I just finished Rory Miller’s “Meditations on
Violence.”
If you’re serious about self-protection, you should read
this one. It’s geared to open-handed
fighting and gaining a better understanding of the assumptions and limitations
of martial arts or fight training. It is
also of valuable to the firearm self-defense community.
Miller is veteran corrections officer who has been practicing
various martial arts since 1981 and teaches as well as designs use of force and tactics courses. He is a man who
typically has a fight every working day.
There are several lessons foremost in my mind:
True predators are
unpredictable. They will cheat in profound ways.
Assumptions are those things you
believe to be true without really considering them.
Most of what we think is true is a
story we tell ourselves.
Most instructors are telling their
students stories they have been told (especially in the martial arts).
Do not try to understand the
chemically altered mind (alcohol, drugs, adrenaline) from the context of your normal one.
NYPD stats (1994-2000) show trained
police officer’ handgun hit ratio from zero to two yards of 38%. From 3 to 7 yards the ratio drops to 17%.
When I apply these concepts to my personal training I begin
to see some of the assumptions passed on to me, i.e. I’m re-examining how I
think an assault would start, or my belief that accuracy is more important than
speed. I think about the response I get from
other shooters in response to potential knife attacks.
Look at his information and reverse it. Fleeing from a spree shooter or ‘disposable’ terrorist
makes more sense in light of the NYPD stats.
What other gemlike reversals can you find?
Much of his messages have been disseminated by trainers, authors
and bloggers. Sargent Miller would be
the first to urge you to read his book with a cynical eye. Even so, it represents the point of view from
a man whose professional business is violence.
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