About a year ago, my wife and I decided to look into Jiu Jitsu schools for our then 7 and 11 year-old daughters. We went to the Gilbert Carlson Gracie Academy during a kid's class to check it out and really liked the instructor and the energy of the class in general. Our girls tried the class the following night and I couldn't believe how respectful and helpful the other kids were to the newcomers. Kids being kids, I fully expected my girls to be shown exactly where they stood in the pecking order during live rolling (sparring), but the other students were nothing but helpful and welcoming. It was very clear that somebody was doing something right with these kids. Within a week, all three of us were members.
One year later, my daughters are being taught respect for authority and their peers, how to work hard and achieve goals, and of course, they're learning how to defend themselves. The instructors and other members are like family at this point and we couldn't be happier with our decision to join the Carlson Gracie Team.