Customer Reviews

Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I highly recommend this book to anyone. As a civilian who dabbled sparingly in martial arts most recently over a decade ago, I am in no way an expert in anything that is contained in this book except for the fact that I have been a victim of violent crime. Any one of us could be the next victim of violence and the ideas that Sgt. Miller proposes on preparing yourself to survive assault should be basic lessons for anyone wanting to learn self-defense. Being aware of your surroundings, knowing your E&E routes, understanding that if someone hits you, you will freeze, and understanding that to an assaulter, you are just a piece of meat standing between what he wants and you have. These lessons are important, and in all the self-defense classes for women I've seen, only the first of that list has even been mentioned.

Sections 3 and 4 were enlightening into a realm of human experience I am profoundly grateful that I do not have to deal with or even think about for a vast majority of my life. I am very grateful to the small group of individuals who deal with the criminal aspect of our society and create that opaque veil that shields us from ever having to deal with the thought of humans enjoying hurting and killing others of their species. Law and Policy Makers should really read this section and try to understand it. Then ask the question: Are we making our society better with our incarceration system?

Finally, on a very personal note I found Section 6 to be insightful for its practical look at the problems of training. I am one of those survivor-students that looked for an Instructor to teach me how to never be raped again. I tried Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan Karate and finally Jiu-Jitsu trying to find an instructor that could give me that peace of mind. Sgt. Miller articulates why I couldn't find what I sought quite nicely in section 6. I never found anyone that I could trust in a MA Instructor, and turned to Counseling instead, where I found the peace I needed to rewrite my "self-story".

At the beginning of this exceptional book is a black and white photograph of a bathroom with a swirl of sticky-looking muck on the floor and a few little droplets splattered across the side of the toilet. Since there is no color it takes a moment to realize what you are looking at, but this mess is clearly human blood, a LOT of human blood. You don't know what happened but it was obviously something awful. A slowly drying pool of blood is not what one might expect to find at the beginning of a typical martial arts book, but then again real-life violence is not a subject that martial artists typically understand or write about.

Like a pool of blood, violence is a very sobering subject; one that must be treated seriously in order to do any good. Meditations on Violence certainly fits that bill. It is a refreshingly frank, honest, and in-depth assessment that teaches readers 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.

As a corrections officer and tactical team leader Miller regularly tangles with hard-core predators. He describes his job this way: "I beat people up for a living. I can pretty the phrase up a lot, but in the end I get paid (and paid well) to go into a situation, usually alone and usually outnumbered by sixty or more criminals, and maintain order."

This is a guy who routinely survives brutal encounters that would leave the average person physically and emotionally shattered. Unlike most martial arts instructors, he has first-hand experience that separates longstanding myths and heroic fantasies from merciless reality. Using interesting personal vignettes backed up by solid research and indisputable logic he conveys this hard-earned wisdom in a highly effective manner. His insights on how to make self-defense work and overcome subconscious resistance to meeting violence with violence could very well save a reader's life one day.

While the author's no-nonsense tone can be a bit "street" and his examples a bit graphic at times, his psychology degree shines throughout the writing as well. This combination makes for a fascinating read. One of the best features of the book is an informative matrix that addresses various types of violence, demonstrating how they differ from each other and how the lessons from one type may not apply to the needs of another. Other important topics include the dynamics of violence, predator mindset, adapting training to the realities of violence, making physical defense work, and the after-effects a sudden assault or long-term exposure to a violent environment.

Miller's book is extraordinarily well written. Packed with interesting, informative and, most importantly, useful information, Meditations on Violence should be required reading for all serious martial artists, law enforcement officers, security professionals, and anyone else who might have to deal with violence in some capacity. It is illuminating and very likely lifesaving as well.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Blinded by the Night, among other titles

Note: This review originally appeared in the July/August issue of ForeWord Magazine.

I'd always had a nagging feeling about my martial arts training; though there was no question it was good for my health, I was never too sure it was really relevant to self defense. The scenarios we practiced had nothing in common with the (few) *actual* violent encounters I had witnessed, which were short, brutish, and entirely unfair. (And for some reason didn't involve "Needle to Sea Bottom" or a Gracie-esque arm bar.) Since I live a pretty staid life, my training never gets tested.

