Chuck Johnson is a Martial Arts Instructor/ Action Film Actor based in Tokyo, Japan, and Michigan, USA. He has been teaching for 16 years, holds ranks in Taekwondo, Judo, Capoeira, and Karate, and is an experienced bodyguard. He is also a member of the Screen Action Stunt Association, and Society of American Fight Directors. Additionally, he has 10 years of ELT experience, and is the developer of Phat English, a system that uses specialized hip-hop music to teach the subtle nuances of GAm English pronunciation. For more information, visit www.chuck-n-action.com or follow Chuck on twitter at chuck_n_action
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- The Round Kick: The Most Universal Tool in Martial Arts
- December 1st, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- Not too long ago, I was reading about the evolution of the eye, and was surprised to find out that instead of having a common root, some scientists theorize that it evolved multiple times independently. I’ve often wondered if this is also the case for the Round Kick ... » Continue Reading
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- Malicia: The secret weapon of the Capoeirista
- November 30th, 2009Category: Arts & Entertainment
- Most traditional martial arts are never really demonstrated the way they actually are. Oftentimes the real, and more hard-hitting techniques are downplayed or omitted in favor of showy ones. Judo guys often do flying dive rolls over multiple people, taekwondo guys wil ... » Continue Reading
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- The Merits and Challenges of Martial Arts Training Abroad
- November 2nd, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- While preparing for my action team’s next film project, I recently had the chance to talk to my Katana action instructor through a translator for the first time. Although I’d always been impressed with the depth of understanding he seemed to exude while teaching, what r ... » Continue Reading
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- Book Review: The Year of No Money in Tokyo
- October 14th, 2009Category: Arts & Entertainment
- Any foreigner who's been in Japan for a while can tell you that there's a lot of ups and downs to living life out here. As a country, Japan seems to prize itself on it's homogeny, and as such, one sees everything from the Japanese government's 1986 proud announceme ... » Continue Reading
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- Can you fight with Capoeira?
- September 29th, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- Having trained in a myriad of other martial arts before starting up in Capoeira, I had often heard people say that it's 'useless'. As a martial art that integrates elements of music, dance, and gymnastics, I could see why those who come from a hard-hitting, strictly-f ... » Continue Reading
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- Choosing a martial art that’s best for you: factors to consider
- August 31st, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- As a martial artist for over 16 years, a lot of people have come to me asking me what martial system is best for them, and invariably, my answer has always been the same. "It depends. " By and large, asking which martial art is the best is like asking, which car is t ... » Continue Reading
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- The History of Breakdancing… in Capoeira?
- August 31st, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- While training in Capoeira recently, I'd been trying to master a technique called ' Queda de Rins ' or in English, "Kidney-drop". To execute the movement one must let their bodyweight 'drop' onto their elbow (which in turn braces against the kidneys) while balancing on ... » Continue Reading
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- How to win through losing
- August 7th, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- Not too long ago, I started shootboxing training. Even though it's a relatively unfamiliar arena with a different rule system than what I am used to, it's interesting to see how I can adapt what I know to this particular combat situation, and I can still fight w ... » Continue Reading
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- The Art and the Science of Action Directing: Interview with Yuji Shimomura
- July 27th, 2009Category: Uncategorized
- What is an action director? There's a lot of different titles for people who are responsible for creating a fight scene; the action director, the stunt coordinator, the fight coordinator, etc, so it's easy to get confused. An action director is like the oversee ... » Continue Reading
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- Movements as equations: how not to get kicked in the head
- June 23rd, 2009Category: Arts & Entertainment
- While training in Korea, I once heard a former member of the Canadian national Taekwondo team, describe Taekwondo ring fighting as nothing more than a system of equations: your opponent moves this way("A), and you simply have to respond that way ("+ B") to get th ... » Continue Reading
