ikodomo
Well-Known Member
“An Adventure is no fun if it’s too easy”
- iThe Apprentice
From east coast to west coast, we now head towards the sunny side parts of California. One of the promising and upcoming players coming out of the Southern California (SoCal) area, iThe Apprentice takes the stage talking about his own character (Eliot) and his history with the game.
What up my socal brother?! I missed you. How's it been? I heard you recently became a father. Is that true? If so, congratulations bro!
-What up-what up-what up!!!! Haven't heard from you in quite a while. Where are my matches??? Oh my goodness. LMAO. No, I have no kids as of late. I personally feel that I am absolutely not ready to produce little gremlins of my own. Oddly enough though, SEVERAL people have asked me if I had a kid lately. “I wonder why”.....
Whoa…. Awkward moment….. I blame Facebook. Not the way I envision this to start. LoL! Let’s start with another icebreaker...If a DOA character were to be become a real person in real life, who would you want to hang out/date? Why? GOOOO!!!!
-That's obvious. I'd LOVE to hang out with my main boii Elote-san (Eliot)
-Why? As I've stated in the past, I can really relate to Eliot more than most of the whole cast. I feel that if he were to magically be real, I'd train as much as I could with him. I am in love with Xing yi quan, So I gather any small bit of techniques I can gather from anywhere and train in my backyard whenever I can. It's pretty hard to learn new things on your own with just… Inanimate objects. I really need a training partner. Ah, well.
-Dating on the other hand… Let’s just say I’m a sucker for strong crazy/seductive women. (*cough cough* “Looking at you Juri-san”) Of course I’d love to get to know miss Tengu’s “Nice” side. If you catch my drift.
Name? Gaming alias?
-Jorge Medina- iThe Apprentice
Country of Origin?
-MURICA
*Southern California
How did you come up with the name iThe Apprentice? Star Wars reference?
-NO! I actually came up with the name the day I knew Eliot was going to become my main. Also, at the time, I was in training with a master of my own and built a very strong relationship with him. It was VERY similar to what Eliot's story had been at the time being. So I said “I AM THE APPRENTICE” fear me.
Do you have any mentors in DOA?
-YES!!!! I have my “Father” BKD coffedad. He's always supporting me in my play no matter where in the world I am. I treat that man as if he were family. So ever since I met the guy, we’ve been real good friends ever since.
Who are your main characters in DOA5LR?
-My current 2 mains are ELIOT-and the Demon Tengu Princess herself NYOTENGU I am also picking up 28 other characters atm (lol)
Why did you decide on picking eliot and Nyotengu over all the cast? What are eliot’s and Nyotengu’s pros and cons?
-Eliot, because no one else was using him “correctly” in my past mindset back in DOA4. Funny thing, before I picked him up, I actually despised the way he played. People normally went for the most “basic stuff” (past mindset). So I said, “I CAN DO BETTER.” To this day, I have no regrets.
-Eliot is an extremely solid character with Major weaknesses in his CQC game, he has quite of an outstanding range game on almost all of his moves, and can be a GREAT defensive character if played correctly. He's definitely not a beginner character considering some of his techniques require some more difficult executions. Not all, but some. If you like to give yourself a chance at mastering one of the more difficult characters go right ahead. If you are an aspiring Eliot player and want to know what he's capable of along with his most notable Weaknesses and Strengths, take a peek at my Eliot guide, I constantly update it to the latest versions. It is still not 100% complete as I'd like it to be. But please have a look if you haven’t already
-http://www.freestepdodge.com/thread...e-iron-fist-guide-i-challenge-you.3899/page-2
-As for NyoTengu, I just absolutely love the character for her Juri-like personality. It’s also the fact that she has an interesting playstyle. She’s an extremely updated version of the original tengu. She intrigued me ever since the first trailer for her came out and I watched it 40x times.
How long have you been playing DOA casually and competitively?
-I have been playing DOA casually since DOA2: HARDCORE back when it was AMAZING. (Cough DOA2U was 20x better though)
-Competitively was near the end of 4's lifecycle. I started training hard with a lot of characters getting to know all of their new moves and junk. (IT WAS A NEW DOA! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?!) Although the first thing I actually did (unlike some people I know) I decided to jump straight into story mode before anything.
-Competitively as in tournament play? That I started 2 YEARS AGO. It's all thanks to Commmanda Panda for “Recruiting me” Much thanks to him, without the offline tournament scene for me, I'd still live “DAT ONLINE SKRUB LYFE” which to be honest… Even offline I still maintain some VERY bad habits that I desperately need to get rid of.
