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Rory Miller
Rory Miller is a seventeen-year veteran of a metropolitan correctional system. He spent seventeen years, including ten as a sergeant, with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Portland Oregon. His assignments included Booking, Maximum Security, Disciplinary and Administrative Segregation, and Mental Health Units. He was a CERT (Corrections Emergency Response Team) member for over eleven years and Team Leader for six.
His training has included over eight hundred hours of tactical training; witness protection and close-quarters handgun training with the local US Marshals; Incident Command System; Instructor Development Courses; AELE Discipline and Internal Investigations; Hostage Negotiations and Hostage Survival; Integrated Use of Force and Confrontational Simulation Instructor; Mental Health; Defensive Tactics, including the GRAPLE instructors program; Diversity; and Supervision. Rory has designed and taught courses including Confrontational Simulations; Uncontrolled Environments; Crisis Communications with the Mentally Ill; CERT Operations and Planning; Defensive Tactics; and Use of Force for Multnomah County and other local agencies. In 2008 Rory Miller left his agency to spend over a year in Iraq with the Department of Justice ICITAP program as a civilian advisor to the Iraqi Corrections System. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a blackbelt in jujutsu and college varsities in judo and fencing. He also likes long walks on the beach. His writings have been featured in Loren Christensen’s “Fighter’s Fact Book 2: The Street” Kane and Wilder’s “Little Black Book of Violence” and “The Way to Blackbelt.” Rory is the author of “Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence” published by YMAA; “Violence: A Writer’s Guide” published by Samshwords; and the soon-to-be-released “Facing Violence” out in May 2011 from YMAA. |
*Click on the cover for more information and to purchase via Amazon.com.
ForeWord's Book of the Year Award FINALIST - 2008
USA Best Book Award FINALIST - 2008
A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real-World Violence.
Experienced martial artist and veteran correction officer Sgt. Rory Miller distills what he has learned from jailhouse brawls, tactical operations and ambushes to explore the differences between martial arts and the subject martial arts were designed to deal with: Violence.
In section one, Sgt. Miller introduces the myths, metaphors and expectations that most martial artists have about what they will ultimately learn in their dojo. This is then compared with the complexity of the reality of violence. Complexity is one of the recurring themes throughout this work. Section two examines how to think critically about violence, how to evaluate sources of knowledge and clearly explains the concepts of strategy and tactics. Sections three and four focus on the dynamics of violence itself and the predators who perpetuate it. Drawing on hundreds of encounters and thousands of hours spent with criminals Sgt. Miller explains the types of violence; how, where, when and why it develops; the effects of adrenaline; how criminals think, and even the effects of drugs and altered states of consciousness in a fight. Section five centers on training for violence, and adapting your present training methods to that reality. It discusses the pros and cons of modern and ancient martial arts training and gives a unique insight into early Japanese kata as a military training method. Section six is all about how to make self-defense work. Miller examines how to look at defense in a broader context, and how to overcome some of your own subconscious resistance to meeting violence with violence. The last section deals with the aftermath—the cost of surviving sudden violence or violent environments, how it can change you for good or bad. It gives advice for supervisors and even for instructors on how to help a student/survivor. You’ll even learn a bit about enlightenment.
Rory Miller has served for seventeen years in corrections as an officer and sergeant working maximum security, booking and mental health; leading a tactical team; and teaching subjects ranging from Defensive Tactics and Use of Force to First Aid and Crisis Communications with the Mentally Ill.
MEDITATIONS ON VIOLENCE
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eLit Award GOLD WINNER - 2012
USA Best Books Award FINALIST - 2012
Eric Hoffer Award HONORABLE MENTION - 2012
This book stands alone as an introduction to the context of self-defense. There are seven elements that must be addressed to bring self-defense training to something approaching ‘complete.’ Training that dismisses any of these areas leaves you vulnerable:
Legal and ethical implications. To learn self-defense, you must learn force law. The consequence is prison. Side by side with the legal rules, everyone must explore his or her own ethical limitations. Most people don’t really know where this ethical line lies within them.
Violence dynamics. Self-defense must teach how attacks happen. You must be able to recognize an attack before it happens and know what kind you are facing.
Avoidance. You need to learn and practice not-fighting. Learning includes escape and evasion, verbal de-escalation, and also pure not-be-there avoidance.
Counter-ambush. If you didn’t see the precursors or couldn’t successfully avoid the encounter, you will need a handful of actions, trained to reflex level, to deal with a sudden violent attack.
