Be honest, those of you who read his book - He comes across like a guy who would happily drain a pint of his own blood, reduce it for the saline and then spread it over his cornflakes rather than simply asking you to pass the friggin' salt, right? Kind of like an irritable Klingon having an off day?
Well, he's not. Rory is an amazing teacher, an insightful writer and engaging speaker. Also, he could snap your neck like a breadstick, but one tries to get past that and focus on the positive.
To those of you who missed the seminar a couple of weeks ago, let me just tell you: you missed out. I've been to countless seminars in my life, and there are a handful - maybe 6 or 7 at the most - that I would recommend. Scott Sonnen and Steve Barnes' "Path" seminar being in the top 5.
Rory, I would put somewhere in the top 2.
When the history of self defense books is written, Rory Miller is going down as one of the greats, among Grossman, MacYoung and a few others. In fact, I prefer Millers' stuff to most of the others, it's more accessible to the common mortal who doesn't have 30 years of ninjitsu, or 25 years law enforcement under Steven Seagal to fall back on. His "Meditations on Violence" I have already posted about earlier on this blog HERE. This seminar could easily be considered a companion piece to his book.
I liked Rory - He's energetic and willing to go as hard as you want. It was great to see him policing the area, making sure we were doing what we were supposed to as well as not killing our partners. The drills were simplistic, although I suppose that's a relative term - I noticed quite a few instructors experiencing difficulty with what I would consider basic concepts, but then again, that's a reflection of the mythos that a "Style" gives you. Rory admitted that he was an infighter, and that's a different game than a person who fights at full arm's length. The drills were focused on closing the gap & continuous motion, as well as a great bit on controlling the spine - Which is exactly where MY spine decided to take a walk on me.
Sitting out the rest of the seminar was galling, to say the very least, but I learned to appreciate the outsider-looking-in point of view. It was so great to see the variety of skills and systems playing together, without much ego getting in the way. Although, I don't know why I'm surprised - It's difficult to get into a chest-beating match with someone who has been a prison guard and involved with S.W.A.T. as well as training military elements in Afghanistan, or no-electricitystan, or wherever he was.
If you are a combative or LEO instructor of ANY sort, you need this seminar. Not necessarily the drills - they were okay, but I didn't find them to be as remotely as important as the lectures. Particularly the instances of "Social Violence" and "Asocial Violence". That one alone was worth the trip, and I'd do it again tomorrow.
Rory also presented a kind of 7 -step model for understanding the entire skeletal structure of a violent encounter, including the aftermath. Again, worth the price of admission ALONE. This was a real eye-opener for me, and brought a lot of things to mind about street violence and the unpredictability of of it. Miss out on this, and you are missing an important part of what your art needs - no matter WHAT your art is.
Rory Miller has been there-done that. And he's willing to share it with you. You can check out his blog in my links to the right, or his website HERE.
Looks like the next seminar is in Independence, MO, on March 20th. You can get the details HERE.
A word of advice: Don't attend this seminar without a notebook and several pens. And don't let anything Rory says go without writing it down.
Believe me, you'll need it.
3 comments:
Tony and I have sent in payment for the MO gig and are looking forward to it!
Thanks for the "preview."
Be well!
Nice thanks for the review!
Me and a fellow martial artist had Rory down to do a seminar for us in St. Cloud, Fl. late last year. Having never met Rory in person i thought the very same things about him, in person he was very personable and likeable, I had the opportunity to train with him in class, ended up on the ground rolling in a mock fighting scenario, I could tell he was toying with me, but Rory is also very humble, I felt, as we all did, that even though he was all no nonsense he was also there to help us.
Although the drills were great, the lectures were the real jewel of the seminar and I must have wrote a small book from that seminar. The seminar was two parts, and those that for whatever reason didnt or couldnt pay for the second part he asked them to stay for the second at no cost.
I'd also put Rory in the top 2.
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