Table Of ContentAdvance 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 Jutsu
• Mental Strength
A fresh voice writing from the trenches on the realities of real
fighting. Listen to him. [This book] sheds insight on the psychology
and physicality of dealing with people who want to rip your head off.
[If you are really serious about self-defense, you’ll want to] learn from
a veteran corrections officer the ugly reality of real fighting as
opposed to how it’s taught in too many strip mall dojos.
Every martial artist, every cop and every corrections officer should
read this book.
–Loren Christensen, (ret) police officer,
Portland P.D., martial artist, author
Loren is a 7th Dan black belt, Vietnam veteran and author of 35
books. www.lwcbooks.com. Loren was named by Black Belt
magazine as “one of the top twenty toughest Men on Planet Earth.”
Author:
• Solo Training
• Fighters Fact Book
• On Combat (co-author with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman)
The difference between theory and practice is in theory there is
no difference. Unfortunately, countless law enforcement and
correctional officers, security professionals and private citizens have
discovered this also applies to the training they have received in the
safety of a martial arts school (or academy) and the realities of
applying that training in a live-fire situation.
The reason this transition is so difficult is because surviving physical
violence is so much more than just punching, kicking, or pulling a
trigger. From the safety of training, these elements seem like small
obstacles that will be easily overcome. Unfortunately, in a live-fire
situation those small obstacles can become huge canyons. Rory
Miller’s book is not only a fantastic introduction to what you will face
in a violent situation, but it provides keen insights and concepts that
even an experienced operative will find useful in staying safe in a
dangerous occupation
–Marc ‘Animal’ MacYoung, martial artist,
self-defense consultant
www.nononsenseselfdefense.com,
author
Author:
• A Professional’s Guide to Ending Violence Quickly
• Cheap Shots, Ambushes and Other Lessons
MEDITATIONS
ON VIOLENCE
