That is it!!! The Ultimate Self-Defense Championship season 2 is officially happening as it just now reached the financial goal!!! 🥳🥳🥳 I can not express how much this means to me and how much each and every contribution meant. As I said in the behind the scenes video, few people believed season 1 is possible and few were willing to support it. But with season 2 now I see that I have your back and I am inspired to make it even bigger and better than season 1! Thank you again to all of you who supporter USDC S2 from the bottom of my heart. The crowdfunding will stay open and will continue to be open for donations, and the more money we will collect, the more contenders we will be able to invite and the grander and better season we will be able to make by investing into more and better props, additional staff, better cameras, improved environments and an even grander and more epic zombie apocalypse! But one way or another, we are now 100% set to continue to make this show a reality! PS: Now that season 2 has received enough crowdfunding to become a reality and as it's continuing to receive even more support, additional contenders WILL be invited! And the next contender to join the lineup will be an exciting one 😎 If you want to still continue supporting USDC S2 and see it earlier than everyone else, or to receive other perks, you will find the crowdfunding here: www.indiegogo.com/projects/ultimate-self-defense-championship-season-2#/
Glad to see the fruits of your labors & our humble contributions bring this to light! I'll repost me future contender wishlist here: Shane Fazen, Kevin Goat (Budo Brothers), Eero Westerberg (Vahva Fitness), Chewey from Chewjitsu, Ryan Hoover: Fit To Fight Republic, Funker Tactical, Kevin Secours, Knight Jiu-jitsu, Michelle Waterson, Tim Kennedy: Sheepdog Response, Precision Striking, Sylvie Von Duuglas Muay Thai, SystemaBJJKD, Liang Dehua (Tai chi academy), Luke Holloway (Street Smart Self Defense), Kieren Krygier (The Martial Man), and the madman from Urban Combatives.
You know your ideas are awesome when people don't even believe they are real... keep proving people wrong Rokas. Your Aikido vs. MMA was the video that inspired me to start again on my own martial arts journey. Without you, there would be no hard2hurt.
Icey Mike says some wild stuff sometimes, but when he says stuff like this it shows how awesome of a teacher he is. To be respected and to show respect to others is a big take away from all martial arts. Hope to see all of you keep putting in the work and hope you all get tremendous success.
Awesome series, Rokas - you deserve all the praise for making this happen. Icy Mike are you gonna be in season 2? You are a massive legend and really made the series great!
The sheer volume of footage you had to sift through to edit this whole thing was understated if anything. You're a mad man and I love you for it! There were so many cameras on us all the time! I remember one night when the cameras were off, for what felt like the first time, and we all sat around and had the realest conversation ever for a couple of hours. Nothing performative about it- a moment where I realized I was among genuine friends. Part of me wishes I could relive that by listening to a recording of it, but it never would have happened otherwise. It's the stuff like that, that doesn't necessarily make for a compelling youtube video, that I remember most.
Thanks Ramsey! I really appreciate yours words. Also that's a great point. The cameras captured many great moments, but the ones we had for ourselves are definitely the special ones.
you are such a G ramsey. In all the simulations you were the person who was invested in what the characters are feeling and what is driving the story. My man has a champion's heart and an artist's soul... just don't ask him to figure out when someone is flirting with him 😂
I have so much respect for this, Rokas. I've been involved in delivering creative projects for years, and the sheer amount of effort that goes into releasing anything, let alone something on such a large scale, involving so many different people, is unbelievably impressive. People who haven't been involved in projects like this have no clue of the stress involved when you're the person responsible for making it happen. The production values were incredible man. Amazing work! 💪💪💪
this guy flushed his life savings into this pet project about... a bunch of men having a sports reality show... yolo youtube philosophy -- everything for the likes
As someone who is interested in creative project management, this video in particular is really inspirational. Rokas never misses a teaching opportunity, even outside the field of martial arts.
Thanks Daniel! I'll admit there were numerous nights where I would wake up in the middle of the night stressed about organizing the event, getting the right flight tickets, and pulling it off altogether, wondering if it's all worth it. But then an inner voice would tell me it is and I would continue to push through. I think you are right, it's difficult to imagine how much stress goes with such projects until you throw yourself into one. But at the end, I'm glad I did! And all the support really helps too.
