Meditations on Violence

Over the years, I have found that while crimes of violence usually have common denominators leading up to the actual physical assault, many if not most people are woefully unprepared to deal with a violent attack on their life. On Grant Cunningham's blog, I learned about this book, Meditations on Violence by Sgt. Rory Miller. The author is a corrections officer with real world experience surviving desperate and violent confrontations with hardened human predators in the course of a day's work.

In the dojo of indisputable reality, Miller paints a stark portrait of what works, what doesn't, as well as the myths fantasies that many people cling to regarding their ability to survive and cope with life altering violence. As Miller states early in the book, "you are what you are, not what you think you are."

From Lawrence Kane's review of the work on amazon.com:

"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."

Grant's endorsement is good enough for me. Now I just need to find another worthwhile book so I can get the Super Saver shipping discount.