Saturday, October 24, 2009

'Meditations on Violence' and 'Pak Mei - A Dedication'comments

I just finished reading 'Meditation on Violence' by Rory Miller.
Highly recommended reading for self-defense/security minded folks.
A few quotes from the book.
From the preface - Never, ever, ever delegate responsibility for your own safety. Never, ever, ever, override your own experience and common sense on the say-so of some self-proclaimed 'expert'.
Never, ever, ever ignore what your eyes see because it isn't what you imagined.

And later - In general, respond to the situation as it is. Not to your fantasy and not to your paranoia.

I will be reading this book again, taking more time to digest the lessons he imparts.



Also just finished reading Pak Mei - A Dedication. Highly recommended for YKM students to get a glimpse of the principles behind a major portion of our arts curriculum. Not a techniques book, a good explanation of some of the principles behind the movements.

2 comments:

Priest said...

If you're interested, Rory also has a blog at chirontraining.blogspot.com.

Sean C. Ledig said...

I have to second the recommendation for the Pak Mei book.

Having learned some Yau Kung Mun forms, techniques and training methods from Don, I think the book does a great job explaining the history and philosophy of YKM's root art, Pak Mei.

It also does a great job blowing away some of the myths and folklore connected with Pak Mei. It appears that the character of Pak Mei may have been nothing more than a fiction, like other figures of Chinese martial arts, like Ng Mui or Yim Wing Chun.