Advance Praise for Sgt. Rory Miller’s Meditations on Violence:
Simply put Meditations on Violence tells the truth. Sgt. Rory Miller will wipe away any fantasy you have about fighting. Fighting and violence will tolerate no lies—especially the ones you tell yourself. The more you read the more you will realize that the stupid, “Monkey Dance” you do is meaningless. The words, the displays, they are all predictable, and Sgt. Miller has your number.
–Kris Wilder, martial artist, author
Kris holds black belt-level ranks in three arts: Tae Kwon Do (2nd Degree), Kodokan Judo (1st Degree) and Goju-Ryu Karate (4th Degree), instructor West Seattle Karate Academy
Author:
• The Way of Sanchin Kata
Co-Author:
•The Little Black Book of Violence
Miller uses his words like a samurai sword, cutting through flesh, bone, and sinew, directly into the heart of the matter—your ego and life-long distorted illusions about yourself, violence, and ways in which you prepare yourself for today’s battlefield—the street, where illusion and reality clash. Will you be a victim of your own training flaws? This book is a wake-up call to all those practicing, and especially those teaching, martial arts who think that “self-defense” training in the dojo actually constitutes proper preparation for real life encounters on the street. Miller says: “A real fight for your life is NOTHING like sparring.” Indeed it isn’t.
–Sgt. Alan D. Arsenault, 27-year veteran Vancouver P.D., martial artist, author
Alan is the Executive Director of the famed Odd Squad www.odd-squad.com
Author:
• Chin Na in Ground Fighting
This book is a refreshingly frank, honest, and in-depth assessment of violence. As a corrections officer, Miller tangles with hard-core predators for a living. He routinely survives brutal encounters that would leave the average person physically shattered and emotionally wrecked. Miller’s insights on how to make self-defense work and overcome subconscious resistance to meeting violence with violence could very well save your life one day. Learn how to think critically about the subject, determine how to evaluate sources of knowledge, and understand how to identify strategies and select tactics to deal with violence effectively. This extraordinarily well-written book is packed with interesting, informative, and, most importantly, useful information.
–Lawrence A. Kane, martial artist, author, security supervisor
Lawrence is responsible for fan safety during college and professional football games at a Pac-10 stadium.
Author:
• Surviving Armed Assaults • Martial Arts Instruction
Co-Author:
• The Little Black Book of Violence • The Way to Black Belt • The Way of Kata
A must read book for LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officer’s), martial artists, and anyone interesting in learning about the complexities of violence. Not only do I highly recommend this book, but will be required reading for my students a well.
–Antonio B. Urena, Detective Sergeant, martial artist
Antonio holds 7th Degree black belt in Okinawan Karate, is a NJ certified defensive tactics, firearms, assault rifle, and subgun instructor, a SWAT team squad leader and police sniper.
This is the finest self-defense book it has ever been my pleasure to read, and I have read quite a few. I feel it is a seminal work, and that is not praise I bandy about lightly. In fact, I hope that my many friends in the self-defense publishing world forgive me for putting Mr.Miller’s book above theirs in my particular pecking order. It is simply that good.
This book is not a book that will teach you Angry Monkey Kung Fu or the Tiger Claws An Ox technique. In fact, the book is very short on technique offered, which is its true strength. There are innumerable books out there that are technique driven. That’s not the problem. What is lacking, and most sorely needed, is exploration on the realities of human-on-human violence. What drives it, how do you survive it, and how and what can we learn from it.
As a LEO I’ve been in many, many use of force incidents, a couple of shootings, and had more incidents that had the potential to become violent but didn’t. In very few of them did any particular technique come to me to “Save The Day.” What served me much better was the understanding of what was happening, recognizing it as it happened, and not letting the fear and adrenaline keep me from acting, even if the acting in question was simply talking the situation down.
Hopefully your particular art has given you the physical tools needed to affect your self-defense. Technique is important, no doubt, but any defense scenario is much more than a series of techniques thrown in a vacuum. This book will fill in those gaps—all the other stuff that goes along with it. And that is truly where the art of self-defense lies, outside of technique.
–M. Guthrie, Federal Air Marshal
Guthrie is a fifteen-year veteran of LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) work, including local LEO (gang unit), and U.S. Border Patrol.
In the world of Martial Arts, there are many books written by experts in their various arts. While these authors are experts in their own martial disciple, very few can make the claim that they are experts in combat in the real world. Yes, contrary to popular belief, just because you are an expert in the martial arts does not make you an expert in self-defense or real world combat. However, everyone once in a while along comes someone who is both an expert in martial arts, and in the area of real world combat. Even more rare, is the person who has taken their years of training in the martial arts and adapted it to the realities of a violent world. Rory Miller, an experienced martial artist and corrections officer is such a person.
In his book, Meditations on Violence—A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence, he explores the reality of violence and how to survive it. Exposing the myths that surround violence and combat, Rory gives the reader a stark look into the real world, one that he must confront every day when he goes to work. Rather than a “how to” book filled with lots of cool pictures, his book informs the reader of the psychology, mindset, and strategies that will keep you alive, and suggests methods that will better prepare you for the real world. I highly recommend this book for anyone who may have to confront the reality of violence, especially martial artists who are often in the most need of a reality check.
–Robert Carver, martial artist, President US Martial Arts Federation, Founder of BudoSeek! Martial Arts Community (www.budoseek.net), member of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Ju-Jitsu Federation
Robert is a former U.S. Marine, 35 years of martial arts experience, 6th Dan – Heiwashin Kai Jujutsu, 6th Dan – U.S. Jujitsu (USJJF National System), 5th Dan – Seki Ryu Jujitsu, 5th Dan – Judo, 3rd Dan – Shorinryu Karate, 2nd Dan – Minami Ryu Jujutsu, Certified Master Instructor, United States Ju-Jitsu Federation.
One of the best books on self-protection ever written! This book is packed with vital information and is certain to be of great benefit to all martial artists wise enough to read it. Outstanding!
–Iain Abernethy, British Combat Association Senior Coach, martial artist, author www.iainabernethy.com
Iain holds 5th Dan Waydo Ryu Karate, is a member of Combat Hall of Fame, and a former U.K. national level kata judge.
Author:
• Bunkai