Which is unlike the author of this book -- a jail guard involved in physical confrontations on a near daily basis. In this book Rory Miller pretty much devastates the notion that what goes on in most martial arts classes has anything in common with the fights and strategies he's observed in his work. He details types of confrontations, the people likely to be involved in them, and strategies they're using, and the often critical flaws in the way students are "prepared" for them by movies or the dojo.

As such, this is pretty much required reading for anyone taking or teaching martial arts for self-defense.

He doesn't offer a specific training program as a solution -- which is kind of the point. He's asking the reader to chew on the facts, not the fantasies. Fights aren't likely to be fair, or resemble sparring sessions. But they do have predictable participants, patterns and dynamics -- from the "Group Monkey Dance" to the "permission" that people give themselves to go on or give up.

It's a very particular reality he's describing; the book is pretty much a straight download from the author's life and brain. Though some academic or journalistic perspective (stats, references, etc) would have strengthened the thesis a little, the personal mode gives the book a direct style that's somehow authoritative and modest at the same time. There's a real clarity of effort here that reminded me of The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Classics) -- with a bit of analogy and personal poetry replacing Musashi's occasional lapses into secrecy and obscurity. Miller is able to deliver a parable (say, about blind men and an elephant) or a personal revelation without belaboring it.

That style might be the most interesting aspect of the book for a reader like me -- who wants a good read as much as good info. Though Miller (uncharacteristically) pulls a punch in the very last paragraph of the book, there's a voice here I want to hear a lot more from -- even, or maybe especially, if it has nothing to do with spilt blood.

First, let me begin by stating that this treatise on the reality of violence is absolutely brilliant . . . but it is certainly not an entry level text. "Safe in the City" by MacYoung and "Gift of Fear" by deBecker are for folks who've lived safe sheltered lives, and point fingers at potential threats and discuss the importance of intuition. "Violence, Blunders and Fractured Jaws" by MacYoung is an intermediate level text for beginning martial arts students about Advanced Awareness and Street Sociology. "Meditatons on Violence", however, seems directed more towards those who already have extensive professional experience with real world violent encounters: police, paramedics, security, bouncers, couriers, etc.

In it, Miller has coined a new term certain to find permanent placement in the martial lexicon . . . "monkey dance." This is a surprisingly complex subject, but in short it refers to a display of dominance by lesser evolved primates who tend to frequent certain drinking establishments. A completely separate concept, "group money dance", refers to a type of xenophobic mob mentality in which the level of violence against an "outsider" rapidly increases ritualistically (read as: "torture murder") in a dysfunctional attempt to build group cohesion and increase morale. Mister Miller's observations are quite astute, as he's made connections that many of us seem to have somehow missed. It's much clearer now.

"Meditations" goes far beyond that, though. This is advanced level instruction in easy to understand language. No questionable techniques or tactics -- this book is primarily about awareness and mindset -- and there are a LOT of things you need to be made aware of, as you likely wouldn't figure some of these subtleties out on your own until after the fact. I was amazed by the quality of instruction imparted herein.

Thank you for sharing what you've learned, Rory . . . I am certain that you'll save a number of lives by making these observations of predatory behaviors widely available. This book gets my highest recommendation.

Mr. Miller is an obviously well-read man. It is also clear that he has spent much time considering the nuts-and-bolts of personal combat, and how to think and train to maximize his chances for survival.....

What sets this book apart from many "martial arts" texts is the author's utterly pragamatic view of training for personal defense, his emphasis on the mental aspects of physical violence, and most importantly, his complete dedication to discarding those philosophies, mind-sets and techniques (both mental and physical) he considers useless.

While some of "Meditations On Violence" is merely very interesting to read (criminal types and their mental make-up, and anecdotal tales of his experiences as a prison guard, for example), most of it is invaluable to the open minded student of personal combat.

The tendency to believe what we are told by those we grant authority over us is well-known, but rarely examined. Mr. Miller posits from his opening pages, that we as humans should take nothing for granted, especially the way we are taught to conduct the defense of ourselves and our families.

Miller touches on some very obvious (and for some reason consistently overlooked) points in this excellent work, and the golden thread running throughout is this:

Just because someone with a teaching credential said it doesn't make it so.

(Many so-called "martial artists" will cover their ears, wag their heads rapidly, and say "LAH-LAH-LAH-LAH!!" at this point, and this is definitely not the book for them).

