Today, I bring you guys an interview with Kit Dale, Australia's finest BJJ talent. He is probably best known for his rapid fast journey to black belt, his Jiu-Jitsu related comedy and of course his beard. I hope you guys enjoy the interview.
For some people who may
not be familiar with you, could you please introduce yourself?
My Name is Kit Dale. I
am a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor and coach, I have a comedy channel
with my brother Scott in which we both write and act. I do what I enjoy in life
and say what I think. Life is about having fun to me and that's what I do. I'm
passionate about my work but very laid back and down to earth.
So how exactly did you
get started in Jiu-Jitsu?
I started in 2008 with
my cousin. I was playing football at the time and was getting beaten up by some
of the bigger tougher players so I wanted to build my confidence by trying some
MMA. Soon after joining an MMA school I started doing the BJJ and really
enjoyed it. In 2009 I started competing and bar from taking one year off in
total from injuries I have been very consistent.
Why did you decide to
move to Checkmat?
I decided to go to
Checkmat after having a disagreement with the instructor about the way my old
academy was being run. I wanted to help the level grow by teaching. He wanted
to keep teaching himself even though he was way out of touch. Then I heard Yuri
Simoes was moving over and I was really interested to do some training with him
as he is an unbelievable grappler. We got along really way and I trained under
him for about 5 months until he left back to California and I took over the
club.
Your head instructor is
Yuri Simoes. What is relationship like with Yuri? And how is it to have him as
your instructor?
It was good; he is like
a brother to me and helped me a lot not just technically but mentally and still
does to this day. I don't see him often but he always messages me before big
comps or after it and lends some advice.
 |
| Yuri Simoes and Kit Dale |
Yuri has recently left
the Checkmat team, and has since joined Caio Terra’s team. He has previously
left Checkmat before only to return shortly later, do you think that will
happen again?
No I don't think he
will. He is really enjoying it with Caio Terra and so I see no reason why he
would leave.
So currently you are
with Checkmat, and Yuri is with Caio Terra. Are there any problems, since you
are with two separate teams?
The only people who have
problems are the political extremists. I train with who I want when I want. I'm
not bound to the laws of politics and if someone tries to control me that way
then I would no longer represent them. I represent Checkmat but I do my own
thing and they let me which is why our relationship lasts.
How is the Jiu-Jitsu
scene in Australia? And how does it compare to the rest of the world?
It's very far behind at
the moment, but there are a few working really hard to catch up. Unfortunately
the numbers are much smaller and most people here are more interested in making
money then growing the level of Australian BJJ. Otherwise we would have been a
lot closer by now.
You have claimed a lot
of titles in your very short career, but what would you say has been your
biggest accomplishment?
Well you can compare
coloured belt titles to black belt matches. But at the time the Abu Dhabi pro
purple belt gold was one of my biggest achievements, beating DJ Jackson, Felipe
Pena and many other high level guys.
Last year, you had the
opportunity to compete at the Copa Podio middleweight Grand Prix. What was that
overall experience like? And would you do it again?
That was great. I only
received my black belt shortly before then, so to be invited was an amazing
thrill for me to share the stage with so many high level guys. I will never
forget that experience. I really hope to be invited back soon as I want to
visit Brazil again.
You have had the
opportunity to fight Paulo Miyao twice, once at the 2012 Asian Open, and the
second being at the 2013 WPJJC. Both of these matches are very close, but how
was the overall experience fighting Miyao?
Well he is a difficult
opponent to face but a fun one. Because it's not going to be a physical war so
I'm not going to be super tired, which I am glad, but technically it is very
difficult. He is a specialist and the best in the world at what he does, I
enjoy trying to fight him at his own game and so far have done very well losing
both times by one questionable advantage. Next time I fight him I will try and
enforce my will onto him instead of playing his and see how the match
goes.
 |
| Kit faces Paulo Miyao at the 2013 WPJJC |
What was your strategy
going in against Miyao? And did it change at all between both of the matches?
The first time I was
more interested in seeing what he does and trying to come up with a strategy
then, but I couldn't figure it out in time, and lost by an advantage for his
near back attack. The second time I was a lot more ready and felt I did a much
better job at defending and spent a bit less energy. Unfortunately it was too
little too late and the match finished with me starting to push the pace but
running out of time with a near late pass.
At the worlds in 2013,
you went up against Keenan Cornelius in the first round. Many consider that to
be Keenan’s hardest match to date at the brown belt level, how does that make
you feel? And were you concerned fighting Keenan first round?
