GOLD Coast
bouncers are being taught "cooling" techniques by a tai chi
expert.
At Hollywood
nightclub in Orchid Ave in Surfers Paradise, security staff are
learning how to stay calm and better defuse heated situations
with patrons.
Helping their
skills is tai chi instructor Allan Williams, founder of My Safe
Space.
Mr Williams
usually teaches self-defence to mothers and children, but the
recent Coast nightclub incident that left 21-year-old Sydney
surfer Sam Page in a coma after being punched in the head has
convinced him to work in the clubs.
"There are no
cowards or thugs in this club. You can come in here at 2am and
there are no problems. After 3am (when closings and the curfew
begin), that's when the madness starts," he said.
Mr Williams said
the security guard licensing system was limited to "blackboard
stuff", which failed to give practical instructions to bouncers
on how to defend themselves without being aggressive.
"They're at a
total disadvantage. Most people (on security) are trained to
fight. They can punch back. But they can't defend themselves,"
he said.
Gold Coast
security staffer Cliff McNeice (pictured), who has
worked in the industry for 24 years, including stints in London,
said Queensland's licensing system for security staff required
him only to complete a few restraint moves in a brief session.
He has several
scars across his stomach from being attacked by drunks with
weapons
and believes it
has only been in the past few years that the club crowds have
begun to get an "edge".
All of the
bouncers at Hollywood spoken to by The Sunday Mail said
female patrons had become the most difficult to handle.
If they had to
remove a male from inside the club, it was often a female friend
who would attack them, they said.
