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YOUR QUESTIONS. . .

QUESTION: AM I ROOTING RIGHT FOR STRIKING?  "There is something that I am a little confused  with. At the seminar, you stressed how important it is to feel the strikes  and movements of the arms in my feet first. Since the seminar, I have  noticed that whether I'm striking or redirecting incoming strikes, I am  very top heavy. Now that I am consciously working on everything coming  from my root, at times I feel like I am double weighted. I know that in  the DVDs, it is explained to be rooted on one leg at all times. However, I  find myself kind of rocking back and forth. If I am in a right handed  guard and rooted on my right leg, should all of my strikes come from the  strength of that one root, until I am forced to change my root to my left  leg? What I find myself doing is kind of switching to my left root when I  am striking with my left arm, and then back to my right root when I am  striking with my right arm, which makes me feel like I have two roots at  the same time. This is a little tricky for me to explain, so I hope you  have an idea of where I'm coming from. I can already see improvements  in my sensitivity. It's far from natural for me, but I can still feel it  working."  ANSWER: These are great questions. The confusion you are experiencing is very common but comes mostly from over-thinking--which happens to everybody because it's new to you. Ironically the root change problem is something that we only get confused about in martial arts because they tend to be so stylized. If you were playing tennis or basketball you'd change your feet properly without thought. First of all, you don't "feel the strikes in your feet" before your hands. If you try to do this you'll over commit to your feet and become immobile. You "feel your feet in your hands" simultaneously. All this means is that you're not punching with just your arms. At the instant of striking and connecting you feel a direct connection with the ground instead of just your shoulders or back. You then immediately abandon the root as necessary. The primary principle to develop is the ability to drop, root (or "peg") on either or both feet for any given strike. This means that a left chop should be able to be connected to the ground with a drop or at least a strong but fleeting root from either your left foot, right foot or both feet, as you desire. This will develop the ability to use any available root as necessary under duress when you don't have a choice. Of course this requires highly developed balance to pull off. Roots are pegged and abandoned in a micro-second and should not be hung on to stubbornly like in tai chi and other styles. This is how you develop "a root that can't be found" by your opponent. Again ironically this is what you do without thinking in tennis or basketball. Your "double-weightedness" is a manifestation of root stubbornness. Remember: our book stresses that "suspending" and especially "releasing" is paramount for preventing immobility. Key to this are all the Dropping drills and especially the Middle-linebacker drill on page 29. Remember that rocking back and forth from one root to the other (see "fixed step rooting" p. 86) is just an exercise to promote looseness, balance and the full limits of both. In a real fight, you need to be able to access any root possible to survive and that includes stepping. --Matt Kovsky

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Police: Gang rape outside school dance lasted over two hours By Nick Valencia, CNN October 27, 2009 3:47 a.m. EDT An ambulance delivers a California high school student to the hospital last week. Police say she was gang raped. (CNN) -- A California high school student who police said was gang raped in a two-and-a-half-hour assault outside a homecoming dance remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday, two days after she was flown from the attack scene in critical condition. As of late Monday, two suspects had been arrested in the case and a third was being questioned. "There is one individual in custody who has made some spontaneous statements that have led me to believe that he is culpable for what happened," Richmond police Lt. Johan Simon said. Nineteen-year-old Manuel Ortega, described as a former student at the school, was arrested soon after he fled the scene and will face charges of rape, robbery and kidnapping, police said. A 15-year-old was later arrested and charged with one count of felony sexual assault. A third teenager was being interviewed, according to Lt. Mark Gagan of the police department in Richmond, California. "Based on witness statements and suspect statements, and also physical evidence, we know that she was raped by at least four suspects committing multiple sex acts," Gagan said. Investigators said as many as 15 people, all males, stood around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the victim, a 15-year-old student at Richmond High School in suburban San Francisco. "As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated," Gagan said. Authorities had interviewed the victim, and the search for other attackers and bystanders who watched and did not report the rape was in "full-court press," according to Gagan." We have checked Facebook and YouTube to try to find any revealing evidence," he said. "We're looking in particular to see if anyone posted any video of the incident." Several other individuals were detained at the scene but not arrested, Simon said. The attack occurred on school grounds as the annual homecoming dance was under way inside the school Saturday night, authorities said. It was like a horror movie after looking at the evidence. --Lt. Mark Gagan The victim was found unconscious and "brutally assaulted" under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene "reminiscing about the incident," Gagan said. "She ended up with those guys under her own will because she knew one of the boys who had gone to the high school before," Gagan said. "Right now, we're looking at toxicology reports to determine her blood-alcohol content and to determine if she was drugged." According to authorities, the victim was flown to an area hospital in critical condition. She was in stable condition Monday, police said. "This just gets worse and worse the more you dig into it," Gagan said. "It was like a horror movie after looking at the evidence. I can't believe not one person felt compelled to help her." I have always believed that forcible rape should be a capital offense, and result in the death penalty for offenders. I do not care how "young" the miserable gutter animals are. This story reinforces my convictions. There is a very, very sad commentary in this news story about the poor character of those who saw the crime and did nothing. This isn't the America that I knew. --Brad Steiner, President International Combat Martial Arts Federation FIGHT OR FLIGHT, WHEN TO GET INVOLVED AND HOW MUCH... WHAT'S THE BEST DVD FOR TRAINING THESE PRINCIPLES? THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PART ONE (2 DVD SET) With or without our best-selling book, the ATTACKPROOF COMPANION DVD SERIES is the essential stand-alone DVD guide to the art of GUIDED CHAOS. Part 1 is the essential foundation of Guided Chaos and is a brutal, World War II-based Close Combat system all by itself (enhanced with basic level-one Guided Chaos principles). Part 1 covers IN DEPTH: Awareness and avoidance, Warrior mentality, simple striking tools and Close Combat methodology, as well as everything you ever wanted to know about developing Dropping Energy to enhance your hitting power. This material is absolutely essential as it provides all the basic weaponry you'll need to understand parts TWO and THREE. Learn from a veteran of over 100 documented brutally violent life-or-death confrontations what works and what doesn't. Almost 2 1/2 hours on 2 DVDs with skills and drills found nowhere else.

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