How would you describe your play style in 3 words? What would they be?
--Currently at the time that I am writing these responses I feel awful. My performance at SCR was my complete downfall and lack of character AND player knowledge. I used to attend these tournaments just to meet new people and have a lot of fun. AND I DO! But now there's a fire in me that is telling me I can do better.
-Current PS
-Aggressive, Spacer (in training), Punisher. NEVER LET AN UNSAFE MOVE GO THROW UNPUNISHED!!!
Is there a glaring weakness you would like to improve upon?
-YES!!! There is much that I need to improve on, such as my Zoning in general, My mixup with Eliot, and last but not least, my reactions. Oh gahd... The tick throws…
What's your typical routine when preparing for an upcoming tournament? Do you have any players you spar or train with for an upcoming tournament?
-Oh that's easy lolololol I play SM4SH for 3 hours straight, then play 2 hours of Online DOA with some online heavy players. (Best routine ever)
-Unfortunately I attend little to no offline casual events. I REALLY should, as I know that attending more of those will give me a much greater battling experience on what is good and what is wrong.
-I also do NOT have an official training partner. I absolutely love play against RoyalMann’s Kokoro. He helps me a lot with the Eliot Kokoro matchup, and all I can say is… I appreciate his time. What little he does have to help me on my journey of training.
What are the tournaments you have attended? What were those results you had on those tournaments?
-I have attended many SoCalDOA events such as that one Wednesday Night Fight tournament we had. A few casual tournaments hosted at BlackKnights palace. Remember those???
-I have also attended other tourneys as well such as SCR and Twin Galaxies along with Cali Crush.
-(With my Twin Galaxies win not being counted as a grand win.)
-Here are some of the vids of me fighting like a nub.
I wish I was at SCR 2015. Can you tell me about your experience at SCR 2015? How was it?
-As I stated before. My journey there was GREAT, everything was fantastic, the venue the scenery, the games, the hype! Although again... My performance killed my mood on the last day.
Any upcoming tournaments you will be participating in the near future?
-I WAS hoping I WOULD attend Paradise, but that no longer seems to be the case as we all know now.
Which version of DOA do you like and hate the most? Why?
-I preferred Vanilla DOA5 Eliot was just SO GOOD! I never appreciated how good he was until we lost it all. ;-; Also, the beginning of 5 was actually a good time for me seeing as how it had all the right mechanics at the time that could have easily been turned around and made “Not Broken” (*Cough* looking at you ground game (MILA))
Is there anything you would like to see changed, added or deleted in DOA5LR such as character balances, more characters or stages?
-If anything the only thing I want to see fixed for my character would have to be his 7P. Maybe, just maybe, ever so slight adjustments to his CQC game up close and personal.
-I think that we should leave new characters for DOA5:Ultimate-LastRound-Hyper-Super-Turbo-& Knuckles edition (DOA6)
-As for stages- I want more neutral pretty looking stages. Something like DOA (Stage) but prettier
Any players you enjoy watching or would like to play against?
-I love watching o M A S T E R o play. His Hayabusa is absolutely outstanding. I'd actually like to face him in an OFFLINE FT10 if I could anytime. It'd teach me a lot more about the Hayabusa - Eliot Match up for sure.
-I also love seeing Hajin’s Ayane in action, He makes her move so gracefully.
-Let us not forget to mention the Gen Fu player himself! SweetRevenge is a rival that I would like to have-SOLELY FOR THE ELIOT GEN FU RELATIONSHIP (lol)
Who are the other Eliot players people need to watch?
People need to look out for ColonelColver. He may not be that known across the galaxy. He may also not be as competitive as most others. But I do consider him one of my better Eliot rivals as we share Eliot tech when we can.
What do you think of Korea's own TonyRobo?
Honestly. I've never heard of TonyRobo before until you mentioned him. I'd absolutely love to fight a foreign Eliot player though! Hell, I might learn some things I'd never thought of before!
How is the SoCal scene been? Those fine and memorable days.... Can you tell us more about your scene and the players you have over there? Has it changed the time that I left? Are there any ways you can think of improving your scene and its growth?
-Actually, ever since I've laid my eyes upon the SoCal scene everyone has just been so great, such nice people. I have no complaints from anyone at all. It's changed in the way that EVERYONE has improved so much! There's also been quite a few people that are new to this whole scene and I personally welcome them with open arms.
Who are the players need to be aware of in SoCal?