@@MartialArtsJourney I truly hope you get the recognition and financial reward you truly deserve for persevering and coming up with such a great idea.People who take the risks and put in the sweat and tears like you did truly deserve their just rewards, even though you come across as a truly humble man who wouldn't really want them. Remember you are an inspiration and people have found fame and fortune for much less. 🙏
You're a legend! USDC has been the best thing on youtube I've watched in years , maybe ever. When I signed up to Support season 2, it looked to me like the highest level I could support was for about 25 dollars. I've just clicked on it again and seen there are several higher tiers of support so I'll definitely go for higher. This is way better value than ordering a pay per view boxing or ufc fightnight.
Man this was heartbreaking, everybody knows so little how much work is invested behind the scenes, you did such an incredible job with season 1 all by yourself and you paid for everything?! Rokas it has to happen, i will participate in your crowdfunding, season 2 has to come to life! Thank you so much for the hard work, you have put into this project!
He made it safe, realistic and so entertaining to watch aswell. I was at a loss trying to calculate how much funding he had to put together. Pure genius and dedication.
I just saw this and yeah, the guy has guts. Investing all of his savings like that and during the pandemic, insane move. I'm happy it worked out for him in the end and hopefully it will pay off big time long-term.
You scored 3 points for the security guard challenge. The Championship actually started when you landed at the airport. You handled that scenario beautifully.
Hate to suggest this, but here goes: with the absolutely LEGENDARY success this series has been for the RU-vid martial arts community, there's GOT to be a smaller martial arts supplier or gear company willing to do a lil sponsorship. You knocked it outta the ring with the first season, proved this can be an international success! I know independent creators hate to "sell out", but if a worthy company that aligns with your martial arts ethics, values, and honor would be willing to sponsor/donate, it may secure this thing for MANY seasons and help promote a deserving business. Just a thought (that I'm sure you've considered anyway), but you've truly hit on something unique and precious to the community, your dedication is unquestioned, and I think everyone would want to give this every chance of escalating from a Hit to a Legacy. Thank you for all you do, much respect 🤜🤛
This is a really great idea. There's gonna be lots of gear necessary for these events anyways so if Rokas can snag the bag and maybe even free equipment for something he needs anyways that's a win-win.
This. I see equipment companies sponsor martial arts oriented youtubers in one off-videos all the time. There's gotta be ones out there wanting to be a part of funding a huge undertaking of an event like this with so much attention.
I was kinda hoping that firearm disarms can be featured in the second season. Since that seems to be one of the biggest things in “self-defense” curriculums I think there could be a spot for that. Thanks.
That would be so good also if they had like a segment where there is a shooter in the room and the 4 guys have to hide and escape or even fight the shooter but mainly prioritising escaping and not getting shot
Rokas moving from Akido to MMA to Directing Self-Defense Experiments! Love the self discovery, humility, creativity, passion. You rock man! Cant wait for season 2!!
Wow dude, I think you’ve heard enough people being impressed and surprised with all the difficulties you talked about. One thing I’d like to add is that none of those struggles were even remotely visible since the final product was so well polished and clearly well loved. Insane stuff
Rokas! I never understood how hard making this series is, the behind the scenes aspect of it, including the outside factors of problems, financial problems, planning, directing then editing all this, until I watched this video, realizing how intricate the steps are on building this one of a kind show! I may not be able to fully support the next season, but I know you will be able to do it, like here, You did it! And you can do it again, Rokas! Thank you for the best series on RU-vid!
Agreed, I just respect him all the more now. The dude is the definition of turning from a relatively unhelpful martial art and transforming his body and mind into an efficient and effective fighter, I love to see people find internal success :) And finding out all this extra stuff just makes it mind blowing...
The concept of simulating real world violence as closely as possible without anyone getting badly hurt is fantastic. I live in South Africa in a pretty bad town and I feel like most people in the world are very very sheltered when it comes to pure violence. I've seen dudes hacking each other apart with machetes, I've been across the street from shootouts, even saw two dogs kill a guy who jumped into a yard. It's a different thing altogether. A different realm to conventional martial arts and self defence training. I loved your series because it's the only one I've seen that approaches the idea that "fighting" and "violence" are worlds apart. Not only is it very entertaining but I also think it will open a lot of people's eyes and give them the proper understanding and mindset to view real world violence correctly. Knowing is half the battle and if one guy can save himself from being killed because he DOESN'T try to disarm a weapon or something silly like that and instead thinks rationally and goes "hmm an mma fighter gets killed in a knife drill so I'm going to de escalate the situation and live another day" then that's a huge win.
