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Martial Arts / Law Enforcement E1386 M
i MEDITATIONS
l
Examining the gap between martial arts training le
r
and the crucible of actual combat
ON VIOLENCE
“Sgt. Rory Miller will wipe away any “You hold in your hands a document
fantasy you have about fighting.” long in incubation, the musings of a M
—Kris Wilder, Martial arts teacher,
modern warrior on a topic central to
author The Way of Sanchin Kata
mankind’s survival…” E
“This book is a wake-up call to all —Steve Barnes, from his Foreword D
those practicing and teaching martial
arts…” —Sgt. Alan D. Arsenault, Experienced martial artist and veteran I
24-year veteran Vancouver P.D., correction officer, Rory Miller distills T
martial artist, author what he has learned from jail house A
“Miller’s insights could very well brawls, tactical operations, and ambushes T
save your life one day.” —Lawrence to explore the differences between martial
I
A. Kane, martial artist, Pac-10 arts and the subject that martial arts were O
stadium security supervisor, author designed to deal with: Violence.
of Surviving Armed Assaults N
• Myths, metaphors, and expectations
“Not only do I highly recommend S
of martial arts training
this book, but it will be required
reading for my students.” • Thinking critically about violence O
—Detective Sergeant Antonio B. and your sources of information
Urena, 7th Dan, SWAT team squad • Predators, adrenaline, altered states, N
leader and police sniper
and crime dynamics
• Adapting your training methods V
“…hands down, the best book
on Self-Defense I have ever read. to reality I
Bar none!” • Making self-defense work O
—M. Guthrie, Federal Air Marshall • The aftermath of violence
L
“I highly recommend this book for SSggtt.. RRoorryy MMiilllleerr has been E
anyone who may have to confront studying martial arts since 1981. A Comparison of
N
the reality of violence, especially He’s a veteran corrections officer,
martial artists who are often in the teaches and designs courses in
most need of a reality check.” Use of Force policy and decision C Martial ArtsTraining &
—Robert Carver, Pres. U.S. Martial making; Police Defensive Tactics; E
Arts Federation, former U.S. Marine Confrontational Simulations; and leads and
Real World Violence
trains his agency’s Corrections Tactical Team.
Rory Miller resides near Portland Oregon.
Sgt. Rory Miller
YMAA Publication Center / 1-800-669-8892
[email protected] / www.ymaa.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-59439-138-6
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 vio-
lence 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 espe-
cially those teaching, martial arts who think that “self-defense” train-
ing 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 pred-
ators 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 profession-
al 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 cer-
tified 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
ontechnique 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 reali-
ties 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 vio-
lent 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 under-
standing 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 morethan 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, out-
side 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 mar-
tial disciple, very few can make the claim that they are experts in com-
bat 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 fight-
ing. 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 maga-
zine 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 practiceis in theory there is no dif-
ference. 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 sit-
uation 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 danger-
ous 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
MEDITATIONS
ON VIOLENCE
A Comparison of
Martial Arts Training &
Real World Violence
Sergeant Rory Miller
YMAA Publication Center
Boston, Mass. USA