Breaking the freeze. Freezing is almost universal in a sudden attack. You must learn to recognize a freeze and break out of one.
The fight itself. Most martial arts and self-defense instructors concentrate their time on the fight. It just needs to be in line with how violence really happens in the world.
The aftermath. There are potential legal, psychological, and medical effects of engaging in violence no matter how justified. Advanced preparation is critical.
FACING VIOLENCE
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USA Best Books Award WINNER - 2016The speed and brutality of a predatory attack can shock even an experienced martial artist. The sudden chaos, the cascade of stress hormones—you feel as though time slows down. In reality, the assault is over in an instant. How does anyone prepare for that?
As a former corrections sergeant and tactical team leader, Rory Miller is a proven survivor. He instructs police and corrections professionals who, in many cases, receive only eight hours of defensive tactics training each year. They need techniques that work and they need unflinching courage.
In Training for Sudden Violence: 72 Practical Drills Miller gives you the tools to prepare and prevail, both physically and psychologically. He shares hard-won lessons from a world most of us hope we never experience.
• Train in fundamentals, combat drills, and dynamic fighting.
• Develop situational awareness.
• Condition yourself through stress inoculation.
• Take a critical look at your training habits.
“You don’t get to pick where fights go,” Miller writes. That’s why he has created a series of drills to train you for the worst of it. You will defend yourself on your feet, on the ground, against weapons, in a crowd, and while blindfolded. You will reevaluate your training scenarios—keeping what works, discarding what does not, and improving your chances of survival.
Miller’s “internal work,” “world work,” and “plastic mind” exercises will challenge you in ways that mere physical training does not. Sections include
• Stalking
• Escape and evasion
• The predator mind
• Personal threat assessment
This is a fight for your life, and it won’t happen on a nice soft mat. It will get, as Miller says, “all kinds of messy.” Training for Sudden Violence: 72 Practical Drills prepares you for that mess.
TRAINING FOR SUDDEN VIOLENCE
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This is not about writing technique. "Violence: A Writer's Guide" is an introduction to the world of violence. To the parts that people don’t understand. The parts that books and movies get wrong. Not just the mechanics, but how people who live in a violent world think and feel about what they do and what they see done.
VIOLENCE
A WRITER'S GUIDE |
ConCom: Conflict Communications presents a functional taxonomy to see, understand and manipulate the roots of conflict. If you have ever wondered why your boss ignored a suggestion that could save millions of dollars, or why you have the same argument again and again with your spouse, the answers are here. As well as the tools to do something about it.
CONCOM
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Drawing on extensive experience with unstable, violent, intoxicated and mentally ill people, former Corrections Sergeant Rory Miller delivers a street-level guide to building rapport, taking command and avoiding force.
TALKING THEM THROUGH
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Cooperation, Compliance, Control.
In a free and peaceful society where so many have been taught that all violence is wrong, citizens are often confused and dismayed when officers use force, even when the force is perfectly lawful and justified.
This book allows you to 'take' a basic USE OF FORCE class just as if you were a rookie at the police academy. Below are some highlights of what is included in 'your' basic use of force class:
SECTION 1. TRAINING. I explain policy and laws that officers are taught. We examine use of force, how to define a threat, and the difference between excessive force and unnecessary force.
SECTION 2. CHECKS AND BALANCES. This section explains how an officer's decisions are examined if suspected of being bad decisions.
SECTION 3. EXPERIENCE. We explore how officers see the world that they live in. Somewhere in the fog between training and experience, the officer has to make a decision. Sometimes decisions will be made in a fraction of a second and on partial information. Sometimes a decision will change the lives of everyone involved―forever.
SECTION 4. ABOUT YOU. Review what you should have learned. Why does community action fail? What is it that can really be done? Know how to behave when faced by an officer. Until this section, I have tried to put you in the headspace of an officer, giving you an overview of his training and a taste of his experiences. Now I will try to let you feel like a suspect. That's a lot of mind bending for one book. Get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water.
Any civilian, law enforcement officer or martial artist interested in self-defense, or anyone wanting to understand the duties and responsibilities of civilians and police officers needs to read this book.
FORCE DECISIONS
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Use too much force and you are going to jail.
Use too little force and you're in for a world of hurt.
Conflict and violence cover a broad range of behaviors, from intimidation to murder, and they require an equally broad range of responses. A kind word will not resolve all situations, nor will wristlocks, punches, or even a gun.
