Picture a Marine drill instructor—what comes to mind? For most of us, the answer is probably R. Lee Ermey.

So, what kind of a motorcycle would a Marine DI ride? And what would he do, after leaving the Corps?

In the case of Greg Widmar, he would ride anything with two wheels, even a scooter—and, he’d become an online motorcycle instructor with an emphasis on brainpower, not vocal power. Widmar (aka “Fast Eddie”)  is the guy behind the innovative MotoJitsu training program, which includes books, an app, and YouTube videos.

The YouTube channel is the key to everything. It’s not the ill-informed shallow-as-a-soup-bowl model reviews you get on other channels. There’s plenty of high-speed strategy and tactics, but no bike-wrecking hoonery. Instead, it’s how-to lessons, derived from Widmar’s time on the street and his day job as a Total Control program instructor. And, a lot of time, Widmar focuses on the mundane details of day-to-day riding that so many other how-to vids ignore. How do you master the U-turn box, on the MSF rider training test? How do you load a motorcycle into a truck by yourself? How do you do a sharp turn from a stop? How do you gain slow-speed confidence?

Many riders don’t think about questions like these, after getting their licence, but Widmar does these videos for two reasons. First, they’re the key to his “MotoJitsu” approach: The whole point of his channel is moto-education to an elite “black belt” level. To get your black belt, you’ve first got to master the skills necessary for the lesser belts. Even the videos that aren’t part of his actual MotoJitsu playlist will help you gain those skills.

Second—Widmar is always putting together videos as a response to questions that people ask him.

“I make videos about what I know, which I’m sure most people do. But the more people ask me the same questions—OK, I’ll make a video about it. A video of how to fill up your gas tank? People have been asking me that for years … I’m like, ‘I’m never going to do that.’ ” But enough people kept asking him, that he caved, and made the video, and it got thousands of hits. So, now, if enough people ask him, he’ll make a video about even the most mundane subjects, if his viewers want to learn.

Sometimes, he’s also restricted because he wants to make a video demonstrating high-level maneuvering, but many viewers’ riding capability is not at the level needed to master the skills he wants to teach.

“Sometimes, I think a video would be very beneficial for people to learn and listen to, but it’s a black belt level video … so it’s only going to be relevant to a very small group of people.” As a result, he’ll often focus on the building blocks to get to that top level (blue belt, brown belt and white belt videos, Widmar calls them). And, as it turns out, even riders with 40 years of experience are happy to watch those videos, too.

As a result, the channel has something for everyone, whether you’re a noob who needs to learn the basics, or a much more experienced rider who wants to pick up new skills for the twisties, or even just benefit from a different perspective on motorcycle skills.

All the film work keeps him extremely busy. Along with his day job instructing at Total Control, Widmar also spends a lot of seat time practicing the bike control techniques he demonstrates in his videos, on a wide range of motorcycles. He’ll ride anything: adventure bikes, sportbikes, scooters, whatever, and he’s happy to share details on those machines and their characteristics along with his riding skills. And, he’ll practice until he perfects his technique, no matter how long it takes him. It’s the same determination that got him through the Marine Corps, and that he tried to instill in his recruits.

Talking to him, you figure one thing out: No matter how long he runs his YouTube channel, Widmar is never going to run out of ideas, especially as he continuously refines his own riding technique.

“I’ll easily change my opinion on anything, if I learn a better way,” he says. For example, Widmar did a video on rev matching, then went to ride American Supercamp, the flat track training series. When he was there, he got advice and opinion from elite-level racers there, and practiced the techniques they recommended—and he no longer rev matches. “Not only do I no longer rev match, it no longer makes sense to rev match, and I don’t even recommend worrying about doing it—so I have a video about it.”

A noob might worry about taking instruction from someone who’s so willing to change his views. How can you trust him today, if he’s changing his mind tomorrow? Think about it, though—if someone continues to pay attention to an instructor who’s obsessed with finding a better way to do everything, not only will they constantly learn new tricks from their teacher, they’ll also hopefully develop ingrained habits of self-improvement.

It also helps that Widmar is taking in information everywhere, from the worlds of roadracing, canyon carving, flat track, enduro, wherever he can get on two wheels. If you’re that obsessed with learning, you can’t help but evolve your opinions, if you’re intellectually honest. And, if you’re a good instructor, you’ll constantly share those new ideas.

And like Widmar says, even if he changes his opinion on a technique as he gains new insight and experience, that doesn’t necessarily mean the older technique is wrong for a rider who’s not as far along in their development—”People still gain benefit, depending where they are in their experience level,” he says.

That is what the MotoJitsu channel is about, after all—learning, not financial gain. Widmar says he doesn’t get bogged down with music choices, or endless edits. He has minimalist filming gear, often using just a smartphone, and spends more time replying to viewers than he does agonizing over slick production values.

It shows. Check out his playlists here—if you ever watched the spy-fi/nerd comedy Chuck, you’ll remember the Intersect, the massive brain data download that they used to turn regular Joes into super-agents. The MotoJitsu YouTube channel is kind of like a motorcycle version of that, with something for everyone, and if you’re a super-elite rider with a differing opinion, you can always leave a comment on a video, to start a discussion with Widmar? Who knows? With his always-learning attitude, you may actually end up instructing the instructor.