-Pls
-Steady, Hajin, Nykko- They will all give you a VERY good run for your money no matter what skill level you are in.
Do you have a personal tier list on DOA5LR?
-I think I want to avoid this question for certain reasons lol
If you were to pick one moment(s) that defines you in DOA, what would that be and why?
-The day I started to learn Eliot
-Learning Eliot was an extremely long process for me and it wasn't easy. So that fateful day is what defines the apprentice.
Any other games you play for fun or competitively?
-I play Street Fighter for fun and Smash slightly competitively (with friends when I hang out)
-Although I don’t take them seriously enough for me to lay them like I do DOA.
If you could create a DOA character from scratch for DOA6, How would you make that character? Gender? Martial Arts? Default Costume?
-No pls. I'll leave the character designing to TN as long as it isn't another “18” year old mannequin.
If you could give an advice for the aspiring competitive DOA player, what would you say?
-MAKE IT OUT TO AN OFFLINE EVENT! SHOW YOUR SKILLS TO OFFLINE PLAYERS! MAKE FRIENDS!!! SHARE TECH!!! JUST DO IT!!!! Come on guys! Going to a scene is no all about winning, it's about learning more about your inner skills!
DOA6. What year do you think it will come out?
-I believe the game will be coming out no later than 2017-18 I don’t want TN rushing anything so I want it as complete and filled with content and rich detailed amazing balanced frame advantage costumes.
DOAX3 is coming out soon. What do you think of the game? Are you going to get it?
-I think… I’ll keep my harsh opinions to myself hehe.
-although knowing me… I’ll most definitely get it. If we get a voting Ballot, Nyotengu and Tiny (Tina) are going to have 90% of my votes...
Have a Twitter, Facebook or Youtube channel?
-Yes
-fb.com/XxChris.StarsxX
-Tweet tweet: @iThe_Apprentice
-YouBoobs: iThe Apprentice
Any last messages? Shoutouts?
-I'd like to make a shout out to my main man coffedad. RoyalMann, you (of course), and TEAM NINJA
-My DOA rivals
-And to any new players I might face this upcoming year.
- iThe Apprentice
What up my socal brother?! I missed you. How's it been? I heard you recently became a father. Is that true? If so, congratulations bro!
-What up-what up-what up!!!! Haven't heard from you in quite a while. Where are my matches??? Oh my goodness. LMAO. No, I have no kids as of late. I personally feel that I am absolutely not ready to produce little gremlins of my own. Oddly enough though, SEVERAL people have asked me if I had a kid lately. “I wonder why”.....
Whoa…. Awkward moment….. I blame Facebook. Not the way I envision this to start. LoL! Let’s start with another icebreaker...If a DOA character were to be become a real person in real life, who would you want to hang out/date? Why? GOOOO!!!!
-That's obvious. I'd LOVE to hang out with my main boii Elote-san (Eliot)
-Why? As I've stated in the past, I can really relate to Eliot more than most of the whole cast. I feel that if he were to magically be real, I'd train as much as I could with him. I am in love with Xing yi quan, So I gather any small bit of techniques I can gather from anywhere and train in my backyard whenever I can. It's pretty hard to learn new things on your own with just… Inanimate objects. I really need a training partner. Ah, well.
-Dating on the other hand… Let’s just say I’m a sucker for strong crazy/seductive women. (*cough cough* “Looking at you Juri-san”) Of course I’d love to get to know miss Tengu’s “Nice” side. If you catch my drift.
Name? Gaming alias?
-Jorge Medina- iThe Apprentice
Country of Origin?
-MURICA
*Southern California
How did you come up with the name iThe Apprentice? Star Wars reference?
-NO! I actually came up with the name the day I knew Eliot was going to become my main. Also, at the time, I was in training with a master of my own and built a very strong relationship with him. It was VERY similar to what Eliot's story had been at the time being. So I said “I AM THE APPRENTICE” fear me.
Do you have any mentors in DOA?
-YES!!!! I have my “Father” BKD coffedad. He's always supporting me in my play no matter where in the world I am. I treat that man as if he were family. So ever since I met the guy, we’ve been real good friends ever since.
Who are your main characters in DOA5LR?
-My current 2 mains are ELIOT-and the Demon Tengu Princess herself NYOTENGU I am also picking up 28 other characters atm (lol)
Why did you decide on picking eliot and Nyotengu over all the cast? What are eliot’s and Nyotengu’s pros and cons?
