Jemmillion: Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions. I know that the main fighting game you play is Ultra Street Fight IV. Tell us a little bit more about yourself, your background, and what led to your involvement in both the FGC and your position at J1 Studios.
Chris Alexander: I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in various cities along the east coast. I’m married with two kids and live in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. I have four cats (blame my wife).
I have been playing fighting games long before I even knew there was an FGC to be involved in. Started with Mortal Kombat 1, Virtual Fighter, and Street Fighter 2, all in the arcades. It immediately became important for me to improve, because it was a way I could hang out with my older siblings. My sister is about four years older than me and my brother is eight years older. There aren’t many things that a four-year-old can do with a twelve-year-old, but thankfully, a controller doesn’t care how old the fingers pressing buttons are. So, wherever there was an arcade, like Time Out in the Mall or the Arcade at Martha’s Vineyard, we would play. I didn’t do games for tickets. I didn’t ogle the prizes. I didn’t play skeeball. I marched myself right up to the nearest fighting game and put my quarter up, and took my lumps. When consoles started to kill the arcades, I played my siblings, friends, and whoever else on Genesis, PlayStation X, Dreamcast, and PlayStation 2. I still have a soft spot for the arcade experience, but there’s no way to replicate it anymore. It’s a shame.
I got involved in J1Studios through a Podcast my friend Mike asked me to be on called The Reset Button. Soon afterward, I organized my first tournament with J1Studio’s help. 60 people showed up, and Demon Hyo won first place with Blanka. I believe PhillyOne got second, and KL (or his roommate) got third. It was crazy. After that, we just looked to improve, find our niche, and give the fans what they want.
Jemmillion: What was your inspiration for wanting to get involved with the Fighting Game Community?
Chris Alexander: I’m a competitive guy, and I like being around people that share my interests. Iron sharpens iron. As time went on, I became more interested in helping others improve than I was in improving myself. Thus, I decided to focus on organizing tournaments more than competing.
Jemmillion: Do you compete and/or attend other major tournaments?
Chris Alexander: North East Championship, Winter Brawl, any conventions that are nearby (GameX, WW, etc). I’d like to attend more, but they usually conflict with the martial arts classes that I teach. If I can’t get someone to cover for me, I have a responsibility to be there for my students. It’s tough getting out of town now with the kids. I attend as many locals and offline sessions as I can: BarBattles, Go For Broke, Temple Fridays, Berserk, and my own events. I hope to make it out to Delaware to hang with the DCB boys and go to Xanadu.
Jemmillion: Currently, you’re a martial arts instructor. How can the art of real fighting be compared to games like Street Fighter? What are the similarities and differences?
Chris Alexander: They are kind of similar in a few ways. Spacing, mixups, whiff punishing, pokes, adaptability, and reads are really important to both. I approach Street Fighter and Tekken like it’s a sparring match. I try and think my way around what the other player’s character and playstyle means for how I should try and adapt to dominate. Some people I can hang back and let them hang themselves, and some people I have to do nothing but take up all of their space and eat damage to do so.
In real life, I’m primarily a grappler. I like to say I’m a human pretzel maker! My skill base is in No-Gi grappling, including concepts from Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Sambo, wrestling, CACC, and whatever else I can pick up. Most of the time, I train at Hawthorn Grappling Club, but I try to make it over to Balance Studios and Osagame as much as I can. I also occasionally work on my boxing at Marian Anderson Gym. After my kids were born, I converted my garage to a gym so I can practice without leaving the house.
I always admired the grapplers in fighting games (Zangief, King, Condor, T Hawk, Wolf), because they could do so much damage in a short time, and yet were so hard to win with a lot of the time.
The cultures between the two are quite similar: the camaraderie, the work ethic, the attention to detail, the drive to improve, and the master-student relationships. I’d say the biggest difference is that it’s easier to get into fighting games and improve. Becoming good in martial arts hurts, invariably. The work out that you do just to be able to be good in practice takes up a lot of time. The diet forces you to change a lot of your habits, and there is a lot more risk. I’ve never gotten injured playing a game, but I have gotten knocked out at a tournament in front of my wife. It’s not a good feeling.
