Re-launching my Youtube Channel

So, with my son's 4th birthday fast approaching, I thought now would be as good a time as ever to Re-launch my Youtube channel, and to do so in a major way. I say so because the last major thing I did for YT was Fists of Absinthe, which was produced and released right when my son Ty was born. (My wife was literally securing locations for us, handling insurance, etc while she was in the hospital). Around that same time (largely because of the production of the film), I also started Quiet Flame Productions and the Quiet Flame Stunt Team, and between all of these things, my Youtube channel, (as well as my own film career) pretty much just fell off.

While I don't regret any part of any of that, and I'm generally happy with where everything is, in recent months I've really come to realize just how much of the process of building out these things and taking care of family has cost me personally. In getting my functional fitness certification from IHP, and redeveloping my core, I realized just how much strength I had lost (and how generally out of shape I had gotten), and it made me stop and reflect on a lot of other things as well. I think at the end of the day, there always has to be a certain balance to everything and one way that I had gotten out of balance was in taking care of myself. Both of my parents basically lived their lives in the service of others, and while I agree on it's importance, I also think you have to do for you too. When I was training in Taekwondo in Korea, I was good friends with a member of the Canadian national Olympic team, and one of the things he told me that always stuck with me was "If you wanna win, sometimes you just have to be selfish." As long as it's in under the auspices of balance, I agree with him and think he's right.

In any event, when I was going hard on Youtube 4 years ago, I was getting about 30,000 hits a month, and had around 17,000 subscribers. Now, I'm at about 14,500 subscribers and about 15,000 hits a month. You are officially a "social media influencer" at 5000 subscribers, so I am still well in that range, although nowadays you aren't something serious until you have about a million or so.

In any event, in order to re-launch the channel, I am filming all new episodes of "How to Defeat Dudes" (my flagship show) and launching 2 other new shows: "Martial Strengthening" and "Inside the Stunt Actor's Studio". The first, as the title would imply is a show dedicated to showing people how to strengthen their bodies specifically for martial arts. The second runs along the lines of How to Defeat Dudes, and is also comical in nature, but centers around teaching fight choreography techniques as opposed to self defense techniques.

Beyond this, the one video that I'm the most proud of right now is the Re-launch video itself- 36 Weapons of the Human Body. This video represents the culmination of a 20+ year career of martial arts and I couldn't think of something more appropriate to Re-launch with. It's something that I have had bouncing around in my head for forever and I feel super happy to have finally shot it and edited it...and can't wait to share it.  Interestingly enough, I can also see a big jump in my maturity as a producer/editor as well because the quality of this vid is well above things I have made before. In any event, lots of good of stuff on the way, and this is just the beginning. At 15K now. My goal is to have 100K of followers by the end of this year. Lofty, but certainly not impossible.  To put it ebonically, Ain't nothin to it, but to do it! YOSH!!

Shooting at the YouTube Space Tokyo in Roppongi

So, not too long ago, a friend of mine contacted to tell me that he had taken a tour of a new YouTube Studio that had just been build on the 29th floor of Roppongi Hills. He had said that he was able to get a press tour of it through the company he worked for, and that given the success of How to Defeat Dudes, I might be eligible to use it. Sure enough, I did a bit of homework and found out that such a studio did indeed exist... and it was only one of three in the world (with the other two being in London and LA).

 Basically, as YouTube continues to grow it is getting more and more of a share of people's leisure time viewing that traditionally only belonged to television, and cable. As such, they built these studios in key locations to allow their top partners access to better skills and equipment so that they could continue to create to local and international content that could compete in entertainment value with big budget or network TV.

Roppongi Hills: The Home of the YouTube Space Tokyo

With that, I looked into the requirements to film there, and while my channel is still relatively small for Youtube standards, (1/2 a million views), my regular monthly views were just enough for the minimum requirement of 15,000 per month (at that time I had 15,200) and my subscriber count was 6x higher. With that, I put in an application, and sure enough I was granted full access to the studio. I think I also lucked out in this regard because YouTube is still a lot smaller in Japan than it is in the states, so even though I was creating content largely for American / Western audiences, they were simply happy just to have me in to make use of the studio. As Youtube Japan & the studio continues to grow, who knows at a later date I may not have been able to get in to make use of it.