-Eliot, because no one else was using him “correctly” in my past mindset back in DOA4. Funny thing, before I picked him up, I actually despised the way he played. People normally went for the most “basic stuff” (past mindset). So I said, “I CAN DO BETTER.” To this day, I have no regrets.
-Eliot is an extremely solid character with Major weaknesses in his CQC game, he has quite of an outstanding range game on almost all of his moves, and can be a GREAT defensive character if played correctly. He's definitely not a beginner character considering some of his techniques require some more difficult executions. Not all, but some. If you like to give yourself a chance at mastering one of the more difficult characters go right ahead. If you are an aspiring Eliot player and want to know what he's capable of along with his most notable Weaknesses and Strengths, take a peek at my Eliot guide, I constantly update it to the latest versions. It is still not 100% complete as I'd like it to be. But please have a look if you haven’t already
-http://www.freestepdodge.com/thread...e-iron-fist-guide-i-challenge-you.3899/page-2
-As for NyoTengu, I just absolutely love the character for her Juri-like personality. It’s also the fact that she has an interesting playstyle. She’s an extremely updated version of the original tengu. She intrigued me ever since the first trailer for her came out and I watched it 40x times.
How long have you been playing DOA casually and competitively?
-I have been playing DOA casually since DOA2: HARDCORE back when it was AMAZING. (Cough DOA2U was 20x better though)
-Competitively was near the end of 4's lifecycle. I started training hard with a lot of characters getting to know all of their new moves and junk. (IT WAS A NEW DOA! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?!) Although the first thing I actually did (unlike some people I know) I decided to jump straight into story mode before anything.
-Competitively as in tournament play? That I started 2 YEARS AGO. It's all thanks to Commmanda Panda for “Recruiting me” Much thanks to him, without the offline tournament scene for me, I'd still live “DAT ONLINE SKRUB LYFE” which to be honest… Even offline I still maintain some VERY bad habits that I desperately need to get rid of.
How would you describe your play style in 3 words? What would they be?
--Currently at the time that I am writing these responses I feel awful. My performance at SCR was my complete downfall and lack of character AND player knowledge. I used to attend these tournaments just to meet new people and have a lot of fun. AND I DO! But now there's a fire in me that is telling me I can do better.
-Current PS
-Aggressive, Spacer (in training), Punisher. NEVER LET AN UNSAFE MOVE GO THROW UNPUNISHED!!!
Is there a glaring weakness you would like to improve upon?
-YES!!! There is much that I need to improve on, such as my Zoning in general, My mixup with Eliot, and last but not least, my reactions. Oh gahd... The tick throws…
What's your typical routine when preparing for an upcoming tournament? Do you have any players you spar or train with for an upcoming tournament?
-Oh that's easy lolololol I play SM4SH for 3 hours straight, then play 2 hours of Online DOA with some online heavy players. (Best routine ever)
-Unfortunately I attend little to no offline casual events. I REALLY should, as I know that attending more of those will give me a much greater battling experience on what is good and what is wrong.
-I also do NOT have an official training partner. I absolutely love play against RoyalMann’s Kokoro. He helps me a lot with the Eliot Kokoro matchup, and all I can say is… I appreciate his time. What little he does have to help me on my journey of training.
What are the tournaments you have attended? What were those results you had on those tournaments?
-I have attended many SoCalDOA events such as that one Wednesday Night Fight tournament we had. A few casual tournaments hosted at BlackKnights palace. Remember those???
-I have also attended other tourneys as well such as SCR and Twin Galaxies along with Cali Crush.
-(With my Twin Galaxies win not being counted as a grand win.)
-Here are some of the vids of me fighting like a nub.
SCR 2015 me against Hajin
(
)
Casual DOA tourney vs NerdUnemployed
(
)
Casual DOA tourney vs Kal El3291
(
)
Casual DOA tourney against YOU!
(
)
-I've attended very few offline tourneys the past 2 years. I always wanted to attend more but never could, now I can of course. Although the scene looks like it is slowly dying out. Makes me sad. But I know with enough effort, patience, and attendance we can be a great scene.(
Casual DOA tourney vs NerdUnemployed
(
Casual DOA tourney vs Kal El3291
(
Casual DOA tourney against YOU!
(
I wish I was at SCR 2015. Can you tell me about your experience at SCR 2015? How was it?
-As I stated before. My journey there was GREAT, everything was fantastic, the venue the scenery, the games, the hype! Although again... My performance killed my mood on the last day.
Any upcoming tournaments you will be participating in the near future?
