FROM A RETIRED NEW YORK SUPREME COURT JUSTICE:

After only three months of training in the principles and methods of Guided Chaos, I feel compelled to write a brief testimonial designed to thank Grand Master Perkins and members of his Guided Chaos Community for what they've taught me already, as well as to publicly acknowledge that Grand Master Perkins is, in my humble opinion, the most unique figure in the world of Combat, Combatives and Surviving violent encounters.  Grand Master Perkins is unlike anyone I have ever met, trained with, know about, have read about or that I have even heard about.  Grand Master Perkins possesses a unique knowledge and understanding of real world violence and violent encounters and combines that knowlege with his unsurpassed skill in understanding and developing exercises that truly train the mind, body and soul for not only surviving, but for prevailing in, real world violent encounters.  Grand Master Perkins is unique in the sense that his mastery of the principles of combat and combat training have not only made him one of the deadliest men alive, but unlike so many others, Grand Master Perkins is able to communicate his principles and training methods to his students in such a way, that they are able to develop superior combat skills as well -- and I truly mean superior.
 
By way of background, I am a 40 year old Acting Supreme Court Justice in the State of New York.  Prior to becoming a judge, I worked as an attorney in both criminal and civil litigation; I was a Law Clerk/Court Attorney, Child Support Magistrate and Senior Assistant District Attorney.  While I've never been in an all out, life or death fight as an adult, I live day to day with the reality that my work as a Judge, particularly in a Criminal part where I've presided over some of the most serious types of felonies (rape, assault, murder and the like) and my work as a prosecutor -- prosecuting the same types of cases -- has put me in harm's way.  Through the years, I've received numerous direct threats; there have also been circumstances where I've been confronted, followed and otherwise placed in fear for my safety.
 
As a result of the foregoing, I have spent many years studying various martial arts, self-defense systems and other forms of combat.  My studies have included group classes, private lessons, seminars, videos, books and various obscure texts.  I've collected as many manuals and/or books about Military Combatives as I possibly could.  I have explored methods of unarmed combat such as boxing, kickboxing, traditional (and not so traditional) martial arts, wrestling, grappling and other forms of groundfighting; I have explored combat with weapons -- knives, firearms, improvised; I have studied general principles of survival -- awareness; avoidance; use of canines, lighting and alarm systems; emergency medicine and disaster survival techniques.  
 
For what it's worth I hold various ranks in Kumite-Ryu and Vee-Arnis Jitsu, Kenpo Karate (Parker System), Daito-Ryu and Hakkoryu Jitsu, Jeet-Kun-Do Concepts (Vunak); Modern Arnis (Pressas); and American Military Combatives.  I have also studied Systema, Escrima and Kali, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Dog Brother Martial Arts, Savate, Wing-Tsun, Jeet-Kun-Do(Inosanto), Kun-Tao, Kendo and various Reality Based Systems.
I take nothing away from these great arts, their masters or their followers.  Each has provided me with a tool that can be used in a violent encounter.  However, tools without the knowledge of how they're used, why they're used or when they're used; without the knowledge of what they're used for, or why they work the way they do, are (to put it bluntly) useless.  Sculpting tools in the hands of a painter are useless, brushes in the hands of a carpenter are useless and "self defense" techniques in the hands of someone who does not understand (or more specifically has not absorbed) the basic principles at the core of Guided Chaos -- sensitivity, looseness, balance and body unity -- are useless. I stand nothing to gain from writing this acknowledgment; it is those who are reading it now, who stand to gain something.  Guided Chaos is a science raised to an art form --  not a method of combat reduced to an art. 

Grand Master Perkins has fused physical, basic combative techniques with forensic knowledge and principles to create the most unique, effective and complete combat system in existence today. I implore anyone who is truly interested in understanding the what, who, where, when, why and how of surviving a violent encounter to not only study the Guided Chaos materials available but more importantly to seek out Grand Master Perkins or one of his Master students. As little as one hour of "hands on" training with Master Perkins will change your understanding of combat forever.

