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What do you do after you retire from a successful career as a professional fighter at the age of 28? You start an electronic music dance band, of course. That’s what Genki Sudo did, a Japanese entertainer who has been a fighter and an author, and is now a musician, choreographer, lead singer, and dancer for his act World Order.

The most amazing feature of World Order’s performances is their synchronized dancing. Picture seven Japanese men dressed in the classic "sarariman" look ("salaried man," a Japanese white-collar businessman). Now, imagine them twist and turn in unison in elaborate group choreographies that create really cool visual illusions. With music videos shot in Japan, New York, Washington D.C., Peru, and Seoul, they turn heads wherever they go. Their signature move is to walk in formation, speeding up and down, giving viewers the illusion that they’re watching slow-motion effects created by the camera, but it’s all in real time. Like any popular band, they have tons of tribute videos on YouTube where fans imitate their dance, but you should definitely see the original videos.

"What do you do after you retire from a successful career as a professional fighter at the age of 28? You start an electronic music dance band, of course."

The lyrics of many of the songs are written by Sudo himself and reflect his strong Buddhist beliefs, calling on people to come together in these divisive times. The video for the title track of their latest EP, "Permanent Revolution," was shot in Seoul, South Korea, right in the middle of 2012’s dispute over island territories between South Korea, Japan, and China. It is very rare that a Japanese pop group take a political stance, yet in the video, they not only perform their wonderful dance routines in front of important landmarks, but more importantly act out scenes of bi-lateral discussions between South Korea and Japan and, in a later scene, between all three countries.

In case you miss the symbolism in the video, the lyrics are very straightforward in their meaning. As always with World Order, the lyrics are delivered by Sudo in his impeccable Tokyo Japanese, mixed with a heavily Japanese accented English: “Keep changing. Permanent Revolution. It won’t stop. Keep walking. Until the world is one.” Much in tune with these lyrics, the video ends with a phrase on a piece of paper, the same phrase Sudo liked to display on a flag at the end of his fights during his pro career: “We Are All One”.

The video for "Permanent Revolution" was sponsored by Asiana Airlines, and indeed its brand is featured heavily. For all their Buddhist messages, World Order do not mind a little product endorsement. They have performed for Microsoft at the WPC 2011 as well as for Dell Computers, and they also feature in a series of TV commercials for Japanese suit retailer Aoyama. Still, we just love to see them dance.

Lyrics:

A blue shine on my fingertips
As I touch the side of your pensive face
When I look up to the gray sky
A blue sky spreads out over the east sky
Keep changing
Permanent Revolution
Without stopping
Keep walking
Permanent Revolution
To a single world
Gather the accumulated lies
Keep erasing them among the pluses, without making a sound
Keep believing
Permanent Revolution
Without wavering
Keep loving
Permanent Revolution
Open your heart
Keep changing
Permanent Revolution
Without stopping
Keep walking
To a single world