By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Peachtree City Police Officer Ron Miller knows the thrill of receiving gold medals.

Miller, 24, was one of 14 Americans chosen to represent the United States in the Ju-jitsu World Championship in Leeds, England earlier this month. He helped bring home gold medals in both team competitions at the championship.

It marked the third consecutive world championship for the U.S. in both the team grappling and team Kumite events.

To get on Team USA, naturally it takes having good connections. The 148-pound Miller, who competed as a lightweight, knew one of the members of the squad from two years ago, and that led to a tryout with the Team USA coach who eventually made the final selections.

"I trained with their coach and he liked what he saw," Miller said.

Originally, Miller was tabbed for the grappling event, which involves takedowns, throws and submissions. He also planned to compete in individual grappling events, but he sacrificed that plan when he was picked at the last minute to compete in the Kumite event, which involves striking the opponent in a variety of moves.

Miller didn't want to wear himself out, so he opted out of the individual competition to help the team. The plan paid off, although Miller only faced a total of three opponents in both events of the tournament.

That was partly due to the U.S. team's dominance and other teams who forfeited rather than face the U.S. squad.

Miller won two of the battles though some felt he should have been awarded the third victory after his opponent appeared to submit.

In grappling, the first round is three minutes long, and each battle only goes to the second round if the score is too close. In Kumite, the pace is equally quick, with two rounds of two minutes each.

"You really need to have a game plan," Miller said. "You can expend all your energy in that amount of time, as opposed to a 12-round match in boxing."

The team events were handled tournament-style. In both events, the U.S. had to face off against the tough Brazil squad. Team USA was victorious in both matches, beating Brazil in the first round once and in the final of the other event.

The gold medals are a high point for Miller, who has been involved in martial arts since he was seven. Miller has been active in Ju-jitsu for almost four years, and now he trains at the Master Brazilian Ju-jistu Academy in north Atlanta under instructor Jacare.

Being the son of an Army man, Miller has plenty of experience moving around the country. In Georgia alone he has lived in four different places.

But he's happy living now in Peachtree City and working for the police department.

"I've had plenty of places to live," he said. "I just really like living here."

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