem to come only when you’re about to move into the next chapter. So, here are a few of the learnings I’ve had after teaching kids BJJ for the last 6 months.
1. Everyone Has Seeds Of Potential
There was one kid in the class who was a complete brainiac. Seriously. Probably the smartest kid I’ve ever met. He had facts and figures organized in his brain like files in a filing cabinet. Impressive vocabulary, super sharp kid. Then, something interesting happened… I started noticing these little quirks in all my students.Â
They all had unique aspects that revealed glimpses into their leanings, temperaments, and personalities. In other words, I saw the seeds of their potential. And while none of that potential had been realized yet (they’re still just kids after all), I got to see glimpses of it inside them. That was special.
2. How To Be A Kid Again
I taught kids BJJ on the side, but my full-time position is as a copywriter. So my life is filled with meetings, direct reports, project deadlines, etc. I’m operating in an adult world where responsibilities and expectations are high. Don’t get me wrong; I love what I do for a living. But real-world obligations make it easy to lose touch with that childlike spark.
Teaching the kids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes brought me back to what it feels like to not have a care in the world. That’s pretty cool. It made me feel young again. Honestly? I saw my younger self in a lot of my students.Â
3. Inspired A New Direction
Sometimes, at the end of class, I would sit the kids down and share a personal story from my own life. A key moment that taught me an important lesson, a failure that revealed a personal weakness, etc. As I shared these insights, I noticed the kids seemed focused. Attentive. Like they were really getting the message.
Afterward, I would even have Coach Tantley (the other coach in the photos above me) tell me how even the parents—who watched the classes from the seats at the side—felt inspired by these little mat chats. I’ve been a public speaker for years. But I never fully committed to moving in that direction. That changes now.
The experience of sharing my stories, seeing the kids take on the lessons I’ve learned, and even inspiring the parents with nothing more than my words… That was everything. That’s what I want. I think I’ve wanted that for a long time now… These kids just helped me remember it.
Final Thoughts
Teaching kids BJJ has changed my life. Honesty? Those kids had a bigger impact on me than I had on them. And for that… I’m grateful. The way I see it: I was supposed to have that experience. Now, I get to take these lessons and experiences with me into the next chapter of my life, as I move to Kelowna (and beyond).