In Scaling Force, the authors introduce you to the full range of options, from skillfully doing nothing to applying deadly force. They realistically guide you through understanding the limits of each type of force, when specific levels may be appropriate, the circumstances under which you may have to apply them, and the potential cost, legally and personally, of your decision.
Level 1: Presence. Staving off violence using body language alone.
Level 2: Voice. Verbally de-escalating conflict before physical methods become necessary.
Level 3: Touch. Defusing an impending threat or gaining compliance via touch.
Level 4: Empty-Hand Restraint. Controlling a threat through pain or forcing compliance through leverage.
Level 5: Less-Lethal Force. Incapacitating a threat while minimizing the likelihood of fatality or permanent injury.
Level 6: Lethal Force. Stopping a threat with techniques or implements likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm.
It is vital to enter this scale at the right level, and to articulate why what you did was appropriate. If you do not know how to succeed at all six levels there are situations in which you will have no appropriate options. More often than not, that will end badly.
SCALING FORCE
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In "Meditations on Violence," Rory Miller explored the gap between martial arts training and real-world violence. In "Principles-Based Instruction" he strikes at the gap between traditional teaching and effective teaching. In seven sections, Rory gives you a solid foundation in the information you must have before you teach, different methods to transfer that information, the ethics of instruction and even some hints on how to run a successful business-- and why you must.
PRINCIPLES-BASED INSTRUCTION FOR SELF-DEFENSE
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Knowledge is power. But understanding is better. You can learn things in a class, but only by analysis, reflection and, above all, testing do you come to understand. The Chiron Training Journal is a place to think and write, to document your journey and your growth. Whether you are a martial artist, a self-defense instructor, a gardener or a writer, journaling will help you understand your past and plan your future in whatever art you study.
The CTJ will walk you through setting long-term goals; deriving your own personal lists of the building block skills, principles and concepts that guide your art; and track what you do and what you learn.
This is your book. This is your life. Fill it up with good stuff.
CHIRON TRAINING JOURNAL
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The first year of the popular ChironTraining blog in order, cleaned up and with some added content. Jail guard, trainer, martial artist husband and father, Sgt. Rory Miller writes about it all.
CHIRON TRAINING 2005
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The second year of the Chiron Training blog, with a few additional notes.
CHIRON TRAINING 2006
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In the third year of the popular Chiron Training blog, Rory leaves the jail for a temporary stint as an Internal Affairs investigator, works to take his team to an entirely new level, and thinks and writes about life, love and hand-to-hand combat.
CHIRON TRAINING 2007
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The fourth volume of the ChironTraining blog follows Rory as he leaves his desk job as an investigator to return to working the jail; becomes a real, live, published author; and then bags everything to go to Baghdad. Yep. He went and volunteered for the ICITAP (International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program) mission in Iraq.
CHIRON TRAINING 2008
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Rory's 2009 blog entries from Baghdad, Northern Iraq, Ireland, Turkey and home. Concentrating, as always on understanding and teaching about crime, violence and self-defense. With extensive added material not available on the Chiron Training blog.
CHIRON TRAINING 2009
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Some tips from a former contractor on how to work with a translator.
WORKING WITH A TRANSLATOR
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Life out at the edges can be rough, scary and, at times, dangerous. Campfire Tales From Hell is a collection of essays from people who have been there, done that -- some of whom had to fight for their title of ‘survivor.’ Some are professionals, calmly going to work knowing a bad day means someone dies -- and that ‘someone’ could be them. Others came through by being smarter, more aware, better trained or just having it more together than the other 'team.' Some of the authors looked into the abyss and spit in its eye when it looked back. Still others were normal people thrown into extraordinary circumstances.
Campfire Tales is not a collection of macho stories. It's a primer for what you'll need to know to make it out on the edge. It's what to remember when you're dealing with dangerous people and difficult situations. It's what attitudes, knowledge and perspectives you'll need to get through. It's 'what I wish someone had told me when I started.' It's how Hollywood and fiction can -- and will -- get you killed or thrown into prison. It's what you need to know to fill the holes in your self-defense or defensive tactics training. In a different direction, writers can learn from the people who actually do what they're writing about. But most of all, Campfire Tales From Hell is a collection of stories and wisdom that tells you, 'you too can get through.'
CAMPFIRE TALES FROM HELL
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