About this title: Veteran correction officer Sergeant Rory Miller distills what he has learned from jail house brawls, tactical operations and ambushes to explore the differences between martial arts and the subject martial arts were designed to deal with: Violence. Miller explores the complexity of violence, critical thinking, and the mind of the predator. He ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: YMAA Publication Center
Date Published: 2008-08-25
ISBN-13:9781594391187ISBN:1594391181
Description: Acceptable. Some damage to the cover but integrity still intact, binding slightly damaged but integrity still intact, possible writing in margins, possible underlining and highlighting of text. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ymaa Pubns
Date Published: 2008-08-30
ISBN-13:9781594391187ISBN:1594391181
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781594391187. read more
"It should be obvious to any thoughtful person that real-world violence is as different from entertainment violence as rhinos are from unicorns. And yet, far too many people's view of violence is shaped entirely by movies or martial arts practice stifled by centuries of tradition and the exigencies of safety and sparring. Sgt. Rory Miller brilliantly dismantles the misconceptions that have arisen, drawing upon his own vast experience as a corrections officer in maximum security prisons and a martial artist. Miller reveals some hard truths about human beings and their responses to violence, shattering many ego-bolstering illusions. Real world violence is faster, more confusing and more damaging than anything most people can even imagine.
The main strength of the book is that it ranges broadly, covering everything from epistemological assumptions and physiology to sociology, psychology and criminology. Liberals will not like what he has to say about the criminal mind and the failings of the prison system. The author also has a very Buddhist view of the person and constantly stresses its transience and illusory nature, a view which as a Christian I do not share, even as I grant that the stories people tell about themselves can be misleading. But this is the experience of an insider who has spent his entirely professional life dealing with predators and hustlers, and no one who is interested in actually coping with real-world violence should ignore his advice and perspective. I take away a star because Miller is not really a very good writer. That is a minor failing, however, compared to the value of the information contained in this book."
"loved this book. very thought provoking, and unexpected was what it had to say, near the end, about victims of child and sexual abuse, tools for dealing, ways of thinking about it."
"Read this since I've been teaching self-defense to women and trans folks for a little while now.
Very useful in many ways, and surprisingly insightful in others. But at times, I want to shake the bastard...his incredibly entrenched concept of the criminal as Other is frustrating. It may work for him as a prison guard, since it is one strategy for protecting his identity as someone who uses force that he needs to justify. Taken to its extreme, however, I think his outlook could end up being really corrosive to a healthy sense of self. Certainly it can help justify all kinds of oppression. Still, it's good insight, even if not the kind he'd intended.
He has a fair bit of insight onto the nature of gender in relation to violence, however, that I found very useful, if disturbing.
He also has some excellent critiques of traditional martial arts (in terms of technique and outlook) vs. violence outside the dojo, and the distance in emotional and mental terms between the two. That I can incorporate into classes. Also, his concept of giving oneself permission to attack (as well as having the ability) is invaluable."
"I first became aware of Rory Miller when he started posting on the Uechi-Ryu.Com forums several years ago (or maybe he was posting there first, and then I started; I can't really remember). I was, at the time, a youthful aspiring martial arts instructor, just having gotten involved in Tony Blauer's Personal Defense Readiness program, a new black belt in Aikido, and a student of a fraudulent and abusive kung fu instructor (though obviously I didn't know it at the time). I thought I knew a lot more than I did, though I also knew there was a lot left for me to learn. Rory, I knew jack squat about, but I eventually learned that he was (and is) a correctional officer out in Oregon, with a lot of martial arts experience, and a WHOLE lot of experience dealing with violent criminals. Rory and I had a few chats back and forth on the fora - I doubt he remembers most, if any of them. I do, because it became clear pretty quickly that he knew way more about what I was trying to talk about than I did. I think a lot of those threads are gone with the shifting of the forums, which is kind of sad, mostly for me.
In any case, I've tried to pay attention to what Rory had to say ever since then. I read his blog regularly (and it's one of the few websites that I've bothered to link to on here), and I follow whatever he's got to say on the forums with interest that I reserve for few others there. When he announced that he was publishing a book, I was intrigued.
When the reviews started rolling in, I was excited. It actually took me two tries to get my hands on this book-the first time, my package disappeared, a pattern that repeated itself with a different Amazon order a few weeks later. Amazon replaced it, and I was delighted to see that it arrived before my weekend trip to Austin. So I opened the box up, and packed up this book along with my other belongings for the weekend trip. I didn't really plan on finishing it, but I found I couldn't the book down.
Meditations on Violence is a collection of thoughts, observations, and insights from Miller's years of martial arts training and exposure to real violence and real criminals. It's a short text, coming it at under 200 pages, but those 200 pages are packed with good information on a wide variety of topics, including the criminal mind, the complexities of real world violence, ideas about training methods and the aftermath of violence. All of it is information that is valuable for anyone who is interested in, or concerned about, self-defense. I absolutely loved the chapter on "how to think", in which Miller does a fantastic job of laying out how to scratch your own mental programming and really examine not only what you believe, but why you believe it.
Miller has a very calm, introspective, but casual writing style. I really enjoy it-it almost feels like I'm sitting around having a conversation with him, instead of reading words on a page. He uses a lot of stories and analogies to help illustrate his examples, which resonates with my own learning style, and I think makes things a lot more memorable. It also helps that he frequently can attach a personal experience to his ideas, which lends a lot of credibility to his thoughts and concepts.
He does not present himself as a know-it-all; indeed, he makes it quite clear that there's a lot he doesn't know (including how to ride a motorcycle, I think). It doesn't matter. The best thing that this book does is that it makes you think. It will force you to really, really, examine your training. It may even make you examine your lifestyle. For me, it has done both. If nothing else, I'll look at the bibliographies of books a lot more than I used to.
This is not a book of techniques-someone looking for another wrist-lock variation or a different take on how to throw a punch may not get much out of this. Someone looking to enhance their safety and survivability will find it invaluable.
I do not, as of yet, have a "required reading" list for my students, but the day I put one together, this will unquestionably be on it."
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