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CHUCK JOHNSON


BIO:
Chuck Johnson is an international action fillm actor based out of Tokyo, Japan. He is the first African American to make an international name for himself in Far East Asia’s action film industry and also the first American be trained extensively in the art of Katana Tate (Japanese theatrical swordplay) in Japan. His life in martial arts began when he started Olympic Taekwondo training at the age of 15. Within 2 ½ years, he had earned his 1st black belt, and less than a week later, he became the Michigan State Junior Olympic Champion in both sparring and forms for his age and weight class. In college in pursuit of a dream of Olympic greatness, he went to Seoul, Korea to study at Yonsei University and pursue advanced Taekwondo training. Having a love of performance and showmanship, in addition to doing competition training under former Korean national champion, and Samsung Taekwondo team member Kim Sung Hoon, he also began demonstration taekwondo training under Kyung Hee University Demo Team member, Jang Inkwon, and Korean national demo team member, Suh, Sang-Oo. While in Seoul, he was featured in both the Chosun Ilbo Newspaper, and in the Martial Arts Textbook, Korean Traditional Martial Arts, Taekwondo Philosophy and Culture. In 2001, Chuck completed his bachelors degree with Honors from Michigan State University while studying at the University of Science and Technology in Hong Kong. While there, he also won the Hong Kong intercollegiate championship for his weight class, when he had originally only come to the tournament to watch. During trips back to the states, he won the KTAA National Championship for sparring and forms, and was also a Gold Medalist at the State Games of America. After returning to the states, he formed the Quiet Flame Demonstration Team which coupled comical taekwondo demonstrations with motivational speaking to encourage middle school, and high school kids to chase their dreams. Briefly after that, he moved to Tokyo, Japan, and immediately began to get work on security details for a multitude of visiting international and domestic celebrities. Chuck’s action career began when he was cast as a martial arts extra for the film Godzilla: Final Wars. While on set, he was introduced to action director Yuji Shimomura, and immediately began training with the stunt men of U’den Flame Works, and later with Kiyokazu Tanaka and his Pass Guard Action Team. He went on to have a multitude of other TV and film roles in Japan, appearing in such films as Death Trance , Jyuken Sentai Geki Ranger, Sukeban Hunters (Yakuza-Busting Girls), Yuji Shimomura`s short film, Yassy as well as live theatre performances such as Miki Mizuno’s Away in the Life in which he was a masked ninja (performing sword work), and a bodyguard. In addition to holding ranks in Taekwondo, Capoeira, Seishindo Karate and Judo, and being trained in Katana Tate, Chuck also has experience in boxing, kick-boxing, tai chi, wing chun, hapkido, hanmudo, and Krav Maga. He began his study of Strasberg Method Acting under a former acting coach of Sean Penn, Shelley Mitchell. He is also a prize-winning writer, and his work has been featured in Roda Magazine and Japan Today. He currently writes about martial arts, entertainment, and Japan for Gaijinpot, Suite101, and The Examiner.

Latest Articles


Experimental Guitarist Bill MacKay Shares New Album 'Locust Land Photo Experimental Guitarist Bill MacKay Shares New Album 'Locust Land
by Josh Sharpe - May 24, 2024

Chicago-based singer-songwriter and captivating guitarist Bill MacKay has released his long anticipated album, Locust Land. Previously released album tracks include the dazzling “When I Was Here,” “Glow Drift,” which was featured on Pitchfork’s Selects playlist, and “Keeping In Time.” Listen to the ...

Winter Aid Releases Sophomore Album 'Pull The Sky Inside' Photo Winter Aid Releases Sophomore Album 'Pull The Sky Inside'
by Josh Sharpe - May 17, 2024

San Francisco-based, Irish songwriter Shane Culloty, aka Winter Aid, has released his sophomore full-length album, Pull The Sky Inside. The 15-song collection, produced with Larry Crane (Elliott Smith, The Decemberists) and Chuck Johnson (Daniel Bachman, Claire Rousay), finds Culloty stretching the ...

Winter Aid Release New Single 'Secret Sister' Ahead of Upcoming LP Photo Winter Aid Release New Single 'Secret Sister' Ahead of Upcoming LP
by Josh Sharpe - April 30, 2024

Discussing the track, Culloty stated, “'Secret Sister' came together like magic, and was 95% finished for years. I just couldn’t quite nail the energy in the mix, but Larry Crane got it immediately. The lyrics are strange to me - at first I thought it was about one thing, but as it came together ove...

Winter Aid Release New Single '20th And Mississippi' From Upcoming Sophomore LP Photo Winter Aid Release New Single '20th And Mississippi' From Upcoming Sophomore LP
by Michael Major - March 26, 2024

Discover the latest single '20th And Mississippi' by Winter Aid, featured on their upcoming sophomore LP, 'Pull The Sky Inside.' The 15-song collection was produced with Larry Crane (Elliott Smith, The Decemberists) and Chuck Johnson (Daniel Bachman, Claire Rousay). Pull The Sky Inside finds Culloty...

Winter Aid Announces 'Inner Sunset' EP Photo Winter Aid Announces 'Inner Sunset' EP
by Michael Major - November 28, 2023

Winter Aid has announced the release of their 'Inner Sunset' EP. The article also shares the title-track single and video. Part of the past five years of relative silence, beyond “The Wisp Sings” incredible continued life, was due to Shane and his wife uprooting from Dublin to San Francisco. Watch t...

Totally Slow Release 'Crosshairs' Off Upcoming LP 'The Darkness Intercepts' Out In Ea Photo Totally Slow Release 'Crosshairs' Off Upcoming LP 'The Darkness Intercepts' Out In Early 2024
by Michael Major - October 17, 2023

NC's Totally Slow has released a new single and video titled 'Crosshairs' off their upcoming LP 'The Darkness Intercepts' set to release in early 2024. The album was recorded at The Sandwich Shoppe with Scotty Sandwich. Features collaborations with Noelle from Shehehe and Sam from Man or Astroman. M...

Golden Retriever and Chuck Johnson Share New Single 'Empty Quarter' Photo Golden Retriever and Chuck Johnson Share New Single 'Empty Quarter'
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 31, 2020

Ahead of the release of their elemental new album Rain Shadow on May 15th, Portland duo Golden Retriever and Oakland guitarist Chuck Johnson have shared the record's first single 'Empty Quarter'....

Jimmy Wayne Honored By National Council For Adoption Photo Jimmy Wayne Honored By National Council For Adoption
by Stephi Wild - May 04, 2019

Chuck Johnson, President & CEO of the National Council For Adoption, presents Jimmy Wayne with the 2019 Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award in recognition of his continued commitment to creating positive change in the lives of children in foster care who need permanent families. The presentation f...












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