At any rate, I can now use the studio space and equipment to shoot there for free, I get an agent/mentor, and a manager, and I can take classes on production ranging from top level editing software like Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition, to how to use green screens and effective lighting strategies. Furthermore I also get the chance to meet and work with other top earning Japanese partners as well.

The Green Screen Set

Audio Recording Booth

The last camera I got to shoot on- the Canon FX305.
(About a $6000 camera)

In a lot of ways getting access to a studio like this was something I had been yearning for for years. How to Defeat Dudes always has been the flagship of my channel, and where most of my views come from. While I have created a few other things on my own since then that have done really well, ultimately, in order to succeed I knew that I would need to 1) continue the show and 2) create more content that was of the same or better quality. Having access to this studio will allow me to do just that without it being the massive financial strain that producing the first 13 episodes on my own was. Now I can not only continue the show indefinitely on my own, but I can also start more high production value shows (as well as my first Japanese channel) all while learning from top-notch industry experts, and on top-notch equipment- experiences that will lend itself very well to following my dream of producing content that extends beyond YouTube and onto other forms of media.

The only challenge that working at the studio presents is the fact that it is more or less all in Japanese. (i.e. All of the forms I have to fill out, all the classes I am taking, etc)... And trust me, learning to use Premiere Pro is hard enough in English. Learning it in Japanese is exhausting at times to say the least.

At the same time though, I'm not taking this opportunity for granted in the least… I'm getting to learn all those things that successful film makers go to school for, and doing it for free. And it's pretty damn safe to say that Chuck is a happy camper at the moment.

First Shooting with Canon Vixia G20 Prosumer Video Camera

My Canon Vixia G20 is small and light enough that I can
attach it to the handlebars of my bike with a Gorilla Grip.

So after having shot all 12 of the How to Defeat Dudes episodes on the director's Canon DSLR, I was naturally really impressed with what DSLRs can do for their diminutive size, and decided to pick one up, so that I could shoot all of the How to Defeat Dudes blogs with it as well. At the same time however, the more I looked into it, the more I thought that it wasn't really necessary for me to invest in getting one as of yet. Granted, I knew that I needed to upgrade from shooting them on my iphone as I had been doing, and while the trend is moving towards DSLRs replacing video cameras, the fact of the matter is, it hasn't happened as of it.

Even though the DSLRs do have far and away superior lense quality, the fact of the matter is, they are still primarily for shooting stills, and as such, shooting video with them is trickier, and focusing always has to be done manually. That may be fine for documentary or interview style shooting, but in addition to the video blogs, I also wanted a camera that I could use to shoot action with, which means an absolutely ton of movement, and not necessarily all in the same depth of field. Beyond that, there is also the issue that when you are not shooting on a tripod, the ergonomics of a DSLR are not exactly suited to shooting extensive amounts of video, like the shape of a video camera is. Lastly, insomuch as I am still a relative beginner to the world of cameras and editing, it didn't quite make sense to me to invest a ton of money into something that I don't have the knowledge to fully utilize. It'd be kind of like getting a Ferrari for a 16 yr. old who doesn't even know how to drive a stick yet.

The camera I decided on instead was the Canon Vixia G20. Although in the states the G20 are still around $1100 new, here in Japan (or reasons unbeknownst to me), they are relatively cheap, and can be picked up for around $700. (Here they are called the Ivis however). The menus are totally bilingual and can all be set to English. The only downside I have found is that the instructions do not come in English, so I had to download them from the internet. No big deal. The reason I decided to go with this camera was that for the price, it was just about the best deal you can get for a "pro-sumer" camera. As a Canon, the lenses are still amazing, and was also the only non-professional video camera I saw that came with it's own hood, and allowed for rack-focusing.

Just yesterday, I had the pleasure of finally shooting with it for the first time, and it was awesome to work with. Incredibily easy. I had heard that the microphones on these was sub-par, and that the battery sucked, but at least for my one day shoot, I had no complaints about either. On a half-charge, the battery let me take about 3 hours worth of footage, and the MIC worked well despite how much incredible background noise there was in the area.

Anyway, here is the video if you would like to be the judge of that yourself.


