The slap

Here's a video showing why a punch with a closed fist is highly overrated as far as self-defense goes.

You can see that the person doing the slap here clearly knows what he's doing. First, he holds his left hand to his chin in a defensive posture - some times referred to as a "fence".

He then drops his left hand, which draws attention away from his right, and then wham...

Note also that the person who does the slap turns the man on the ground on his side. It may also (hopefully) look like he's going for help. Probably a bouncer.

Your typical bouncer?

Probably far from it - this guy seems to be one really mean and depraved individual.

According to guardian.co.uk, the 39-year-old is on trial, accused of murdering two women (19 and 22 years old). Both reportedly died after being struck with a blunt instrument. The man is also on trial for two attempted murders and one count of kidnap and false imprisonment.

According to the paper he has previous court appearances dating back to when he was 13. He had admitted offences ranging from vehicle theft, having an offensive weapon to assaulting a police officer.

He was jailed for a total of 13 months in 1991 for hitting a constable in the face, common assault on a special constable and failing to surrender.

In February 2005, he was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for seven years for dangerous driving after being stopped on a motorway hard shoulder at 70mph.

And this guy was working as a bouncer (doorman)...

Now, you may all say that most bouncers are not like this person here, and fortunately you're right. However, and this is my point, there are too many in that line of work who pose a real danger to those around them.

How do I know - I used to work the doors myself. It used to be worse, but there are still too many young guys out there with far too much testosterone, short fuses, little or no empathy, steroids, drug abuse, criminal connections and what have you not.

Norwegian psychologist Per Isdal describes in his book "Meningen Med Volden" ("The Purpose of Violence" - unfortunately available in Norwegian only as far as I know) amongst other things how one bouncer used his work to set people up for violence. A scary read; even more so if you knew that there are more guys like this out there.

One small piece of advice: Do not talk back at bouncers - it really does you no good at all. What it potentially can do is get you and others hurt.

And by all means - let us not forget that most of these folks are nice, hard working, under-paid and under a lot of stress. Be nice, boys and girls :-)

'Bach attack'

Is this going to get the 'hip-hopping' individuals to move? Definitely. Will it remove the problem? Probably not.

I have mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating. While I worked the doors, smart DJ's knew how to "remove" unwanted individuals by playing music they absolutely hated. Also the (good) DJ's could often times spot brewing trouble and use music accordingly.
Needless to say - one of the best ways to get people out (and alert the bouncers) was to stop the music immediately when someone started a fight.

Story:
Washington -- Tacoma city authorities, fed up with gang activity in public places, are taking Bach their bus stop.

Transit workers are installing speakers this week to pump classical music from a Seattle radio station into the Tacoma Mall Transit Center. The tactic is designed to disperse young criminals who make drug deals at the bus stop or use public transportation to circulate between the mall and other trouble-prone places.

The attack by Bach, Brahms and Beethoven follows the theory that prompted the city to stage pinochle games on dangerous street corners: Jolting the routine in such spots throws criminals off balance.

"It's based on routine activity theory and situational crime prevention. You mix different types of activities in locations that are crime-ridden to change the composition of the environment," said a psychologist who chairs the Criminal Justice Department at Seattle University.

A 19-year-old male said troublemakers won't like the orchestral strains, but they'll probably just move somewhere out of earshot.

Source

A different beat

Yep, more music stuff :-)
This may seem like a strange thing - using slower "old and boring" music to get rid of unwanted individuals. However, it is nothing new - and it works!
Any good bouncer/doorman, bartender, DJ or band will tell you how the music may directly affect the mood.
In places I have worked, music has been used as a way to end fights, alert the bouncers, turn away unwanted individuals and reduce the level of "aggression". So yes - the Cliff thing is still good :-)

Story:
UK -- A traditional funfair has discovered a novel way of scaring off gangs of hoodies - by playing Cliff Richard records.