This series was the most exciting to watch on youtube for a long time, I almost couldnt believe after watching the first few episodes that it could have been pulled off by just you, what an incredible piece of work! Ive never donated anything ever before but this seems like the right time to do so, such a luck and pleasure to also have met you and trained with you at TMT in Phuket :)
Hi Fabian! And thanks! Of course it's very important to mention that many people were involved in making this series and I probably wouldn't have been able to do it without Jeff Phillips and his team. Besides post production that is. Then yes, I was a one man army 😂
I'm usually extremely hesitant to back projects of any kind, usually waiting until I see that it has already been backed and looking into the history of those involved to ensure I don't get scammed. After watching the last episode of ultimate self-defense championship, I backed without hesitation. I can't put it better than Ramsey did, USDC NEEDS to happen again, I am happy to help make it happen.
Rokas, brother, I already appreciated the grind you put in editing everything and organizing and what have you. Throwing in that amount of money on a whim and a dream? Mad respect. I hope we get to season 2 and beyond.
Logistics is a big part of planning large scale events. Imagine doing this in front of a live crowd? Even more planning. The permits, the insurance, the food, the staff, utilities etc involve a lot of time and its tiring, but look at the results! What you produced with help of others was phenomenal !!! There are so many possibilities for this type of show and I as a spectator was looking forward to each episode.
This was the most remarkable martial arts program I have seen in decades. I have been training and teaching martial arts for over 4 decades and I have yet to see any video that would match these. There has always been a long and contentious debate over how martial training translates into the real world. Though it was not perfect, this was the closest I have seen so far to demonstrating what would happen. I have watched all of these with my students and was, quite frankly, transfixed. I will be contributing to the Kickstarter of course. Great job.
I had no idea Jeff was also a cancer survivor on top of hosting this event and providing the necessary support staff. My appreciation of this man was already sky-high after the first season reached his conclusion, but now that I know this additional information? What a friggin' warrior! And of course Rokas deserves immeasurable amounts of praise, because as I've said repeatedly since episode 2, this is the best event I've ever seen on RU-vid. Amazing stuff, man. I'm loving learning more of the behind the scenes information as well. Lastly, I CAN'T WAIT for season 2!
@WesternCombatives Wow, the man himself! My grandfather was a 40 year melanoma survivor. He decided in his early 80's that he was done with the surgeries, chemo, and radiation. He passed away, on hospice, in his home surrounded by family, but he only stopped fighting on HIS terms. It's a horrible, insidious disease, but I'm grateful for your contributions despite battling it yourself. I genuinely hope you are still in remission and can continue to educate people, making the world a slightly safer place, one student at a time. Nothing but respect, truly.
@@TheElbowMerchant thank you means a lot. I was in the shape of my life and I couldn’t budge a small back injury, turns out it was a hole in my spine and the rest is history. Puts things in perspective
Honestly, you outdid yourself. Seeing most of the martial arts youtubers that I follow compete in a self defense scenario competition, especially a zombie apocalypse was so entertaining that time flew by so fast and suddenly the video ends with me asking for more. It has been a while since I got that feeling. No matter what happens, I hope you guys will still collaborate on a whatever format. It was epic seeing all you guys together, a treat to fight fans, enthusiasts, fighters and even casual people who are curious whether they should get into martial arts or which martial arts suit them best.
I think the reason why season 1 worked so well was because of how well the different personalities present meshed. I'm hoping to see the same sort of chemistry in season 2 (if it happens), but that sort of thing is basically a crapshoot.
@@killersalmon4359@killersalmon4359 yeah everyone is charismatic in their own way. Ramsey is professional yet sarcastic, Mike is nuts but creative, Seth is relaxed but is actually secretly a psycho, Matt is nice but cusses alot, Jeff always go by the book and almost always uses fighting as a solution, and Rokas is the most relatable to the audience lmao
Never donated money to a youtuber before, but never have i ever seen content this great on youtube before. I got more entertainment from usdc than i could ever get from a simple fight. Ufc, boxing, muay thai, not nearly as entertaining as season 1 was, and i only wish it could have been longer. This was absolutely excellent work rokas, and so much of it hinged on you. So thank you very much sir.
I’m happy to crowd fund this second season and I’m sad I didn’t know about the first one before it happened in order to help support it. This was genuinely the most entertaining show I’ve been watching in the last few months and you have an AMAZING lineup for next season. Dude thank you for your dedication and craft and the awesome content your making. Can’t wait for season 2!!
Only due to this follow up video I spontaneously decided to support the idea. It was your lively description of the grind you went through which reminded me that once in my life I was as enthusiastic as you. Wish you good succees in your endeavours.
I’m so happy for you Rokas. This is legacy defining content. This scientific, unpredictable, entertainment focused content was the thing you were grasping for when you were feeling worn down four months ago. Amazing work, can’t wait for the next chapter.
