Post by Governor Masakatsu Mamushi on Jul 6, 2014 16:11:32 GMT -5
Hometown: Teaneck, New Jersey
Style:
WUSHU
WESTERN BOXING
- Tai Chi
Age: 26
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 145 lbs
Occupation: Kung-Fu Instructor
Affiliation: Cristo's Chinese Boxing (Head Instructor)
Biography:
Gumdrop Christoforidis started the long journey of life with two flat tires and a blown gasket. Growing up riddled with anxiety and perpetually medicated, the Greek-American’s earliest memories comprise of segmented blurs of him staring at the ceiling while flopped across his beanbag chair on the floor. His parents yearned for a means to help their frail child, but for years they had no options at hand other than the ineffective therapeutic methods they were already using. Daily existence was a struggle for the timid youngster, especially when school began and the bullying started. The torpid Christoforidis was vulnerable out in the wild, where his energetic but cold-hearted peers were free to torment him in any manner they pleased.
Christoforidis, as troubled as he was, did find some solace in comic books and action-adventure television programs. He idolized characters such as Batman and the Beetleborgs, wanting vainly to emulate their amazing physical feats. After begging for years, he eventually managed to convince his parents to enroll him in martial arts classes. Almost immediately this seemed like a mistake, as progress was painfully slow and training only seemed to wring the boy out of what little energy he actually possessed. With the passage of time, however, Christoforidis did in fact begin to develop strength and stamina to a degree where his life started to resemble that of a normal child. The negative tension that previously consumed him on a day-to-day basis slowly trickled out of the young fighter’s constitution, reducing his need for the sedative medication that was previously necessary to protect his mind from intrusive thoughts and anxieties.
Christoforidis’ newfound discipline and mental clarity finally allowed his previously hidden academic potential to shine. The budding youth excelled in all areas of school, easily earning a place on the honor roll without fail every year since sixth grade. By the time Christoforidis was a teenager, however, it was more or less obvious to him that his calling was in the martial arts. By no means a natural athlete, Christoforidis’ perseverance and ceaseless training enabled him to reach the pinnacle of the fast-paced competitive art of Chinese Wushu. Once a frightened and weak child, the proud Greek fighter was quickly blossoming into a dignified champion capable of accomplishing the same stellar feats he once watched his heroes perform on the pages of magazines.
As the years passed, Christoforidis added several new styles to his martial repertoire. When he was sixteen he took up boxing for the sake of practicality, as he had realized Wushu was limited in terms of actual combat. Dabbling in both the amateur and semi-professional ranks, Christoforidis achieved a 4-3-0 in total before hanging up the gloves to pursue his Exercise Physiology degree in Rutgers. It was during college that he was first introduced to the slow-paced martial science of Tai Chi, which added a new dimension of mental and spiritual development to his training regimen.
Now 26, after several years building up the necessary resources to make his gamble, Christoforidis is finally trying to start a kung-fu school of his own. “Christo’s Chinese Boxing” will cater to people of all ages, from adults looking to get into full-contact fighting to children struggling with their own self-confidence like he once was.
Combat Attire: Black, cotton ninja pants
Fighter Attributes/Strategy:
- Tries to emulate Sugar Ray Leonard's style of boxing
- Heavily utilizes feints and unorthodox Wushu movement early on to throw opponents off their game. This often serves to trick other fighters into thinking he's simply an ineffectual traditional martial artist
- Falls back to straight boxing once the pressure is put on