Videos

New YouTube Channel About Japan

Videos
New YouTube Channel About Japan

I created my YouTube channel in 2007, at about the same time as I started this website. At the time, the need was to promote the activities of my dojo in Dublin via some video of courses and seminars. I quickly picked up a taste in videography and sought to learn more. It is however only after my first stay at the Aikikai that I started to diversify subjects, alternating videos about Aikido and those about Japan. Gradually, the audience grew and more and more people have subscribed.

Today, the channel hosts nearly 200 videos and has over 17 000 subscribers. The number of unique views will soon reach 6 millions. While these statistics remain very humble compared to that of other big YouTube channels counting their subscribers in millions, I believe that for a restricted niche such as Aikido, my channel is one of the most popular on YouTube, especially considering that all of its content is original and prepared by me, while many other popular Aikido channels simply re-upload copies from the DVD produced by the Hombu Dojo or Aikido Journal.

erard delage youutbeGuillaume Erard with Jordy Delage at YouTube's Tokyo offices

However, this relative success has a cost. With the increasing number of videos and subscribers, I am facing a dual problem of content organization and communication with different subscriber populations, with on one side the Japan enthusiasts and on the other the budoka.

As a consequence, I decided to split the channel into two. On the one hand, the "historical" channel will display the content that is related to the martial arts and the other hand, a new channel, which I named "Japan in HD" will display all the videos on Japan. The time seems right as it also corresponds to a big upgrade my video equipment (see details below), which allows me to offer exclusively content in high definition on the new channel. By doing this, I know that I deprive the Japan videos from the benefit of the reputation of the main channel but it seems the most logical long term solution. I encourage you to support me and obviously subscribe to the new channel!

Equipment list

  • Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera
  • Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens
  • Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
  • Glidecam XR-1000 Handheld Camera Stabilizer
  • Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter 77VND
  • Rode VideoMic Pro Compact Shotgun Microphone
  • Zoom H1 Portable Digital Recorder
Guillaume Erard
Written by: Guillaume Erard

Guillaume Erard is a 6th Shihan dan from the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. He has trained at the Aikido World Headquarters in Tokyo for over 15 years, where he received his credentials directly from Ueshiba Moriteru Doshu, the grandson of the founder of Aikido. Guillaume also holds the rank of 5th dan in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, the art that the founder learnt from Takeda Sokaku. To complete his training, Guillaume also practices full contact Karate. In 2020, he founded in his own dojo in Japan, Yokohama AikiDojo, which is officially affiliated with the Aikido World Headquarters. He regularly travels around the World to give Aikido and Daito-ryu seminars, as well as lectures on Budo history. Guillaume is passionate about science and education, he holds a Masters Degree in Education Science and a Doctorate in Molecular Biology.

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Official website of Guillaume Erard, author, instructor and videographer permanent resident of Japan - 6th Dan Aikido Shihan from the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo / 5th Dan Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu Kyoshi from the Shikoku Hombu Dojo.

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