Beyond that, lacking a tripod, the camera was actually small enough and light enough that I could mount it onto the handle bars of my bicycle with a Gorilla grip, and that was all it took to get the job done. About the only complaint that I had was that after converting it to 1280 x 720 ("Youtube size" and the same size that the How to Defeat Dudes vids are) the video came out a bit grainy. Perhaps this is due to my lack of post-production editing skills, and could be fixed with color correction and what not anyway. Anyway, the point is that, I am very very happy with this camera, and looking forward to seeing what it can do once I really get it figured out.

My webshow (How to Defeat Dudes) on Cable TV

So not too long ago, I got an email that I had been waiting over a year for. It was from the acquisitions/production manager of a new cable TV network called BlackBelt TV. She ran across my web show, How to Defeat Dudes, loved the concept, content, and execution and contacted me directly to ask me if they can air the existing shows on their network. Pretty exciting stuff, and makes me very very glad I invested in the time, money and resources to do it right, and do it in HD. Also makes me very happy that I followed through to complete the series of 12 even though I only really had the funds to do 8. For that, I can't thank the people who supported my fundraiser enough.

They still haven't decided how exactly they are going to air them, but part of the problem, I'm sure, is that as a YouTube show, I wrote them all to be around 5 minutes long. Even adding in commercial breaks (which is about 6 to 10 min of broadcast time) that's way too short for them to air as television shows in and of themselves. Because of that, they will have to combine them with something else and/or include them in some other form of content.

As for Black Belt TV, the network was started by Larry Kasanoff, (The Producer of True Lies, Mortal Kombat, and Mortal Kombat Annihilation to name a few), and is still very much in it's early stages.  Although some might think this makes the deal less sweet because it is still relatively small, I think it is great because it means they will be more flexible, easier to communicate with and easier to work with than if it had been picked up by a massive network with an extensive hierarchy. Furthermore, this also puts me in a position where I can part of their first programming line-up, and as long as I work hard to make sure we maintain a positive relationship, I will also be able to continually contribute to the network in one way or another as it continues to build, and my own career continues to progress. (They said they are already looking forward to seeing the movie I am producing this fall.) Potentially, this is a very cool position to be in, but more than anything else, I still consider it to simply be a step forward. If absolutely nothing else, having Dudes up show on a channel that broadcasts to 50 countries around the world, and having it do so to a concentrated audience of martial arts enthusiasts should provide me with a massive spike of both views and subscribers on my YouTube channel, and that in by itself holds a great deal of value. How to Defeat Dudes is supposed to air in a few months and it will be interesting to see what kind of response I will get once I have access to a television audience. To be sure, I am going to have haters to deal with, but as long as the overall response continues to be overwhelmingly positive, I can live with that. For the moment though, it just feels great to say "Step 1: Mission Accomplished."

5 Factors to Consider when Choosing a Martial Arts School

Of all the questions that people ask me the most on the topic of martial arts, probably the most common one is how they can go about the process of finding themselves a good martial arts school. As such, I thought it would be nice to make a video blog out of it, so that people can find it online, have it look back on as a reference, and/or share it with their friends. Anyway, here it is.

Hope you find it useful, and it can help you to choose the right martial arts school for yourself.

How to Defeat Dudes Episode 10: How to Stay on your Feet

Greetings all. Here is the next episode of How to Defeat Dudes for those who would like to check it out. This one focuses on techniques to stay on your feet when someone tries to take you down. Hope you find it helpful!

The Levels of Self Defense- How to Defend Yourself without Having to Lift a Finger

Self Defense isn't just about actual fighting-
a large part of it is prevention. 

For those who like How to Defeat Dudes, and are looking to learn more about self defense for the non-martial artist, I just published an article on the topic for Martial Talk Magazine.

Here is the link if you wanna check it out! 

http://martialtalkmagazine.com/the-levels-of-self-defense-how-to-protect-yourself-without-having-to-fight/ 

How to Defeat Dudes Fundraiser Results: Mission Accomplished!