I don't know of another RU-vidr who took such a bold risk like this to create something of such high production quality value. You have less than 1 million subscribers but you did something bolder and better than even RU-vidrs with 20 million subscribers would be able to do. I know I'm just a random stranger on RU-vid, but you should be incredibly proud of yourself and every martial arts enthusiast will appreciate the contribution that you have made to marital arts content on the world scale, that is season 1. Even those who didn't watch it while it was being uploaded, will be able to watch it at any point in the future and that is an amazing thing in my opinion.
This is not just entertainment. You are literally showing the world the reality of combat in real situations, using people trained in different disciplines (and not trained for combat at all). This is extremely important for the world to see the reality of this type of combat, both people who train and those who do not. As a martial artist I really look forward to the second season.
I´ve said it before, but I´ll ever say this again: this is such an awesome and unique and educating project. Even untrained people are able to see differerences between the contestants and the variaty of scenarios was stunning. Thank you Rokas for bringing such a BIG thing into this world. All the best for Season 2!
I never crowd fund anything. Until now. I don't have much, but I'll give what I can to this impressive project. I'll share this on social. Hands together for season 2. Advertise your keister off brother!
Dude to edit all of that alone is absolutely wild! I’ve had a similar experience where I don’t come out of the editing room for weeks and although the end product is great, not training definitely takes its toll. Thank you so much for your hard work brother. The series was awesome!
I really love the series so far and I really didn't know how much work went into the making of it. And being kinda late to the party without really experiencing the hype or build up while it's live approaching its release made it kinda difficult to grasp the size of your project. Having said that, I'm glad to have come across your channel in general, its attempt to make sense of martial arts as a whole is so unique and very worthy to be one among the big boys nowadays. Rokas, you're truely a pioneer of our era.
I know I'm kinda late to the party, even though I saw Ramsey's video about the injury back then. But man, that was really awesome and I'm glad you can do a second season! I liked everything about it and told my friends they need to watch this, since it's not just people fighting each other but creating scenarios with thought and actually getting points if you are smart and secure your own safety. That mix of physicality and thinking is just perfect. I highly respect you for the energy you put in this project and also that you went all in and it payed off at the end, that just makes me really happy, even though I don't know you. Thank you and greetings from Germany, I wish you all the best for the future.
The amount of work you put it in for the show is insane. And while I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for season 2. Please take care of yourself man, that level of grind can be detrimental for your health. Hopefully for season 2, you just being in a more director role, it will be a lot easier. Hope for the best man.
I kind of guessed how much work it was to edit each episode and I also suspected he was doing it all himself. The fact that he pumped an episode each week (with one taking two weeks) is a crazy, unsustainable pace.
Rokas, your courage and inability to be stopped by all those obstacles, when few people believed in you is impressive enough, but you also created lightning in a bottle with a spectacular web series. Mad respect!
Good on you Rokas. This is what people don't understand about success. For 99.99% of people, they need to risk their savings, their time, their relationships and their health in order to make something happen. All we ever hear is "look at the privilige" "if only I had money" "if only I had time" "if only i had two parents" yah yah yah, it's more like "If I only took a massive risk and was willing to sacrifice what I have for a small chance to make my dreams come true." The biggest difference between getting this done or not, was your persistence. This is basically a solo start up media company producing it's first major show, and it only happened because you persisted through hard times, and were willing to say "f*** it, let's make it happen even if I lose all of my savings." And, on top of that, you also pulled through and did the work, shooting, producing, editing and organization for all of this. Now, it looks like you'll be rewarded for it. That's how it works people. If you're not up at night, if you're not stressed, if everything isn't on the line, you're probably not going to be successful. That's the harsh reality of success.
Awesome! USDC is a great achievement. And a very educational one. Thanks a lot for making it come true and sharing with us. May season 2 come soon!! 🙏🏻👊🏻😎✌🏻
The fact that the guy in the bus hit hard, was impressive. It made the show feel real. The hard tests and these guys having their RU-vid channels on the line. They all fought like hell it seemed. Anything less and it would have felt fake. It's one thing to talk in RU-vid videos, another thing to perform in them.
Rokas, I'm glad you're so dedicated to your craft, and I know you're a perfectionist but, while your hard work gave us an amazing series that I thoroughly enjoyed, you have to take care of yourself, man! I have a message for your wife: Gabi, if Rokas gets too consumed with trying to make season 2 perfect, I want you to go in there and drag him out of the house for a walk and dinner with your friends, and no matter how much he objects, don't let him go back into that editing room for at least a day!
it's pretty incredible how hard you worked to get this thing out there - no brainer to support. hopefully after filming S2 you can take a break and the money will be there for a bigger and better S3.
