So I was a bouncer at a strip club...

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 9/04/2009 9:00pm

Tough story bro. I can relate.

I must say, though, you broke a cardinal rule of the bounce:

Once you tie a guy up, you drag him to the door. Going to the ground inside ends in the type of stalemate you described. Of course...being as understaffed as you were, it's not your fault. You should have had backup.

WHen I had to toss a guy, I would tie him up and start moving toward the door immediately, dragging him if I had to. But I always had help...

The real tragedy here is what you were expected to achieve without the proper manpower.

Ideally, you would have one staff per 50 patrons. Realistically, I would have severe reservations about working anywhere that had less than one guy per 100 patrons.

**The Question** · Posted On: 9/04/2009 9:43pm

Man up, you fucking *****, you get to beat down motherfuckers all day and you complain about that ****? What ze ****, Mohammed? Spare a thought for the office drone ************ who has to bottle up all his feelings because he has to sit behind some fucking desk all day and feels robbed of his manhood and his humanity.

Kidding. Fuckin' A, dude. Great story. Full of emotion and ****. I quite enjoyed it.

**The Question** · Posted On: 9/04/2009 9:48pm

Incidentally, dude, dude. Look on the bright side, I mean in addition to learning and growing from your experience, getting out of that fucked up security gig and working a better job. Really, now you're like fucking Kwai Chang Caine, because you understand, violence, have experienced it, and you can lay it on motherfuckers thick. But you choose not to, because you know of the damage and destruction practicing it can cause. So now, you can spread the word to young bucks who are full of testosterone and aggression and want to take motherfuckers to war.

Dude, dude, dude.

The Legend Continues.

**danno** · Posted On: 9/04/2009 10:25pm

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Once you tie a guy up, you drag him to the door.

i actually did - picked him up and carried him outside, past the foot path and on to the street where i held him down for a bit cos he was spazzing out, then let him up hoping he would leave.

did i not say that in the article? haven't read it for a while, hope i didn't forget to tell that part.

Originally Posted by Scrapper

The real tragedy here is what you were expected to achieve without the proper manpower.

Ideally, you would have one staff per 50 patrons. Realistically, I would have severe reservations about working anywhere that had less than one guy per 100 patrons.

even with 50, i'd want more than one guard. there were only about this many people in the place at the time.

the other thing was that a high percentage of the patrons were a little unhinged. the last night i worked there, i was asked to remove this guy who had about 15kg on me (more than 30lbs) and refused to put his glass down. so for about 25 minutes i stood there trying to negotiate with this crazy guy who was yelling insults at everyone in the place. i refused to touch him because i didn't want to get glassed, i didn't feel my health was worth the money they paid me. oh yeah, and he also had a friend with him standing a few feet away just watching. this guy was a lot bigger than me too.

eventually he blew off all his steam and just walked out on his own.

i refused to work there again, and the manager didn't want me back anyways.

that place went though just about every guard in the town. either she'd fire them or the guard would quit. they often didn't last more than a couple of nights. she expected it to work like a bruce lee movie or something.

**takedowned** · Posted On: 9/05/2009 5:14am

I guess if you feel bad about hurting people you shouldn't be a guard in the first place.

**danno** · Posted On: 9/05/2009 6:14am

Originally Posted by takedowned

I guess if you feel bad about hurting people you shouldn't be a guard in the first place.

no - if you don't feel bad about hurting people you shouldn't be a guard.

**Jeffrey** · Posted On: 9/06/2009 11:23am

Originally Posted by danno

the other thing was that a high percentage of the patrons were a little unhinged. the last night i worked there, i was asked to remove this guy who had about 15kg on me (more than 30lbs) and refused to put his glass down. so for about 25 minutes i stood there trying to negotiate with this crazy guy who was yelling insults at everyone in the place. i refused to touch him because i didn't want to get glassed, i didn't feel my health was worth the money they paid me. oh yeah, and he also had a friend with him standing a few feet away just watching. this guy was a lot bigger than me too.

eventually he blew off all his steam and just walked out on his own.

I'm just curious; can't you just call the police at that point?

**danno** · Posted On: 9/06/2009 6:45pm

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

I'm just curious; can't you just call the police at that point?

after about 20 min the manager called for another security guard to come. just as he arrived, the guy was leaving.

she totally expected me to remove the guy myself, and seemed very reluctant to call anyone.

**The_Bear** · Posted On: 12/03/2009 4:40pm

It's amazing how alcohol will unleash latent anger, primal anxiety, and the very high insecurities of people. It's really sad actually that so many males (and females but I'll use males as an example) have that aggression in them and it is not dispersed, expressed, or vented in a productive and constructive way. I believe this goes back to the primal instincts that have been genetically encoded into our cells, in order to maintain drive for survival, the hunt, protection of friends and family ( these two examples being the modern tribe), and the absolute need for reproduction. This of course seems to be enhanced and truly built ,though, through life experiences that are of the negative end. Your environment does have an effect on you, which is why childhood experiences and lessons play such a pivotal role in the future development of our ego and the wiring of our brain towards situations. Especially when it concerns combat with fellow males. Now I am talking from my experience and what I have learned over my martial arts training and the fights I have been in over my young life. That is why I believe the martial arts is, perhaps, the greatest physical craft that you can participate in because, of the teachings I've received on human violence, mortality, survival, mental development and emotional perseverance. Your story really hit home with me, because I feel that I can empathize with your feelings on the state of male aggression and our dark nature. Thank you for sharing your story.

**C0WB0Y** · Posted On: 5/19/2011 1:36pm

I guess it's an old thread, but since it's been bumped I'll throw my $0.02 in anyway.

As far as the OP goes, I say good job and well deserved. I spent 10+ years in nite club security and am 300-0 on the street. Never once did I lose a minutes rest worrying about some drunk asshole. I'm glad your BJJ helped you out, but for anyone else in the business , I highly, HIGHLY recommend Judo. Never have I ever seen anyone get up from an ippon on the street/parking lot. Once you get Judo'd you STAY Judo'd. Ground fighting is ill-advised in a multiple-attacker situation and any kind of striking, while effective, also looks bad from a PR perspective.

If you are finding that the job is getting to you and effecting your personal life, GET OUT!! There are plenty more things one can do with their life. It's a vicious circle, being constantly angry will only cause you more problems at work, which will only make you more angry.

Remember, Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.