by Rudy Rogers
March 03, 2005

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I was going to start this series off with some of the equipment that I have found useful over the years working the door. However, let's save that for next month. Because, I just returned from a trip to England! I spent 3 days at the First Annual Minnesota Kali Group Instructors' Conference in Bournemouth England, a city on the Southern coast of England right on the English Channel. A Wonderful resort town.

This conference was an opportunity for instructors of various levels to convene, train, and share teaching strategies in the martial arts. I had the opportunity to meet and train with instructors from all over the UK, Germany, and the US. This was a short trip that began with very short notice, and I would have liked the opportunity to meet a bouncing icon in the UK, Mr. Geoff Thompson (www.GeoffThompson.com).

For a long time I felt that there was more to "The Trade" than what I had seen and heard. However, there was little to no literature or comprehensive information on Door-work. That is was until I came across a title from publishing company Paladin Press (www.PaladinPress.com), entitled "Watch My Back". This book was a sort of autobiographical story of one English bouncer's life at the door. A story filled with gritty violence and sageful insight…I was hooked. You see, I knew that there was a big cultural difference in bars, pubs, and nightclubs between here and the UK. I would highly recommend this book as well as its sequel "Bouncer" to those of you Door-people out there who are serious about your time at the door.

At the conference, although, I didn't have the time or the opportunity to meet Mr. Thompson, I did get a chance to meet a personal friend of his, Mr. Mo Teague Mo almost immediately struck me as the Doorman type, very personable and well spoken, with steely dark eyes, massive chest and arms fit proportionately on a muscular stocky build. I was immediately awestruck. Mo was part of the ilk that I had read about; one of the hardened men of the door, and he was a personal friend of Geoff Thompson to boot! I just had to pick his brain and do some contrasts and comparisons with this living lexiconical resource of the UK bouncing trade.

On the last evening of the conference we all had a time of dinner and socializing at a nearby hotel. This was my opportunity to chat with and pick the brain of both Mo and Brendan Westwood, the conference's host and another experienced UK Doorman. Below are some of the topics we chatted about:

"Switching-in"
As stated before working as a bouncer in a drinking establishment is risky and violent work. Depending on the establishment it can be hard to know if you would return home in one piece or at all. So we compared notes about pre-shift rituals, or as Mo and Brendan put it "Switching In". This is the act of mentally prepping oneself for the night's events, be it watching a movie like, Braveheart, Roadhouse, or Troy, or meditating/praying or doing a warrior's dance like the Maori of New Zealand (http://maori.info/maori_society.htm)

The Role of Martial Artists in Society
"…A good person that can do bad things." Is what Mo told me about his thoughts on himself being a doorman as well as a martial artist. One can theorize and debate on the role of martial artists/warriors in society; as to weather they are a necessary evil or not, especially in modern society. I am not interested in debating the obvious. I can just tell you from my own point of view how I view myself…I would agree with Mo, I am a good person who can do bad things. With that, one can argue that there is a societal if not moral obligation to find a constructive outlet for those skills and abilities that I have spent hours, days, weeks, months and many years honing. Many of my ilk, like Mo and Brendan, join the military, law enforcement, security agencies, or of course the Bouncing Trade, at first to test their mettle in combat, but usually find a higher sense of purpose using their skills to help and protect themselves and others.

The Old Days
We talked about how the laws have changed in the UK in the recent years. You see in the UK there are no guns! Yes, you heard it NO GUNS! Sure you can find someone who has one, but possessing a handgun is highly illegal. Even carrying a knife can get you in grave trouble with the law. So unlike in the States, people rely more on their wits and fists. In the old days the type of person that would be drawn to door-work were those who were comfortable with violence. These were people who could and would knock your lights out in an instant. Yes, you could knock an unruly patron out. Like I said the laws are different there.

Yet, there were many infractions of the law by bouncers of that era and lawsuits filed against bouncers then for injuring and even killing patrons…hence the SIA. Recently in the UK there was legislation passed for the formation of an organization called the Security Industry Authority. This governing body oversees workers in the security and bouncing industry in the England. Now, you must have no criminal record and be registered with the local council in good standing in order to be a doorman/woman at UK clubs, and pubs. Sounds really put together in contrast to the way we have it here, but more on that later.

As this article series progresses I will be referring back to my experiences both here and with my observations abroad, as well as conversations with Mo, Brendan and the like. Stay tuned because next month I will talk about what equipment a Doorman/woman should have on the job. Below I have included a reading list as well as web sites to browse for your further study.

Until next month, as they say in the UK "Cheers!"

Recommended Reading:

Rudy has fought many times in the ring as a Thai fighter and professional boxer in Japan, Canada, and the United States and has trained many aspiring fighters to victory. He has worked as a doorman for many of Minneapolis' finest bars and nightclubs for over 10yrs.

Rudy's favorite martial art is all of them. But if he had to pick one it would be Kali and the Filipino Martial Arts.