Mission Accomplished! Well...sort of ;)

On Easter Sunday this past week, we successfully reached the goal of raising $1000 to film and edit the next 4 episodes of the webshow, How to Defeat Dudes. While the $2500 goal I had set on Indiegogo was an ideal one, (it would have allowed me to do a full 8 shows as well as fund the marketing of them), the next 4 episodes are all that are essential for completing the series. With these, I will have covered all of the most important topics that I really wanted to cover for the show, and that is enough for me. Actually, given the fact that this is the first show Ive ever produced, it covers a topic most people aren't particularly interested in, and the fact that we are in the middle of a recession, Im not complaining in the least.
The fact that people were willing to give this much tells me that this show means a lot to people, and as such, even if Im gonna have to hustle to find ways to complete it, it is very much a battle worth fighting for. As these 4 episodes will be more or less publicly funded, both myself and the co-director Michael, have every intention of making sure that they are fully worth the hard-earned cash that people were willing to part with to see them get made. Beyond that, if I need to hustle a bit myself to find ways to cover any other associated expenses, I will gladly do so. After all, if there is anything in the world that Im good at, it's hustling and finding a way. ;)

Episode 9 will cover staying on your feet, defending yourself from the ground, and getting back on your feet when you fall. Episode 10 will cover how to defend yourself when someone has already mounted you, and episode 11 will discuss defending yourself in multiple opponent scenarios. Episode 12 will be a special thank you episode dedicated to everyone who helped make this show a possibility. For those donators who opted for it, there will also be a special DVD of all of the episodes of the show.

As for the success of the show itself, thus far, it has been picked up by 3 websites. The first of these is a martial arts forum called Martial Talk, that has not only decided to feature all of the shows in their online magazine, but also take me on as one of their writers.
Beyond that, it is also being featured on OXOL (a channel specially dedicated to web-shows and and short films). Lastly, (but certainly not least), it is being featured on TokyoConnectMe, a new city-by-city social networking site that is launching soon. The third of these is actually the most exciting because they want me to act as Tokyo`s guide to martial arts, and in addition to featuring How to Defeat Dudes, they want me to start another web series about places to do martial arts training in Tokyo.

As this one will start small, it won't have all the glitz that How to Defeat Dudes does, ( I will be directing and editing this one totally on my own), but the content will be really useful to people and as a related topic it should be useful for cross-trafficking as well. Beyond that, there are other projects in the works as well. Overall, the process of bringing the show this far has taught me the world, and the fact that Ive successfully created a series that the general population seems to really enjoy (thus far over 400 likes and only 4 dislikes) has given me the confidence to venture forward with the next step. Creating a short film. This is something that Ive had on the back burner for a few years now, and after completing the final 4 episodes, its time to make that happen as well.

As for the future of How to Defeat Dudes, it will continue on, but I am changing the format to a Q & A web blog. People can write in to ask me questions (either on my youtube page or on TokyoConnectMe) and I create the episodes to answer them. What would be really great would be to find a way to turn it into a full-on show. Not sure how to make that happen yet...but I have a feeling that sooner or later, something is going to come of it. ;)

Final Week for the How to Defeat Dudes Fundraiser

Greetings all. Just wanted to remind everyone that we`re in the last week of the fundraiser to keep "How to Defeat Dudes" going. If we can hit the goal, then I can do at least 8 more episodes to complete the series (at least until I can find continued funding or sponsorship).

If not, if I can hit $1000, I can still do 4 more, and hopefully cover all of the aspects of defending yourself from the ground. If you wanna help out, here is the link! Every contribution (even just a $10 one) helps! Yosh!!
http://www.indiegogo.com/How-to-Defeat-Dudes?a=422874

How to Defeat Dudes Episode 8: Knife Defense

Just posted episode 8 of How to Defeat Dudes. This one deals with simple ways to defend yourself from an attacker with a knife. Hope you find it insightful and helpful. Yosh!!

How to Defeat Dudes Episode 7: Bar Scenarios 2

Just posted the 7th episode of How to Defeat Dudes up on Youtube. Like the last episode, this one deals with bar scenarios. Yosh!!

How to Defeat Dudes Episode 6

Just posted Episode 6 of How to Defeat Dudes. This episode and the one after deal with potential bar scenarios. Check it out if you have a chance! Yosh!!

How to Defeat Dudes Episode 5

Just posted episode 5 of How to Defeat Dudes. This episode teaches an escape from a two-handed wrist grab. Check it out!

