I eat books. Not just read them but ingest them in high volumes, specially if I am researching something.  Lately I have been trying to get more into the criminal & violence mindset of certain individuals that chose the side of crime and discovered that most of the books are written by shrinks who are desperate trying to cure all the ailments of the world, LEOs that are in an “I an so awesome” ego trip or plain idiots that have no experience with violence.

Then I bump into a barely two hundred page book titled Facing Violence: Preparing for the unexpected. By Rory Miller and I had to go HOLY S***!” (that be squat not the other word.) After spending countless hours reading thousands of pages of books written by people with more degrees than Phoenix in August, here comes this Corrections Officer, cuts through the BS and gives you a no-nonsense short guide to criminal offenders, what will get your ass kicked or killed and perhaps the best techniques on de-escalation I have ever seen. And that is only the first 100 pages which are worth the full retail value of the book.

Now, it is a bold statement to say “best techniques on de-escalation” but not really. I found myself saying over and over ‘Yep, that is the way it works… done that, he is right… done that too and works… I have seen that and it will get you face used as mop’ which is my way of saying Been There Done That and Have a Skin Without Scars that were not Self Inflicted and Mr. Miller is not talking out of his rectum.

I always admire anybody in the defensive biz that starts with and emphasizes Avoidance, Deterrence and De-Escalation as the most important part in a self defensive strategy. Many “instructors” think it is cooler to show how bad ass they are with fists, knives and guns, but takes real fortitude teach how to play dumbass and leave a potential bad situation with just words exchanged without anger and no blood spilled.

If your inner Rambo can stand it, get this book, read it, internalize it and make its lessons a part of your self-defense strategy.