Level of BJJ training in LA has seriously declined, Kit Dale cautions

“The level of Jiu-Jitsu there is a little lower than the level of Jiu-Jitsu here,” Dale remarked when comparing his current training environment in Melbourne to his experiences in LA. “I don’t get as much out of doing the Jiu-Jitsu [in LA], so I’m mainly doing the wrestling because I feel like that’s where the people are strongest, and I can learn the most.”

Dale, who relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his filmmaking career, noted a dramatic change in the training ecosystem. When asked about finding quality training partners in LA, Dale explained the fragmentation of the once-thriving community:

“It’s all separated. It’s really far. Like you might be able to go to Homalos and then you got to go over two hours this way or two hours that way to put together a bunch of people.”

The migration of top talent has apparently contributed to this decline.

“Everyone left,” Dale stated bluntly. “Everyone did like, you know, San Diego is great and Texas is great right now. But LA definitely the level jumped and scattered a lot.”

This exodus has left Dale, who is currently preparing for the CGI trials, struggling to find meaningful training sessions in Hollywood.

“I’m trying to get people. I’m like, ‘Oh, can you train tonight?’ ‘Oh, no, I can’t train tonight.’ ‘Can you train?’ ‘I can’t train tonight.’ So then I’m not even bothering going because I’m like, I’m not going to be stimulated in any way, shape or form.”

The contrast with his current training environment in Melbourne is striking. Dale describes how returning to Melbourne has reignited his passion for training:

“Now I’m back here and I’ve got these guys with phenomenal guards, really good Jiu-Jitsu, even solid wrestling. So it’s been a lot more fun, and I’ve trained more in the last two months than I have in probably the last two years.”

This training disparity comes at a crucial time for Dale, who is preparing for competition despite being, as he puts it,

“the oldest, most likely in there and one of the smallest in there”

among his competitors.

Ultimately Kit Dale didn’t make the Australia Quintet team but he did come close ultimately placing third.