Editing the Next 4 episodes of How to Defeat Dudes

Thanks to the Indiegogo campaign, I was able to raise up just enough money to crank out another 4 episodes of the show and I filmed them yesterday. Much like the last time, it was a marathon of coordinating a bunch of different people's schedules, lining up the location, and then cranking out all 4 in a single shoot before running out of ambient daylight.

As with any other shoot I've EVER been on, there were a variety of unique challenges that came up that day (like the fact that we had to turn off the heaters in the studio for the sound, so it was freezing), but I am happy that we managed to make it happen and cranked out something that I can be proud of. This shooting felt considerably better than the last one. While I was sick as a dog filming the last four, (and got even more sick after the shooting was completed) this time I was exhausted after the shoot, but overall still feeling good. Furthermore, after having a few months to sit down and observe how the first 3 episodes did (and what people liked/and how they were criticized), going in this time, I had a much stronger idea as to what I was doing, and could carefully write the episodes knowing what works. The working mechanics of the team were excellent and we moved efficiently. Much like the last time (but perhaps even more so) I took a few chances with comedic elements, so we`ll see how people respond to them. In addition to these new 4, I will also be dropping another episode that was meant to be episode 2 (although now it will be labeled as episode 4). I filmed it along with the original 3 that I released before, but wanted to add to it a bit before I posted it.

The five (including that one) that will be released in this run are as follows:
- opposite side wrist grab
- double wrist grabs
- bar scenario 1
- bar scenario 2
- knife defense

The episodes still left to film are:
- rear choke defense
- headlocks and variants
- how to stay on your feet
- defending yourself on the ground & getting back up on your feet
- defense from a mount
- multiple opponent scenarios

While Im really glad that the Indiegogo campaign has gotten me this far, Im still not sure what the future holds for the rest of the episodes. As this has been my first effort at actually producing something, Im incredibly happy and proud that its gotten this far. The first episode is set to break 10,000 hits tonight, and its been less than 2 months since I posted it. Between all of them, my Youtube channel is now getting around 600 hits a day and even if I do nothing else from now on, it will be well over 100,000 views by the end of the year. As far as my campaign goes, even while $475 may seem modest for what I was shooting for, Ive seen some other indiegogo campaigns that never even broke $50. The fact that Ive had multiple people donate $50, $100 or even $200 is just awesome to me. If the funding just isn't there and I can't complete all 15 of the episodes that I originally planned out, then I still can't complain.

This experience has taught me that I can work just as well behind the camera as I can in front of it, and that Im not the only one who thinks that my projects are a good idea. While it is as stressful as I imagined it to be, I really enjoy the process of writing, producing (and acting in) my own projects, and Im sure this won't be last endeavor on this front.

Next 4 Episodes of How to Defeat Dudes

Through Indiegogo, thus far, I have raised enough to film the next 4 episodes of the show, and will start filming on that tomorrow.
Im incredibly thankful to those who have contributed to my campaign thus far, and I am going to do all that I can to make them the very best episodes they can be. Yosh! One nice thing about the fact that I have had this time in between the first set of episodes and this one is that it has given me a good long while to read comments, see how people respond to the humor, check out the demographics of the viewers, and really pour my energy into writing really quality content. (Admittedly, even though they are doing well, episodes 2 and 3 where much more rushed than I wanted to them to be). Given how much time Ive had to prepare for them though, Ive got a really good feeling about this round of episodes, and I just wish they were all going to be released before my fundraiser is finished, so people could really see what I can come out with now that I have sense of my viewers. (While a few of them will make it out, I I don't think they all will.)

The four episodes filmed will be:
-double-wrist escapes
-bar scenarios 1 & 2
-knife defense

By far, the hardest one to prepare for has been the knife defense episode, and Im excited to finally be able to bring it to fruition. It will also be really interesting to see how it is received as well.

The episodes that I have left to film are:
- headlocks (and variations)
- chokes from behind
- staying on your feet
- defending yourself from the ground, and getting back onto your feet
- defending yourself from a mounted position
- multiple opponent scenarios

The campaign is far from over however! In the least, if the funding becomes available, I would at least like to complete the episodes on ground fighting, and multiple opponent scenarios not only because Ive put the most research into them, but because I think those are basic realistic situations that I think everyone should know how to handle. Anyway, we'll see how the next month goes. Yosh!!