I just want to say that I really enjoyed Season 1 of USDC, especially the office with the boss flirting with all of you scene, I really hope to see more of the Mental/Phycological Assault and how each participants must then now use non violent means of self defense. Great great production value, can't wait for Season 2!
Rokas i'm really impressed by you, i can't imagine the amount of stress you have faced, i really hope this pays back because you really really deserve it. If i can afford it i will 100% support USDC 2
I really hopes this series blows up and goes "viral".. if for no other reason than to highlight how truly difficult that real empty handed self defense really is
Challenge 1: sweet talking airport security. Absolutely respect the grind of taking an idea and making it reality. Congrats on season 2 being greenlit, the first 2 episodes so far (time of comment) have been awesome. Keep up the good work and don't forget to sleep every now and then XD
Thank you Rokas for organizing and giving us one of the best ever yt series. I honestly hope that season 2 happens, but I understand how hard it is for you. Either way you should be very proud of yourself and the wonderful work you have done and giving us a glimpseof what real self defense looks like! Respect man!
This was such a cool series! I never knew how much I wanted to see a mass crossover with my favorite martial arts youtubers. Thank you for making it happen.
Have you considered finding sponsors to help pay for the next seasons? This series is better than anything on TV right now, and TV has a million commercials. I would'nt complain about seeing one or two.
This is by far the COOLEST series I've ever seen on youtube. I just binged watched it all today and checked and saw you met your crowd funding goal! Hope you guys are out there making it happen for a second time because this was phenomenal
I can't believe the amount of success this series has become. I love every second of it and super excited to see season 2. There is so much people gain from watching these from an educational and possibly life saving perspective. Thank you so so much for the effort in putting all this together. We all really appreciated it!!
Thank you, Rokas. I’ve been following you for a long time now and you’ve inspired me to begin my own martial arts journey. I can’t thank you enough for everything you do. I am extremely proud of how far you’ve come and I can honestly say you are inspiring.
Rokas, you did an amazing job pulling this together! The finished product looked pretty damn professional and it was an absolute joy watching and learning from some of my favorite RU-vidrs. Hopefully Season 2 becomes a reality! Side note: I hadn't made the connection that Jeff Phillips was the Krave Maga guy you had interviewed before. DoH!
Really appreciate the amount of effort and cost you guys made to make this a reality it was awesome! I hope not only that season 2, but many more seasons come into reality as well
Man I admire how you pursuit your goals and even invest all your savings and give really 1000% into it! Great to see your journey. Hopefully it won’t end here
Rokas, I remember when you first started exploring other martial arts, it's insane to see how far you've come. With this series you reignited my passion for both martial arts and creation, your Path of Self-development is inspiring!
Heh, considering what you went through with the editing, i'd say you're a madman for volunteering to do it all over again. But loved the series, hopefully the 2nd season also materializes. And even if it doesn't, for whatever reason, i think you can be proud of what you achieved with this series. It's truly a unique experience, which is rare in these times of everyone doing the same tiktok trends all the time. All the best! :)
So many emotions. Rokas thank you for this amazing thing you have given us. You, and season 1 of USDC have given me so much inspiration and drive to become like a real life Batman. I can’t imagine the toll this has on you, you really created something different , unique, and most importantly heartfelt. I’m gonna support as best I can and I’m so sad that the site is going to get demolished :( I pray everything goes well! You are a huge inspiration man from doing Aikido and realizing it might not be the best in all cases and learning almost every martial art you are a beast! Best of luck and prayers for you and thank you for everything you’ve done 💪🏼🙏🏼
btw just for this series not considering the other stuff on the channel , you deserve million upon millions subscribers , I can't even imagine the dedication and the hard work behind this things
Rokas! You have earned the respect of millions, You already proved your capabilities in the championship and Video production. My well wishes for Jeff Phillips with regard to his battle with Cancer. He had us all impressed with the logistics and scenarios! Season 2 need to happen! This is some of the greatest content on RU-vid!
Man this was by far your best collection of videos. The production value was so insanely high and I can't wait for more!! You have outdone yourself, sir :D Bravo!
This series is some of the most eye opening martial arts footage to ever be released. Especially the knife defense. Very well made and very educational. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I love that there were so many unknowns, pressures and you still said, let's do it! Sorry to hear you're personal life suffered, and as a viewer the content and editing was superb. Hope you can find a balance for the second season and if I can afford it I will send a few euro your way 🎉
