True that. One of the first things Bruv taught me was to leave the ego at the door when stepping into the DA.
The thing is, for some reason, many people don't realize that pretty much every regular dueler (good, bad, or somewhere in-between) follows this advice.
As aggravating as a person may appear to be in the MA to those "not in the know," once you get them into the DA and just have a few fun fights, there is no chest thumping or ego to be seen (well, in the majority of cases, anyway--but the chest thumping and ego are almost always seen among two semi-equals butting heads, and almost never from one very good stick berating a poorer one).
Further, once you've fought the guys several times in the DA (win, lose, or draw), the amount of crap you get in the MA from them plummets. Any "crap" directed at you from them is actually joking, and you both understand that (whereas sometimes I think crap directed at others is not).
The DA is a great place. More people should take advantage of it. The "Good Ol' Boys Club" is not some exclusive, invite-only thing... All you have to do is show up and try.