Raising Funds for How to Defeat Dudes

So ending out its first month "on the air", the first three episodes of my webshow, "How to Defeat Dudes" has gotten a little under 6,000 hits, 75 likes, and 70 subscribers on Youtube. This tells me that Ive created something that people seem to like and enjoy, and that I should continue. And now comes the hard part. Funding another 12.

As I mentioned the first time I wrote about this show idea, I wanted to set this show apart from everything else out there by just plain making it better. Not just in terms of the quality of the content and by giving it entertainment value, but also by adhering to quality production values as well. As such, while most of the other self-defense tutorials out there are shot in someone's martial art school, with someone's home camera and with no thoughts towards good lighting, sound or camera work, each episode of How to Defeat Dudes actually requires a team of people to do, and as such, a budget to pay them with.

While raising this shoestring budget on my own as an actor without a full-time job does represent a challenge (particularly in the economic landscape we are currently in) I certainly do not see that fact as a reason to back down. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, after all.

Given the fact that this is a free show for everyone, at the encouragement of friends, Ive decided to make the funding public as well, and utilize a fundraising website called IndieGoGo. Through the site you can contribute to the show's funding either anonymously or publicly, and if you choose, get certain perks (such as having your name listed in the credits of the show) in return for your contribution. The fundraiser will run for two months, so I will have until April 8th to raise all that I can. In the meantime, I am still going to keep production on the shows moving, and also start putting out video blogs that discuss the topics that I don't have time to get into during the shows 5 minutes-or-less time frame. (This will include topics such as finding a good martial arts school, how to think about self-defense, etc).

Thus far, in the first 24 hours, Ive raised $325 dollars this way. Not bad for starters, but Ive still certainly got a long way to go. Lets get it on! Yosh!!

For those who'd like to contribute to the effort OR haven't seen or heard of the show, and would like to see an episode or read what its about, feel free to click here. Any contribution, no matter how small, is totally welcome and every little bit helps.

Chuck's new web series: How to Defeat Dudes

About 6 months ago, during a trip to LA, I had a chance to spend some time with a good friend who works in production. While we were at the beach, just for kicks, I showed him a bit of martial arts, and when we sat down to have a beer, he told me about a few rough situations he had gotten into in his past. During the conversation, he mentioned that he would love to see me make a show for normal people (I.e. Non-martial artists) that teaches people what to do when they get into bad situations.

The idea seemed simple enough, but there in lies the challenge: How can you teach people who aren't interested in fighting how to fight? At first I wasn't really sure if it would be possible to do, or why it was necessary when there is already so much out there on the topic of self-defense. The more I pondered it however (and the more time I spent on Youtube watching "self-defense tutorials" ) the more I came to realize that my friend was right, there isn't really anything out there for normal people. While there are a ton of videos out there, most of them don't really suit normal people for one (or all) of three reasons.

1) The techniques shown aren't explained well enough (or sometimes at all)

2) The techniques are too complex for the average person to get in the first place, let alone remember.

3) Even in cases where the instruction is okay, the videos are just poorly done, and/or only interesting for people who already like fighting.

Although it seemed like it would take a lot of research and planning and a production budget to do correctly, the creator, the producer, and the teacher in me couldn't resist the challenge. Now six months later, "the solution" I've come up with is getting ready to go live. The show will be called: "How to Defeat Dudes: Useful Stuff for the Non-martial Artist" and each webisode will be a 5 minute treatment of a single technique for dealing with a particular situation. In order for a technique to be considered for the show, it must meet the following 5 criterion:

1) It must be simple enough that an average person (with no martial arts training) can understand it.

2) It must be comprised of no more than 3 movements.

3) It must rely on gross motor skills. (Generally when people get scared, fine motor skills go right out the window)

4) It must be geared towards situations that normal people get into (I.e. Not police or swat tactical stuff)

5) It can't rely on physical attributes like size, strength or agility.

Additionally, for the show, there will be no belts, uniforms, fancy foreign words or talk of martial arts styles, and of course, itnmust be entertaining. ;) With the production team I've put together, we have done the first three episodes, and I'll be releasing them within the month. Although I am happy with these, producing them was a learning experience, and I already have ideas as to how we can make the next set of episodes even better. Really looking forward to seeing how they are received! Hopefully, if people like the show and find value in it, then it's something that I can continue to do for a while to come.