It's nice to know as he
destroyed many people and fought many hard people at brown belt. I was
concerned but more excited to get to fight him. He was bigger and more
experienced so the pressure was not in me. I had a good strategy for that fight
and think I did enough to win a refs decision but unfortunately a phantom
advantage was given to him somewhere in that match and it was the cause of my
loss in the end.
 |
| Kit against Keenan Cornelius at the 2013 Worlds Source: Mike Calimbas |
What has been your most
challenging competition match?
My most challenging would
be fighting Metamoris against Garry Tonon. This was made more difficult by the
rules. 20 minute submission only No-Gi is not my style. So it was difficult
trying to come up with a strategy for someone like him in this situation as it
is a great style for him.
At this year’s Pan Ams,
there was some confusion on your entry into the tournament. Can you clarify
what exactly happened?
Well it was a last
minute thing as I was originally opening a new academy at that time, but due to
a building problem it was postponed till later, opening time for me to compete
at the pan ams. I left two days later but wanted to see how my weight was before
registering in a division. I waited three days in San Jose to see my weight,
then when deciding to register it turned out the divisions closed 3 hours
earlier and they would not let me enter late. It was disappointing but also
good because I got to enjoy the pan ams without the stresses of competing.
 |
| Source: BJJPix |
What are some of your
goals for the rest of 2014?
Get more experience at
black belt. Get more exposure and spend more time acting.
Are you considering
qualifying for the 2015 ADCC?
Yes I would like to.
Unfortunately there are no trials in Australia so I will have to go overseas for
this. But it is definitely on the cards.
You were promoted to
black belt after just four and a half years of training. Could you take us
through how you achieved it so quickly?
This is true and I got
it because I was smart about the way I trained and I found a method that speeds
up your learning time by 4x. It was a bit of an accident from just being lazy
but proved to help me a lot in the big picture.
Has anything changed
since you were promoted to black belt?
Yes the level in
competition is much much higher so I need to be a lot smarter with my
preparation and strategy. Otherwise still the same game just different colour
belt.
You recently moved to a
new gym, how is everything going with that?
It's going good. I have
a lot of more serious high level competitors with me now, and we have all grown
together like a family. It is run very different to what you will see in your
normal gym but everyone there trusts my judgment and can see the results.
You’re pretty well known
for your online funny videos. What inspired you to start making them? And do
you get to do them as often as you would like?
I don't do them near as
often as I would like unfortunately due to many reasons. One being free time,
but ever since me and my brothers were younger we always enjoyed making films
and acting. So it's only natural that we kept doing them. My brother bought a
camera and started leading about how to film, direct and write and I enjoy
acting in them so it's a good relationship.
What is your weekly
training regime like?
I train once during the
day at lunch time in the competition class for an hour of just rounds of
sparring. Then at night I teach the advanced class and sometimes jump in the
specific training.
Do you do a lot of
strength and conditioning workouts?
My warm-ups consist of
many acrobatic exercises like flips, hand stand as such. So that is the only
conditioning I get. And it's more about making me more nimble and aware than
about strength and conditioning.
Personally, do you take
any supplements?
Sometimes I will take
BCAAs but that's all. I eat well now so that's all I need.
Except for Jiu-Jitsu,
what do you get up to in your spare time?
Filming, writing,
talking to people on social media, playing console games and watching movies :)
And finally, are you
ever going to shave your beard?
Possibly, if I lose to
Garry Tonon in our rematch I promised I would :)
Okay, time for the quick
fire questions, they are:
1. Charmander, Squirtle or Bulbasaur? Charmander
2. Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart? Shawn
3. Automatic or Manual Transmission? Manual
4. DX or NWO? NWO
5. Honey Mustard or BBQ Sauce? BBQ
6. Resident Evil or Silent Hill? Resident Evil
7. Marcelo Garcia or Rafael Mendes? Marcelo
8. Rodolfo Viera or Roger Gracie? Rodolfo
9. PC or Console? Console
10. Frieza or Cell? Freiza
11. Hotel or Tent? Hotel
12. Tea or Coffee? Coffee
13. Spiderman or Batman? Batman
14. Dark Chocolate or White Chocolate? White
15. Berimbolo or 50/50? 50/50
16. Half Guard or Spider Guard? Half guard
17. Sting or the Undertaker? Sting
18. BBQ or Restaurant? Restaurant
19. CD or Download? Download
20. Cycle or Walk? Walk
Thank you very much Kit
for the interview, before we end is there anybody who you would like to
thank?
Just the fans for being
awesome supporters on what I do :) thank you.
Please like my fan page
Kit Dale, and subscribe to my website (www.kitdalebjj.com) and check out my
newest DVD which shows the secrets to how I got my black belt in just over 4
years (www.gobeyondtechnique.com).
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