The travelling steam fair was plagued by gangs of yobs who used to intimidate customers, until they accidentally discovered the hoodie repelling properties of Sir Cliff.

Now the fair uses the records the keep gangs of teenagers at bay, and have also discovered that the music actually attracts a new breed of customers - even if they are mainly old ladies.

A representative said: "We cater mainly for families, but we had a lot of young teenage gangs of hoodies around looking intimidating and putting all the families off, and they never spent any money either. They just scared good customers away."

"We usually play a lot of original 50s rock and roll, but the other day I accidentally put on a Cliff Richard B side called Travelling Light. All the hoodies pulled horrible faces and walked off."

"The next time, we tried it again, and it worked, so we bought a few more. The slow ones like Living Doll and The Young Ones are the most effective. Summer Holiday worked as well, but we try to stick to ones from the 50s to keep the feel of the fair authentic."

"We don't play them all the time because it wouldn't be fair on the staff - it's only when we feel the hoodies are starting to outnumber the families. We play some of the older records, and that gets rid of them."

Source

Hazards at work, 16

It can't be said often enough: A knife is a dangerous, really dangerous weapon.
It's highly unpredictable, easy to carry, easy to use.
You also have this idea amongst some folks that you can "control the effect" - that is, you can easily use it as a deterrent to scare off, cut or stop a threat/attacker. This is far easier said than done folks!
Another thing is that since way too many are unaware of the danger involved, they fell it's "safe" or legitimate to carry such a weapon. And what do you do when you are being under attack? You use what you got at hand.
Facts: Once a knife is out, you have a potential lethal situation on your hands.

Story:
A bouncer is dead and a 35-year-old man is in critical condition after a bar fight in Blaine early Friday morning.

The bouncer, 24-year-old Greg Klaers, was killed while trying to break up that fight. His brother saw the whole thing happen.

A customer was also stabbed and critically wounded. Police arrested four men for assault.

Source

Bad bouncing

Here's a small and rather disturbing clip from a surveillance camera showing how a bouncer (doorman) is not supposed to work if he/she wishes to stay alive...
Everything from the threatening and negative gestures, smoking (!) on the job, lack of visual control etc. are text-book examples of someone who is not suitable for the job.
The clip also clearly shows the dangers and nature of a knife attack.
I only hope these guys wore a protective vest...

You can watch the clip here (YouTube), or download it in lesser quality here (1.86MB, flv file).

You will need to have the free flv-player installed to view flv clips on your own computer.

Bouncing

Many places the bouncers (or doormen) are really first class. Adults, friendly, non-aggressive, service minded and skilled in every way.
Other places they may be too young, too aggressive, untrained, full of themselves, on steroids, more than willing to use their fighting skills, rude and unfriendly. Always gives me the creeps...

I will go as far as saying that some places the doormen are not the solution to the problems - they are the primary sources!

Yes, the payment is low and yes they do meet a lot of really, really stupid customers - having to deal with all kinds of crazy stuff and intoxicated behavior. But why don't the places learn and hire professionals, not some testosterone kids with enough problems on their own?

You see them everywhere, here's a story from England.

Risky business

Working with conflict and violent behavior management, I can assure you that physical violence, threats, intimidation and harassment at work is a huge problem in some occupations.
Many times these are problems that goes on without proper reports being filed.
It also should be noted that there are few that has proper training to deal with these sorts of negative behaviors and potential harmful occurrences.

These occupations include nurses, doctors, prison personnel, clergymen (!), teachers, police, doormen/bouncers, sales reps, agents, parking attendants, security personnel, social security workers, as well as many others.

This story about real estate agents should give you an idea about the potential dangers some people are facing.

Stunning...

UK -- A man who was found with a stun gun by a doorman at a nightspot in Llandudno was fined £300 yesterday.

The 21-year-old restaurant worker allegedly carried it for self-defense after being injured in an earlier, unprovoked assault.

Source