BOOKS: Started to read Rory Miller's MEDITATIONS ON VIOLENCE

Image borrowed from Bobbe Edmonds' Thick As Thieves blog, click to view a larger cover:

I first heard of this book via my training partner J. He loaned me his copy recently. I never heard of Rory Miller. You know in the beginning of some books, there are reco's by various luminaries? I saw some of that the blurbs reco'ing the book by the likes of Iain Abernethy, Loren Christiansen and Marc 'Animal' MacYoung and a few others who I didn't recognize, so I had to check it out on top of my training partner's reco.

I am loving this book, got up to chapter 4 when I was sidetracked by a coworker's reco of Malcolm Gladwell's OUTLIERS. Sorry Mr. Miller. My coworker was THAT persuasive that I had to put down your book.

In a nutshell, MEDITATIONS ON VIOLENCE compares the realities of martial arts in the dojo to violence in the real world. Mr. Miller is a corrections officer and had to deal with inmates and violence daily. I always find it good to read a BTDT (Been There, Done That) perspective on martial arts & self-defense.

When I finish reading this book, I will post my review. But in the meantime, check out the aforementioned Bobbe Edmonds' review. An excerpt below:

Meditations on Violence was really the right title for this book, it's abundantly clear on every page that Miller has put time, effort and thought behind his words. If you want to know why this is so important, and the rarity of such a book covering this subject so well, go read a few of the other streetwise, self-defense style publications on the market today. Rory never comes across as a self defense blowhard who can’t see past his own ego, his book sets a standard that the typical "martial arts for the street" category seldom attains. Meditations on Violence demands to be READ, not just scanned. It’s an honest, unrefined dose of the real world coupled with insightful training guides and advice. I could go on for pages touting the depth of knowledge in this book. Even the preface is an attention-grabber.

If you are a martial arts teacher, law enforcement officer, or just a concerned civilian interested in physical violence and the steps necessary to avoid it, this book is a crucial must-have.

For anyone serious about self-preservation/self-defense and their martial arts training, be sure to buy this book and read it! It may save your life!!

My thanks as always to my training partner J.!!