I would to like to stress that I am not being critical of anyone who has ever spent time teaching me their art or who has shared their knowledge with me in the past. I am simply thanking Grand Master Perkins for welcoming me into his community and for sharing his knowledge. Grand Master Perkins is available, accessible and unlike many Grand Masters, still teaches group classes to beginners in addition to his more specialized private instruction or training for law enforcement personnel (state and federal), military personnel, and high level personal protection specialists.

Once again, thank you Grand Master Perkins, as well as all those in the Guided Chaos community for selflessly teaching the science of survival to those who need it most."

Yours humbly,
The Hon. RJB
 

FROM A PENNSYLVANIA POLICE OFFICER:

"If I could start my study of the martial arts again, I would train in nothing other than Ki Chuan Do [now called Guided Chaos]."

 So far in my law enforcement career, I have been
 involved in about 15 fight/fight breakup situations,
 many involving more than three combatants. I learned
 very quickly exactly what worked, and what did not, in
 a non-practice, noncompetition setting of the "chaotic
 brawl." My worst resulting injury was a slight
 laceration above my right elbow, due to broken glass
 and slick conditions. However, beyond this, I have
 barely been as much as glazed by any strike carrying
 enough power or leverage to do any damage. In each
 case in which I needed to detain suspects so far, I
 subdued each with relative ease, rarely needing
 assistance in handcuffing or transporting the party in
 question.

 To this point, the MA skills that I have used
 have been limited by conditions, area in which to
 execute, congestion of people and other circumstances.
 Often the action was so close that my only viable
 actions, to protect myself, consisted, singularly, of
 techniques and skills that I have learned through you,
 in one way or another (class, book, videos, etc.).
 These techniques, along with their counterpart
 philosophy and training methods, have been reliable,
 efficient and efficacious, exclusively superior to
 what is taught by any other martial art's discipline
 that I know of. In times of true danger, Ki Chuan Do
 has been a welcomed reassurance. In times of
 uncertainty and threat, I always knew that I had a
 great weapon at my disposal. All this, and more, I
 had gained in the relatively short period of time
 since I began practicing, learning the philosophy, and
 studying the most basic techniques of Ki Chuan Do. In
 comparison, the many years spent learning various
 other martial arts (mostly grappling-oriented) have
 proven pathetically unfruitful. These techniques
 could only be useful only under the most favorable
 ground conditions, and have served little or no use to
 me as of yet.

 I have been a student of Master Perkins for,
 what would be considered by virtually all other
 martial art school's "learning curve," to be a short
 period of time, indeed. However, through private and
 group lessons that I have taken so far, through
 watching video's put out by attackproof.com, and by
 reading "Attackproof," the book, I have learned "real"
 survival skills. These skills have been taught to me,
 learned, and has been trained into my memory at an
 exponentially higher practical yield-per-hour training
 rate than any other martial art classes or seminars
 I've ever attended, or ever even heard rumor of.
 Learning from Master Perkins and following his
 guidance, through his superjacent teaching methods,
 revealed to me the flaws inherent in my former
 fighting idealism. This new awakening had all but
 invalidated all prior training I had undergone. If I
 could start my study of the martial arts again, I
 would train in nothing other than Ki Chuan Do.

 In addition, similar "law enforcement"- specific
 techniques are taught by Master Perkins, specifically
 aimed at keeping officers alive while on-duty. These
 techniques have meant a lot to me and could very well
 save my life someday. Also involved in these lessons
 are superior techniques focusing on the proper, and
 most efficient, usage of the weapons police officers
 typically carry. I have used many of these techniques
 already, to the exclusion of all other techniques
 taught to me at the Academy I attended. I would
 highly recommend this class to any and all law
 enforcement workers, during any point in their career.

 I am very lucky to have spotted the
 "Attackproof" book at the local book store, and am
 even more lucky to have put my faith into Master
 Perkins, and his revolutionary system of "real"
 fighting, Ki Chuan Do.

 --Matthew Shoener- Police Officer, Scranton PA

From The Guardian Angels Regional Director,

Capetown, South Africa--
"The Most Violent City In The World":

"I now compare every single book to Attackproof and have yet to see one that comes even close."

"Dear Mr Perkins, I am the Regional Director: South Africa for the International Alliance of Guardian Angels. We are a volunteer corps that uses martial arts skills to protect our neighbourhoods. 

In Cape Town, the most violent city in the world, I have found most martial arts to be ineffective. Sure, it teaches discipline, techniques, strength, speed, reflexes etc. but it is not often put into a street context, and that was a big problem for me, as I convinced people to leave the (relative) safety of their homes to come and patrol with me. Therefore their safety was a huge concern.

About a year ago I purchased Attackproof [the book] and immediately
set out to adapt the system for our purposes.

Training started a few weeks later (I have only limited martial arts
experience, so I followed the book religiously) and I insisted on members
working on the drills. Every session was broken down into 3 parts, with
principles (we call them attributes) taking up one third, gang attack drills (we call them Survival Fighting) the second third, and lastly that training that is unique to Guardian Angels (such as patrol training etc) taking up the last third.

All the members quickly felt more confident and gradually I started seeing an increase in graceful movement, with members suddenly starting to even continue training during breaks etc. One of the members, Nemesis (we all use code names), had never had ANY self-defence training before. He is an incredible man of 40 who had a triple by-pass operation in January 2007. Get this, FIVE DAYS after the op he was back on patrol!!!

During this patrol we assisted the local police in a robbery (involving fire-arm) arrest. A few weeks ago Nemesis went to a local pub after work and while in there he was accosted by 5 guys who had been on our case for months. They surrounded him and started hassling him, and in the midst of all this the one man made the mistake of asking him "Do you want to be shot, huh?" BAM, went Nemesis, immediately working through the relevant drill. When number one went down the other four virtually went into shock. This was the last thing they expected. They were five, he was alone, and what looked like easy pickings suddenly turned out to be much more than they expected. When this enraged Angel growled, "Well, is that the best you can do?" They picked up their buddy and went home. 

If it was not for Attackproof he may (would) have been seriously injured, and in Cape Town you cannot afford to be unprepared.

We have over 1400 murders in this city every year, the vast majority of them with knives so our streets are no walk in the park, unless you are out hunting (lol)!

I also just want to emphasize how excellent Attackproof is. We have never had the benefit of seeing the DVD's, not having the required funds to purchase them, so ALL of the training comes out of the book, which has become the foundation on which virtually all of our self-defence training is built.

Attackproof is an excellent book and as a former police officer in Cape
Town, I know what violence looks like. We have more murders, rapes and
domestic violence than anywhere else on earth, and all the other self-defence books were second-class. I now compare every single book to
Attackproof and have yet to see one that comes even close.

Mr Perkins, your work is a masterpiece and it is helping us to tame the streets of this city. Directly due to your work we are able to ensure safety for whole segments of this city and are already working on ensuring safety for visitors in 2010 during the Football World Cup. Congratulations!"

--Charl (Morpheus) Viljoen
International Alliance of Guardian Angels
Regional Director: South Africa
www.guardianangels.org
www.freewebs.com/guardianangelssa

From a Former SWAT Team Member and Marine:

"Real World Violence, Not Dojo Dancing"

► David Chesher --Former SWAT team member and U.S. Marine 

"This book [Attack Proof] is what I have been looking for. As a former Marine, SWAT team member, and a reservist I have trained, studied, and researched martial arts and fighting for over twenty-five years and have always felt that something was missing.

I have studied Tae kwon do, boxing, Ninjutsu, Muay Thai, and Jujutsu, and while I learned something from each art, the number of techniques I found to actually work in a real fight was very few, even though I became very proficient at utilizing them in the dojo. The dynamic violence of an actual physical altercation can vary so widely that you cannot train or prepare through the use of repetitive action-reaction training. The missing link was filled by the drills and training in Attack Proof. 

