Kris Wilder
Author, Way of Sanchin Kata
Co-author, Way of Kata
Rating: 5 / 5
Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence

Miller convinces me early on that he is a man with first hand knowledge of violence. He explains clearly why self-defense against a criminal assault is different than a sport fight, sparring session or duel. One place where this is laid out nicely is in the chart on page seven. I sincerely hope that millions of people read Sgt. Miller’s book and finally accept this critical fact. Their well-being could depend on it.

The strong point of Sgt. Millers book is the way he teaches, by example, to analyze various violent scenarios. One of these analyses is on pages 78 and 79, where he discusses six different types of hostage takers. Unlike many other situations, if you’re ever taken hostage, you’ll probably have plenty of time to think. Understanding the motive of your captors will help you make the best possible plan and give you the confidence to act on it. Of course this is no guarantee of emerging unscathed, but it will increase your odds. Miller doesn’t claim that his are the final answers. He leaves it to the reader to improve on what he offers. You’re invited to add your own information and thought process. He teaches the reader how to use grid charts, which he calls the matrix, and other analytic tools.

Where the author looses some footing, is when it becomes clear that he is adapting only external martial arts to self-defense. Miller does not touch on the use of internal martial arts. A similar book, also written by a man with much experience, is Attack Proof. The author, John Perkins, is a retired police officer. These two books work together nicely; Meditations on Violence contains plenty of useful information, which is not included in Attack Proof. In his book, Perkins has adapted the internal martial art of Tai Chi Chuan, to handle real world assaults.

If you’re ambushed or when all else fails and you find yourself having to fight, Perkins’ training will most likely serve you better than Sgt. Miller’s. That’s not to say that Sgt. Miller’s approach won’t work; I believe that it will work extremely well. I am merely saying that Miller’s approach can be improved by applying it to internal martial arts. Although this may take some additional time, it is worth it. There are three major reasons for this. First, the body mechanics developed by internal martial arts allow one to strike very hard from all sorts of normally awkward motions, positions and angles. For example, with internal arts, you can strike with plenty of power, while turning your hips in the opposite direction from your shoulders. Though this twisting is rarely used in formal Tai Chi, it is a stock maneuver in Bagua (another internal art). Perkins’ Tai Chi based method is free form, so twisting is used when needed. Many other limitations of external power generation can be transcended, when using free form internal art body mechanics in self-defense.

The second reason that Perkins’ internal approach gives you an advantage is that it develops a very high level of sensitivity. This enables one to slip strikes while remaining close and simultaneously striking the assailant. The third reason to go with the internal method is that it is designed to work best when you’re extremely scared. If you correctly follow Perkins’ training methods, you’ll be learning to fight with, rather than against, the primitive parts of your brain. You’ll be in good shape, during an adrenaline rush, when the primitive parts of your brain take over.

Even with it’s one significant shortcoming, Meditations on Violence is a must read for all martial artist. I hope that Sgt. Miller sells millions of copies, which are read and used seriously. The result could be a long-needed evolution in the training of martial arts for self-defense.

Rating: 4 / 5
Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence