BJJ Near Redondo Beach, CA — Kaizen Academy Venice Is Your Westside Home
Redondo Beach residents looking for top-quality BJJ instruction are 25 minutes from Kaizen Academy in Venice, CA — worth every minute of the drive.
Redondo Beach has a vibrant beach community and active fitness culture — but quality Brazilian Jiu Jitsu options nearby are limited. Kaizen Academy in Venice, CA is accessible from Redondo Beach in approximately 25 minutes and offers one of the highest quality BJJ programs on the Westside. This post covers directions, what Redondo Beach residents can expect, and how to book a free first class.
Let's be honest about the one thing that matters most for Redondo Beach residents weighing Kaizen Academy: it's a real drive. Twenty-five minutes up the coast, give or take traffic. So before the directions and the pitch, here's the straight question — is it worth it?
Our answer, and the one our South Bay students give after a few months: yes, for the specific reasons below. If those reasons don't matter to you, a closer gym is the right call. If they do, the drive stops feeling like a drive.
The routes from Redondo Beach
From the Pier / North Redondo: PCH north through Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, then Lincoln Blvd north. Roughly 22–28 minutes, and genuinely scenic if you time it right.
From South Redondo / the Torrance border: Hawthorne Blvd north to El Segundo Blvd, west to Sepulveda/Lincoln, then north. About 25–30.
Via the 405: north to the Lincoln Blvd exit, then south to 2014 Lincoln. 25–30 depending on the freeway.
What actually justifies the drive
There are competent BJJ gyms between Redondo and Venice. Our South Bay students pass them for three things a closer option couldn't give them.
The first is who's actually teaching. At many gyms the head instructor runs the advanced class and assistants handle the rest. At Kaizen, Andrew Menard — black belt, nine-plus years teaching, a competition record you can look up — is on the mat for every session, beginner classes included. You learn from the person whose name is on the door.
The second is the room itself. Classes cap at 15. That number is the whole difference between being coached and being crowd-managed — more reps with better partners, and an instructor who catches your mistakes in time to fix them.
The third is the drive home. Our Redondo students describe it as decompression — the day's stress left on the mat, twenty quiet minutes down the coast to reset before walking in the door. The commute becomes part of the training, not a tax on it.
Bring the kids, or come solo
If you're making the trip anyway, our kids program (ages 3–13) runs on a schedule that lets families train in overlapping windows — one drive, two people on the mat.
Try it once, then decide
The only way to know if the drive is worth it is to make it once. First class is free — no contract, no gear, no pressure. 2014 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 · (424) 299-1563.