To closely examine what you have been taught as a martial artist is to question authority, and while it is possibly the most difficult thing a person can do, it is also the most valuable.

Chapters 2 ("How to Think"), and 6 ("Making Defense Work"), are possibly the best 50 or so pages on true self-defense I've ever read, and these chapters alone make this book worth owning.

If you believe that black belt you got in two years is all you need to be a "good fighter", that sparring in a gym teaches you to fight, or if you are impressed by a wall of tournament trophies, you shouldn't waste your money on this book....

On the other hand, I highly recommend this book if: You are willing to learn new ways to think about your personal practice and the fighting arts in general, and most importantly, are willing to shine a bright light on your training methods (and way of thinking) with the goal of learning something new.

As a child, I was beaten up quite a bit, so I got into martial arts to defend myself. I had been in a multitude of fights, but nothing serious. I kept learning how to fight, but never the consequences. That all changed when I was 17 and saw a knife fight. The two fighers came at each other and to make a long story short, as with most knife fights, one guy went to the hospital, and the other went to the morgue.
Reading this book brought that all back. This book shows how pointless it is to learn to fight without the mental capacity to know if you should. This book is a must read for all martial art students. This is your mental test.

Rory Miller has written a gem of a little book about a difficult subject. The subject of violence does not have to be personal... but when it is the reality is more apparent. To his credit Sgt Miller is never afraid to remind us the toll it takes to go into this proverbial heart of darkness and try to make sense out of something that is capricious, seemingly random, and guaranteed to create life changing events whenever it strikes. This is one feature of this book that makes it special.

Don't expect a pleasant feel good rehab book from Rory Miller. To Miller the violent offender is a predator, not interested in a contest of skill, in being rehabilitated, or in being good/redemption. If Miller were a more bookish sort (he is an avid reader by his own admission)this reviewer could picture him giving psychoanalytical details of how the predator reasons things out. But Miller is a reductionist in this respect, or, more acurately he is a behavorist. The behavoir of a predator will continue unabbated as long as the behavoir gets the predator meat, goods, or whatever the predator desires. When a predator goes to jail, for example, they learn how to be a predator in jail, they do not change. It is worth mentioning that Miller has no axe to grind, his views on this subject are credible when he says they derive from his experience... I believe him.

Sgt Miller's treatment of violence is, while being a series of aphormisms in many respects, actually quite exhaustive. My one critiscism of the book is that Sarge (as his friends call him) really could tell us more. I felt like the content & length of the book and the capacity of the author, suggest that a lot more could have been written. And I have to ask: why not?

Miller wants to stick to a thesis that violence is essentially so random a set of behavoirs that no one can prepare for a generic violent encounter. For example, to Miller the violence we encounter in a bar is different than the strategy of violence employed by a felon in a prison environment. Miller goes to great lengths to prove this point by focusing on predator behavoirs in different scenerios. His point is well taken. In essence we are always reacting to what the violent instigator is setting in motion. AS a martial artist this puts us behind, trying to play catch up. Need one state the obvious here? this is dangerous! For example (my example) when somoene suddenly draws a knife to cut me, having no previous knowledge of that knife being drawn makes me have to react suddenly to the attack.

Miller then describes the dynamics of violence and how we are mislead in how we think we know the nature of a violent action. His point is at least twofold: politically he intimates that we are taken in by nonsense that violence and predatory behavoir can change. Socially we are led to believe that martial arts scenerios will allow us to deal with this type of behavoir once encountered. He gives a great example of putting an armbar on a fellow and telling his friend "move towards me and I will break his arm" only to have the other fellow move in and kick him in the head a few times. Sure in martial arts class this strategy works every time. On the street there is no reason to believe that A) the two guys who attack you care enough about each other to stop attacking cause you might break an arm on one guy. B)That a strategy of stopping the attack when threatened is consistant with the predators aims in this situation. The reality is that once the victim is selected, the attack is carried out until the victim is victimized, the predator being injured is, under these conditions, hardly a deterrent.

But Sarge's point is not merely this point, a point which many others in the field of scenerio training in self protection have made before him. Certainly it is true that we fight the way we train and fight best in the environment we train in, for fighting. Sarge wants to go farther and warn us that we have to be sensative to our own learning curve and have trust in how we learn to deal effectively with specific violent encounters. Again, a great example is when Sarge's friend handles a felon with a type of technique that a martial artist (with no experience) says is the wrong technique. Sarge dismisses this martial artist to his friend and asks his friend "who deals and has experience with this attack?" Sarge's point should be a maxim for all martial artists: learn what works for you and use it. Fighting for your life is not a popularity contest.