Jemmillion: On May 31, 2015, J1 Studios is hosting J1 Con: Music Fest 2015. During this event, you’ll be throwing a fighting game tournament. Which games will be there? Will it be streamed? And what can we expect in relation to awards for the winners?
Chris Alexander: It’s going to take place at First District Plaza 3801 Market St on May 31st from 12pm-8pm. We will be throwing two free to enter tournaments for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Ultra Street Fighter 4, with a $500 pot if we hit 32 players each. It’s kind of a sendoff for the current version of USF4, and to some extent, the Xbox 360. It’s the last tournament we’ll be using the Xbox 360 for Ultra, and I wanted to do something special. After this, the only game that we’ll use the Xbox 360 for will be UMVC3, for who knows how long.
If the internet gods smile on us, we should have at least three live streaming stations on the day of the con, and as many as six. VGCJ will be in attendance again, as they did a great job last time.
J1 has handed out some crazy prizes for tournaments before: plaques, framed wall posters, trophies, and even a custom skateboard! The best received so far? Good old fashioned medals and cash. I think we’ll stick to that.
Jemmillion: With the recent speculation that Street Fighter V will be released by the end of March 2016, a lot gameplay videos, trailers, and information about the game has been released over the past year. Based on what you’ve seen, what are your views on the visuals and mechanics so far, and how do you think it’s going to affect the FGC as a whole once the game is released?
Chris Alexander: Shoryuken.com has some great breakdown videos from the released SFV footage. If you haven’t already watched it, you should. I like the upgraded graphics and physics, and I love the change from close standing normals to command normals. Anyone who plays Honda knows how much the big man struggles with using buttons to anti-air, because his best AA buttons are his close standing heavy punch and kick. If SFV has Honda, and allows him to use CS HP and CS HK as command normals to hit people’s jump in attempts, that would be huge.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that SFV will replace SFIV as a main game, though I will miss the focus system. Great offensive and defensive tool. I’m sure Ultra will still hang around for a while as a side game.
Jemmillion: Does J1 Studios have any plans to start sponsoring FGC players?
Chris Alexander: YES! We would like to start a team. If anyone who isn’t on a team is interested in trying out, hit me up.
Jemmillion: What are your goals for the rest of the year that you plan to accomplish for the FGC and J1 Studios?
Chris Alexander: Another successful event in the Fall, and being able to finally take the caps off the brackets. I think we’re just about ready to start running pools, as long as we can fit within time constraints.
Jemmillion: What events will we be seeing you attend in the near future?
Chris Alexander: I was just at Go For Broke 2. I will attend Summer Jam, Xanadu, and whatever else pops up that I can make it to.
Jemmillion: If you could be one superhero and one fighting game character, who would it be? Why?
Chris Alexander: Superhero? Jeez…that’s tough. I’d take the powers of the Wally West version of Flash. I ran track for two decades, the idea of running that fast is just amazing.
Video game character? That’s easy: King from Tekken. I love being a Zangief main, but King is more of a fully fleshed out grappler. The Tekken system allows him more to work with: throws, trips, counters, locks, chokes, mixing throws with strikes, air throws, and chain throws. He even has an SPD! Who needs a fireball when I can break every bone of your body if I so much as touch you?
Special Thanks:
Chris Alexander: I’d like to give shout outs to The Bath House boys (fat man with ABS), the Philly FGC, VGCJ, Shock and Kombat Network, Dynamic Custom Beadworks, BigE, Mr. Foo, DSC, IPG, the Ultra Street Fighter 4: Tournament Edition group, Full on Nerd, The Black Tribbles, DSCPapertrail, NYNori, and ACMG. I would like to thank my lovely wife and beautiful children for letting daddy have “practice time.” And thanks to Emily for this interview. Hope so see everyone on May 31st!
Want to learn more about and/or attend J1-Con: Music Fest 2015? Check out the event page below:
https://www.facebook.com/events/775492479203496/
You can follow Chris Alexander at the below social media sites:
https://www.facebook.com/chris.alexander.58118?fref=ts
http://www.twitch.tv/J1_Slapusilly
You can follow and learn more about J1 Studios at the below websites:
Want to learn more about the FGC (Fighting Game Community)? Check out:
jemmillion.wordpress.com 