PITTSBURG, Kan. – Andrew Browne didn’t get into martial arts until he was 22 years old.
ARISE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU WEBSITE
“I wish I would have started when I was two,” Browne says.
Now, he’s on the other side of it as an instructor giving the next generation the chance to start a little earlier.
“It not only gives them a self defense aspect and structure, but every day they’re building confidence and also being humbled,” Browne says of teaching Jiu-Jitsu to the next generation, “It keeps them right in the middle, and helps them out in the long run, I feel.”
“As a parent, you know you’re not going to be able to keep them safe their entire life,” says Kimberly Wallace, whose 9-year-old son trains with Browne, “I think as parents we need to give them tools to do that themselves, and Jiu-Jitsu has been great for that.”
Browne is the owner and instructor at Arise Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Pittsburg – taking students as young as six years old.
“We got into Jiu-Jitsu and he loves it,” Wallace says of her son, “The smile on his face…he just lights up every time he’s here. He loves it.”
“I’ve had some kids come in with low confidence and they’re not flexible. Their parents say they’re bullied and this and that…seeing their confidence get built up just means the world to me,” Brown says.
“When he’s home and he stubs his toe, the world ends,” Wallace says of her son with a laugh, “When he’s here with his teammates he’s a total different kid.”
In addition to teaching kids and adults five days per week and coaching tournaments on some weekendsj, Browne competes himself and also has a part time job outside of Jiu-Jitsu.
“You don’t sleep much,” he says of how he keeps a busy schedule, “Passion and love. You gotta do what you love, and I’m doing what I love,” Browne adds of teaching kids, “I’d love to have hundreds of them. I’d have a lot more grey hair, but I’d love to have hundreds of kids. There wasn’t Jiu-Jitsu in Pittsburg before we got here. I want that to be available for them, and I want it to be available to them for as long as they want to do it.”
Browne has about 35 total students currently, including 10-15 kids.
Click HERE to check out Arise Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s website, including class schedule and contact information – and HERE to check out their Facebook page.
COPYRIGHT 2021 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.