Points like this, and the depth that is suggested by Sarge when he wants to go there, make this book unique. Sarge has the experience, the knowledge and the perseverance to see a connection to the warrior traditions that institutionalized violence such as the classical fighting men of Japan, and to put the skill needed to face this task unflinching, in a modern context. I can also attest to some of his recommendations. For example, acting crazy or behaving in a way that is unpredictable and changes the "script" of the victimizer is very effective for causing hesitation in the antagonist.

And all those maxims about fighting? The last time I was bouncing I turned my head to avoid a punch and let this turn allow me to whip around into a technique that dropped my anatagonist... point being: so much for the maxim "never turn your head on an opponent." And so much for other such absolutes which Sarge might well say are all nonsense.

I recommend this book heartily to anyone with an interest in dealing with violence, martial arts as it applies to violence, or as a critique regarding what is wrong with how we prepare to deal with violent behavior in our society. This book is good for the specialist who knows it all (ahem!!) or the novice who wants to understand a set of behavoirs that are hard wired in our bodies and brains. Just recently a man was beheaded on a Greyhound bus in Canada.... My point is that Violence is unpleasant to deal with and I am sure nobody on that bus wanted to deal with that situation, but as this situation illustrates, violence will not go away and whether we like it or not we have to deal with it.

Rory Miller has done a commendable service with this book. For all the Wannabe Bruce Lee's and Happy People Who Live In A Bubble out there (and everyone else), here is a window on real-life Violence that is thoughtful and humbling.

The author walks us through the causes, stages, realities and aftereffects of confrontation. He points out that will is as important as technique, that there are those who prey on the fact that you are playing by a set of rules that they ignore, and that the fancy finger lock your jujitsu instructor taught you won't work on a guy who wants to die to get to you, pinky-finger be damned.

The most useful content, in this reader's opinion, is relevant in the every day experience of being a prepared individual. Before ever learning to throw a punch, it helps to understand the way in which adrenaline affects the body and the difference in how men and women build up aggression based on the hormone pumping through the veins. The next time someone demands "What're you looking at?!", Mr. Miller's half-humorous description of the Monkey Dance might enable a calmer and safer response. This is the stuff you learn one of two ways, through study or by having it pounded into your skull.

The last thing I have to say, and one of the first things that Mr. Miller states, is that the Violence is bigger than any of us, including the author. "Take the information in this book and treat it skeptically as hell." That said, take the information in this book and treat it with the same amount of respect.

As a firearms instructor one of the most difficult tasks I face is cultivating my students' understanding of the ugly realities of personal combat. Sgt. Miller has done an exceptional job of explaining the structured chaos of violent conflicts.
Anyone familiar with the art of combat will recognize, relate, and learn from this book. Miller's writings will take the individual who is training to defend themselves against the possibility of an attack one step closer to understanding and defeating their foe. For anyone who believes they live in a "safe" world, beyond the reach of bad people, this should be required reading. As Miller states, "You don't get to pick what kinds of bad things will happen to you."
Meditations On Violence is a book I will highly recommend to both my students and fellow instructors.
Tiger McKee
Director, Shootrite Firearms Academy
Author of "The Book of Two Guns"
The Book of Two Guns: The Martial Art of the 1911 Pistol and AR Carbine

Over 350 years ago, Miyamoto Musashi finished the Book of Five Rings. It is a standard on the shelf of Martial Artists throughout the world. Sgt. Rory Miller's book should be sitting right next to it.

In an era where manuals on self defense are usually little more than picture books, Sgt. Miller shines. There are no "what to do if" scenarios. What the book does have is one man's experience with personal violence, and that experience is extensive. He goes over the different causes and types of violence and the people that instigate it. He breaks down and breaks through the expectations brought about by movies, television and yes, your martial arts instructors.

What Sgt. Miller also does very well is describe how training in the classroom or dojo could be altered to better reflect an actual situation. There is in depth discussion on that most important topic: How not to be a victim.

There is not a doubt in my mind that this book will save lives. Buy it, study it thoroughly, and take it to heart.