-I WAS hoping I WOULD attend Paradise, but that no longer seems to be the case as we all know now.
Which version of DOA do you like and hate the most? Why?
-I preferred Vanilla DOA5 Eliot was just SO GOOD! I never appreciated how good he was until we lost it all. ;-; Also, the beginning of 5 was actually a good time for me seeing as how it had all the right mechanics at the time that could have easily been turned around and made “Not Broken” (*Cough* looking at you ground game (MILA))
Is there anything you would like to see changed, added or deleted in DOA5LR such as character balances, more characters or stages?
-If anything the only thing I want to see fixed for my character would have to be his 7P. Maybe, just maybe, ever so slight adjustments to his CQC game up close and personal.
-I think that we should leave new characters for DOA5:Ultimate-LastRound-Hyper-Super-Turbo-& Knuckles edition (DOA6)
-As for stages- I want more neutral pretty looking stages. Something like DOA (Stage) but prettier
Any players you enjoy watching or would like to play against?
-I love watching o M A S T E R o play. His Hayabusa is absolutely outstanding. I'd actually like to face him in an OFFLINE FT10 if I could anytime. It'd teach me a lot more about the Hayabusa - Eliot Match up for sure.
-I also love seeing Hajin’s Ayane in action, He makes her move so gracefully.
-Let us not forget to mention the Gen Fu player himself! SweetRevenge is a rival that I would like to have-SOLELY FOR THE ELIOT GEN FU RELATIONSHIP (lol)
Who are the other Eliot players people need to watch?
People need to look out for ColonelColver. He may not be that known across the galaxy. He may also not be as competitive as most others. But I do consider him one of my better Eliot rivals as we share Eliot tech when we can.
What do you think of Korea's own TonyRobo?
Honestly. I've never heard of TonyRobo before until you mentioned him. I'd absolutely love to fight a foreign Eliot player though! Hell, I might learn some things I'd never thought of before!
How is the SoCal scene been? Those fine and memorable days.... Can you tell us more about your scene and the players you have over there? Has it changed the time that I left? Are there any ways you can think of improving your scene and its growth?
-Actually, ever since I've laid my eyes upon the SoCal scene everyone has just been so great, such nice people. I have no complaints from anyone at all. It's changed in the way that EVERYONE has improved so much! There's also been quite a few people that are new to this whole scene and I personally welcome them with open arms.
Who are the players need to be aware of in SoCal?
-Pls
-Steady, Hajin, Nykko- They will all give you a VERY good run for your money no matter what skill level you are in.
Do you have a personal tier list on DOA5LR?
-I think I want to avoid this question for certain reasons lol
If you were to pick one moment(s) that defines you in DOA, what would that be and why?
-The day I started to learn Eliot
-Learning Eliot was an extremely long process for me and it wasn't easy. So that fateful day is what defines the apprentice.
Any other games you play for fun or competitively?
-I play Street Fighter for fun and Smash slightly competitively (with friends when I hang out)
-Although I don’t take them seriously enough for me to lay them like I do DOA.
If you could create a DOA character from scratch for DOA6, How would you make that character? Gender? Martial Arts? Default Costume?
-No pls. I'll leave the character designing to TN as long as it isn't another “18” year old mannequin.
If you could give an advice for the aspiring competitive DOA player, what would you say?
-MAKE IT OUT TO AN OFFLINE EVENT! SHOW YOUR SKILLS TO OFFLINE PLAYERS! MAKE FRIENDS!!! SHARE TECH!!! JUST DO IT!!!! Come on guys! Going to a scene is no all about winning, it's about learning more about your inner skills!
DOA6. What year do you think it will come out?
-I believe the game will be coming out no later than 2017-18 I don’t want TN rushing anything so I want it as complete and filled with content and rich detailed amazing balanced frame advantage costumes.
DOAX3 is coming out soon. What do you think of the game? Are you going to get it?
-I think… I’ll keep my harsh opinions to myself hehe.
-although knowing me… I’ll most definitely get it. If we get a voting Ballot, Nyotengu and Tiny (Tina) are going to have 90% of my votes...
Have a Twitter, Facebook or Youtube channel?
-Yes
-fb.com/XxChris.StarsxX
-Tweet tweet: @iThe_Apprentice
-YouBoobs: iThe Apprentice
Any last messages? Shoutouts?
-I'd like to make a shout out to my main man coffedad. RoyalMann, you (of course), and TEAM NINJA
-My DOA rivals
-And to any new players I might face this upcoming year.
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