Attack Proof emphasizes close quarters combat techniques that enabled the Allied soldiers in World War II to beat the superiorly martial arts-trained Japanese in hand-to-hand fighting on islands all over the Pacific. It includes fright reaction training that is essential for anyone that wants to survive a sudden violent encounter, which is something most arts don't teach, and the ones that do don't emphasize it enough (because there are too many other techniques and forms to learn in that art) but it's a cornerstone to Attack Proof training. You won't find lots of cool techniques to impress your friends in here, but what you will learn will put your self-defense training way ahead of anything you will learn in a traditional martial arts dojo. There are many drills designed to build your balance, looseness, sensitivity and body unity to allow you to fight from any angle, position and the beauty of it is that if you do have a martial arts background you'll find that many of the things you will learn in this book will greatly enhance what you know already.

Don't be misled by those who criticize the book for lack of ground fighting; the book DOES include ground fighting but not as a useless grappling or wrestling methodology that is only suitable for competition between people of similar weight classes with rules against attacking the eyes, throat or other vulnerable areas. These sports always have one assumption that negates their use on the street; that you have only one opponent to worry about. Go ahead and wrestle me to the ground and get your arm bar on me while my two buddies stomp your head into mush.

Arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu flourished under the "no holds barred" promotions because the reality was that there were rules against eye gouges and groin ripping; things that are perfectly legal under street fighting. And the idea that a 110-pound woman is going to successfully take a 200-pound attacker to the ground or get into a guard position and fight him off is ludicrous. The ground fighting in Attack Proof is a devastating and deadly form of fighting that can't work in the ring without maiming and killing people, but it's based on movement and not techniques. To see it demonstrated in real life shows you the folly of wrestling, but the idea that Attack Proof drills emphasize during a violent encounter is to explode aggressively and then if possible escape; not to subdue your attacker. 

Attack Proof sticks to what works and keeps the techniques to a minimum while emphasizing drills that teach you to use those techniques in an "anything goes" manner that is truly devastating."
 

From a Retired Federal Air Marshal:

"I have studied many martial arts systems and attended many basic through advanced federal law enforcement training academies and programs. 

Nothing I've previously learned is even in the same ball park as the Guided Chaos System.  While there are no guarantees, John Perkins' training methodology can give each individual the best chance to survive and defeat a stronger, larger, quicker, adversary.

As a Federal Air Marshal working on airplanes where things can go from calm to ballistic in the blink of the eye, there is no time to think of what you're going to do next or how you're going to do it. You must be prepared to engage the enemy instantly, see and feel the opening and adapt from there. Delay could result in catastrophic destruction.  

Training in the Perkins regimen has given me not only the uncanny ability to adapt to situations as they are (not what I would like them to be--as in many other martial arts systems) but the opportunity to avoid them beforehand through his concentration on awareness training.
 
John Perkins' handgun training is also worlds beyond others I have learned and has provided me with a different perspective and methodology then was taught by the Federal Air Marshal Service (which by the way is noted for providing some of the best training in the entire law enforcement community).  

While there isn't nearly enough room here to explain Perkins' entire training regimen, suffice it to say that they deal with the harsh reality of what you may actually face on the street, enabling you to adapt, survive and go home in one piece.
 
In this day and age where you can't be too skeptical, we nevertheless should not be afraid to challenge our beliefs and look to advance ourselves. This is true regardless of our backgrounds, whether we are students, teachers, mothers, fathers, or law enforcement officers, because at the end of the day we are all potential targets of the growing criminal community. They are out there waiting to strike, so do all you can to not become a victim.

That feeling is what brought me to John Perkins in the first place and I am yet to be disappointed."

