The popular YouTube podcast Budo is Dead launched it's latest episode 10 this week featuring yours truly ... me!
I was a little surprised when I received a request to talk on the Budo is Dead podcast, considering that many of the previous guests were well known martial arts masters. However the host Carlos Sosa convinced me that I would not be out of place, and he pointed out the little known fact that I do actually practice and teach karate 4 or 5 days a week.
Nevertheless I am humbled to be part of this fines series. Now it's published on social media and YouTube, I am surprised once more that this episode is over 90 minutes long and I was expecting much of my rambling to be edited out. Seriously, who can talk non-stop for almost two hours and stay on topic and not ramble... certainly not me! If you are reading this post you be the judge - and thank you for your interest.
Budo is Dead Episode 10.
I will allow Carlos Sosa, of Yoshin Project to use his own words below, for this Budo is Dead episode.
For more than 25 years, filmmaker Jon Braeley as the founder of Empty Mind Films has traveled through Japan, China and across Asia documenting traditional martial arts and the people who practice them.
Long before martial arts content became something we consumed in 20-second clips, Jon was getting on planes, carrying cameras into dojos and temples, and sometimes simply waiting for the right person — or the right moment — to appear.
In this episode of Budo Is Dead, we talk about what he found along the way. Jon shares some incredible stories from behind the camera, like an unexpected encounter that led him to the Shaolin master he had been trying to find, or meeting and filming Higaonna Sensei, as well as interviewing the formidable Yahara Mikio sensei — and then discovering that the entire interview had been recorded without audio! As Jon says, these and many other moments could only happen by actually being there.
But we also talk about how martial arts media has changed. Jon built his work around long-form storytelling. Then one of his first YouTube Shorts reached more than 30 million views in a month. Other clips went on to reach tens of millions more. So what happens when arts that can take a lifetime to understand are increasingly presented through a phone screen in a matter of seconds?
We talk about storytelling, social media, AI, the commercialization of places like Shaolin, the misunderstanding of arts like Aikido, what “real” martial arts actually means — and the importance of preserving the stories and voices of teachers who will not be here forever. After decades behind the camera, Jon has seen martial arts change enormously.
This is Budo Is Dead, a podcast by Yoshin Project.
