Jessa Khan says teaching kids jiu-jitsu helps her understand 'the gentle art' better

Jessa Khan's Brazilian jiu-jitsu game has been growing at an ever-increasing rate. And one of the reasons for that is because of her role in helping young athletes develop their skill set.

As a lifelong student of the sport, the 21-year-old felt it was only fitting to explore other options than just being a competitor. And being an educator has been one of her top priorities ever since she was a teenager.

Now, she’s pleased to be able to execute that role at AOJ, where she became the first black belt student from the gym’s famed founders, Guilherme and Rafael Mendes, in October 2020.

In an interview with Alex Wendling, Jessa Khan had this to say about her role as a coach to the next generation of superstars.

She said:

“Yeah. I mean, you know, when we're teaching kids jiu-jitsu, but like it's also helping us teach like, just how to explain to kids, and we're learning other things that like go into it, you know.”

The BJJ black belt added:

“It's not just like about teaching, because you just doing it for the sake of doing it. It's like everything else that goes into it, like having to deal with a kid, understanding how to deal with their attitude, or getting their confidence up. Just little things like that that add up.”

Watch the interview here:

Jessa Khan started training in the discipline from a young age. Despite being forced to switch gyms, due to her father’s occupation, the Cambodian-American athlete has never once decided to call it quits or choose something different.

As a result, the Texas native, now an IBJJF world champion, has reaped the rewards of her single-focused mindset.

In about two weeks, she hopes to gain another world title when she collides against Danielle Kelly for the inaugural atomweight submission grappling gold at ONE Fight Night 14 in U.S. primetime on Friday, September 29.

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