Jayli Owens is Straight Blast Gym Buford's Kids Martial Arts Student of the Month for July 2021

"My wife and I thought it would be good for Jayli to have defensive and life skills for kindergarten."

These are the words of Anthony Owens, father of Jayli Owens. Jayli is a young student in our Kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program at Straight Blast Gym Buford. Earlier this year, Anthony enrolled his daughter in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a myriad of reasons, the primary one being what you read above. Jayli is in elementary school now and, unfortunately, going to school isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Kids can be jerks, as there are always going to be children that pick on, or act mean to, other kids.

That's where Brazilian Jiu Jitsu comes into play.

You'd be hard-pressed to find another martial art that gives kids the supreme confidence of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Being able to take an opponent down to the ground, and then control them once there, is a massive advantage in any physical altercation. Jayli's parents knew this and now she is soaking up the advantages of being an active Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete.

Like any kid joining a new activity, there's always going to be some skepticism and question over whether or not your child will not only enjoy but stick with the new sport/activity. As Anthony tells us, his daughter made up her mind pretty quickly.

"After a month or so she said she liked being able to be strong and loved the training, so we kept it going. She loves coming to the gym and has really grown in her confidence."

Jayli's father isn't the only person that is excited about her progress on Straight Blast Gym's Jiu Jitsu mats. One of her martial arts coaches, Randy Garcia, told us this about Jayli:

"Jayli is a model student. From the moment she steps on the mat she has this amazing energy about her, and it makes coaching her a real pleasure. It's normal for the younger kids to sometimes space out or complain about having to work hard, but not Jayli. She loves the physical contact and we love seeing her light up as she begins to successfully hit a new technique on one of her teammates."

Jayli recently wrote a letter to one of her coaches, Coach Woo, to show appreciation for his time and teachings.

Jayli's enthusiasm and positive attitude have had a direct correlation with her quickly picking up the techniques and movements of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After only 4 months with Straight Blast Gym Buford, Jayli has already been awarded several stripes on her white belt (stripes are used to show continued progression and improvement in Jiu Jitsu).

When asked about what she likes best about training in Straight Blast Gym Buford's Kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program, Jayli told us:

"I like wrestling with my friend Aedan (another young student in Jayli's class)."

We are very impressed with Jayli's dedication to Jiu Jitsu, and very appreciative of her bright and bubbly personality.

Thank you for all of your hard work Jayli, and congratulations on being named Straight last Gym Buford's Kids Martial Arts Student of the Month!

Jim Sheppard is one of the co-owners of Straight Blast Gym Buford and Straight Blast Gym Atlanta. He has been training / coaching / competing in Muay Thai since 2013 and holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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