--Kevin Harrell, Guided Chaos 5th degree Master, Certified Guided Chaos Combatives Instructor

•    Retired ATSAC, Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS)
•    Former ASAC, Office of Inspector General (OIG)- Investigations, USDA
•    Former Lead Protection/Security Agent for the US Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, domestic and internationally.
•    Detailed to the FBI Investigative Team for the 2002 Winter Olympics Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
•    Worked on the FBI Investigation into the 9/11, World Trade Center Bombing.
•    Former investigative and undercover Special Agent with OIG-I, USDA.
•    Former Technical Equipment Instructor for OIG-I.
•    Former Master At Arms, US Navy Reserve, Force Protection Unit for the Trident Submarine Fleet
 

From the State of Oregon
Defensive Tactics Coordinator (DPSST):

"For the past several months, I have been researching Guided Chaos. From my first viewing on You Tube, I was blown away to say the least. “These people,” I thought to myself, “are speaking my language.”  So, I bought my first DVD; and ever since then I have been charged to learn more. Several DVD’s later; my desire to learn more about this art was not satisfied. I was compelled to feel this system from a qualified instructor. I checked the website, and although there was not an instructor where I reside in Oregon, there was one in neighboring Idaho—Mr. Bob Miller. I contacted Mr. Miller and explained to him how much I would like to meet with him, and learn firsthand how Guided Chaos works. Not long after our first conversation, Mr. Miller was going to be in town for a couple of days on other business, so we planned two evening sessions.

Leading up to our first session, I became even more engrossed in the system. The more I studied the DVD’s, and read the Attack Proof book, the more I started to think that this was just another way of expressing Wing Chun, one of many arts that I have studied. The contact flow used in Guided Chaos is, at least visually, very similar to the way I was taught chi sau. Then I purchased the Contact Flow Workshop DVD with Grandmaster Tim Carron. This was almost the deciding factor that Guided Chaos was Wing Chun done over. However, I could not shake the thought that there might be something different in the feeling and application of this art. I was right.

First of all let me say that I have been a martial artist since I was a kid, and have trained with many experts in various systems. With that said, training with Bob Miller was one of the most gratifying experiences in my martial arts career. He started out explaining the whole idea around some of the major principles of the system like body unity, looseness, balance, and sensitivity to name a few. He asked if I had been practicing any of the balancing exercises, which I had. He then asked me to demonstrate them, and made some minor corrections that enabled me to perform the exercises easier.

The turning point for me came when he initiated me into the world of contact flow. As an instructor in Wing Chun, I’d like to believe that my sensitivity and balance are at a stellar level. But the second Mr. Miller and I made contact—he was gone.  I was touching his arms, but barely. Every time I tried to move in, he was gone or he would gently push me aside, causing me to lose my balance. No matter how much I attempted to get a better read on him, the best I could do was to barely touch him. For me, this was both frustrating and intriguing. My frustration came from having a high level of chi sau ability. I was always able to sense movements, even from people of a technically higher ranking than I. Mr. Miller, however, had me going in circles at will. I was intrigued because I wanted to know how he was doing it. How was he able to manipulate me in ways no other martial artist has? I kept trying to observe how he was moving, with the hopes that my, “Ah-Ha!” moment would come, and my chi sao skill would shine through. I soon learned that, although it looks similar, contact flow is at a much deeper level than chi sao. 

We continued training into late evening, and went through a great deal of material. When I got home, I could not resist the temptation to practice what I had learned. Needless to say, I was up half the night trying to ingrain the evening lesson.

The following evening we spent considerable time doing slow contact flow. Admittedly, when I first observed this on the DVD, I did not appreciate the value. But like so many things, Mr. Miller changed my opinion. Doing contact flow at a snail’s pace unlocked a door for me. After just a few minutes, everything that he was saying became even clearer. The whole idea about being rooted, taking balance, and using the lightest of contact to feel the other’s movements, caused the, “Ah-Ha,” moment that I was seeking the night before. 

At the end of our session, Mr. Miller left me wanting more. Mr. Miller not only gave me a brand new vigor to learn this art, he accomplished something that has never been done. He made me a better martial artist in just two evenings.   

Recently, I have read some unfavorable comments about Guided Chaos. I refuse to refer to these opinions as reviews because to review something, you must fully experience it. For those individuals, I implore them to seek out a qualified instructor, because there is only one way to fully appreciate this art, and that is by feel."

Lt. Daryl Tate
Defensive Tactics Coordinator
Training Division
Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), State of Oregon