Building champions at home: The role of family in Zamzam Al Hammadi's Jiu-Jitsu success

Abu Dhabi: Long before Zamzam Al Hammadi stepped onto a mat, she watched someone else do it.

Her mother trained in judo and jiu-jitsu. And in the Al Hammadi home, that was not something that happened somewhere else. It happened in front of the children.

“Sport was simply part of our everyday life,” Nada Al Nuaymi said.

Zamzam and her siblings, Ghala and Zayed, were curious children who liked to try new things.

“They would watch closely, paying attention to the movements and techniques and then try to imitate and practise the techniques themselves.” she said.

Zamzam began practising jiu-jitsu when she was three and a half years old.

Learning by watching

Nada did not sit her children down and explain what they should love. She noticed what they kept coming back to.

“I began to notice that their interest in sport kept returning and that they genuinely wanted to learn more,” she said.

She thinks the early years matter for exactly this reason.

“Staying close to our children during their early years gives us the chance to notice what naturally draws their attention sometimes even before they are able to put those interests into words.” she said.

Training together is the key

Nada is an athlete herself, and she did not leave her children to find sport alone. She exercised with them.

But she was careful about what those hours should be.

“I never wanted those moments to be only about training and instructions, I also wanted there to be encouragement, conversation and fun, and for them to feel that we genuinely enjoyed the time we spent together.”

The result, she believes, is that sport meant more to her children than exercise.

“From an early age they associated sport with enjoyment and closeness as a family,” she said. It became part of their family memories, while gradually building the commitment and discipline that later shaped their sporting journeys.

Time and patience are important

The picture is not one of effortless confidence. Nada is open about that.

“My children tended to be shy, and interacting with others was not always easy for them at first.”

Her response was not to push. She stayed close, listened and tried to understand how they were feeling. Then she gently encouraged them to engage with other children, especially those who shared their interests.

“I did not want them to feel that they had to change quickly, I wanted them to know that I was there beside them and that they could take the time they needed to feel comfortable in their own way.”

It worked slowly. “With time, patience and repeated experiences, they gradually became more comfortable and confident interacting with others.”

Love, passion and initiative

Sport was only one thread in the family’s life.

“Reading and storytelling were always part of our home,” Nada said. Her father loved reading to her children and telling them stories, and those moments became a beautiful part of their relationship with him.

She also wanted her children to grow up with the traditions and values she grew up with. Not by talking about them, but by living them.

“I wanted them to be part of what they saw and experienced in our everyday lives in how we treated our family and others, in our own commitment, and in the way we encouraged one another.”

Love, passion, initiative and helping others, while staying connected to their family, their country and their values. That is what she hoped to pass on.

And she wanted her children to understand that their talents are not only about personal achievement. They can also benefit the people around them and their wider community.

Where confidence begins

How much freedom is too much? Nada’s answer is a balance.

“I give my children room to explore, try different things and make some choices for themselves, while making sure that guidance is always there without restricting them.”

When they make mistakes, she tries to explain what went wrong calmly and with love, and to help them see what they can learn from it, rather than focusing only on the mistake itself.

Asked what made the greatest difference, Nada does not point to a single moment. She points to many small things, repeated through childhood: the time together, the shared sport, her father’s stories, the conversations and the encouragement whenever they tried something new.

“When children feel that they have people who believe in them, listen to them and stand beside them throughout the journey, not only when they succeed, they gradually begin to build confidence in themselves,” she says.

“I believe that confidence began at home, long before it became visible through sport or any other area of their lives.”

What she would tell other parents

Her advice to parents who are noticing a spark in their child is to begin by being close, not by chasing results.

“Spend time with them. Notice what they naturally choose and what they keep returning to during their early years.”

Ask what they enjoy. Give them room to explore, without turning every new interest into a goal or a competition.

Sometimes what matters most is that a child feels their parents enjoy sharing something they love, whether it becomes an achievement or simply stays a happy experience they shared together.