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

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.

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.

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 undisputable 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 violen

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.

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".