Secure Guard: The First 60 Seconds

Practical safety training for bar, club and venue staff. A 2-hour, hands-on seminar — built for the way the door actually works.

The problem

Door staff work where fights start. They break up fights between intoxicated patrons, remove non-compliant patrons on camera, and sometimes get attacked themselves — often with no plan beyond "get in there."

The time between "you need to leave" and the door is where a venue wins or loses. One bad ejection can become a lawsuit, a headline, a closed venue. The difference between a clean escort and a bad night is training — not toughness.

The program

Secure Guard is a hands-on, in-person safety seminar for people who work the door and the floor. It trains exactly one window: the 60 seconds between "you need to leave" and the door. Your whole team is trained together, on your doors, in your layout.

Everything ends in an escort out. Guide, don't grab — if it hurts them, you're doing it wrong.

Who it's for

  • Door staff and bouncers

  • Bartenders and bar staff

  • Venue managers and owners

No experience needed. Built for working staff, not athletes.

Situations covered

  • Non-compliant patron removals

  • Fights between patrons

  • Patrons who attack staff

  • Grounded situations

The Ladder of Safety

Recognize → control space → disengage → escort → secure (last resort) → document.

Each rung is matched to the situation. Staff learn when to move up the ladder — and when to stop.

What the 2 hours look like

Two parts: Module 1 uses no contact; Module 2 is hands-on. Standing room, no mats.

  • 0:00–0:05 — The frame. The Ladder of Safety and why most venue lawsuits are about how a patron was removed.

  • 0:05–0:40 — Module 1: Non-contact essentials. Reading the room and positioning. Spotting fake IDs. Talking people down. When not to go hands-on. The chaperone escort and the sidewalk rule.

  • 0:40–0:45 — Break.

  • 0:45–1:50 — Module 2: Physical, team-based escorts. Two-person escorts, breaking up fights as a team, responding when staff are attacked, and getting a grounded situation back to its feet. Every drill ends in an escort out.

  • 1:50–2:00 — After the incident. Call 911, preserve video, document everything.

Module 1 — Non-contact essentials

  • Read the room. Pre-escalation cues, intoxication and agitation signs, group dynamics. Angle off, hands visible, know your exits.

  • Fake IDs. Quick checks that work under pressure. Follow venue policy and never accuse. One fake in a group of six: refuse the one, don't fight the six.

  • Talk them down. The three most common door scripts: refusing entry, last call and "time to go." Low voice, short sentences, give choices.

  • The decision gate. Weapons, a group against one staffer, or someone down and staying down — when not to go hands-on.

  • The chaperone escort. Walk alongside, steer with position and voice, no touching. Once the patron is outside, you're done — the sidewalk rule.

Module 2 — Physical, team-based escorts

  • 2v1 is the standard. Two staff, one arm each, the patron upright between them — no rotation, no struggle. If you're alone, you disengage, use your voice, and wait for backup.

  • Team fight break-up. Simultaneous, never solo. Never hold one person while the other is loose.

  • When a patron attacks staff. Stay safe, control the situation, move to an escort. Never strike back.

  • Grounded situations. The ground is for getting back to your feet — never for fighting. Nothing we teach keeps anyone face-down.

  • Safe release. How to let go cleanly, say one clear closing line, and head back inside.

Our safety policy

Secure Guard is a no-strike system. Guards never punch — ever. Controls are gross-motor and beginner-friendly, so they hold up under stress.

We never:

  • Strike — no punches, elbows, knees, kicks or strikes of any kind, for any reason

  • Choke — no neck restraints, no hands on the neck, no knee on the neck

  • Use pain-compliance locks — no joint locks, no hyperextension, no cranking a grip into a lock

  • Restrain prone — no prolonged ground control, no hog-tying, no sustained pinning

  • Take down — takedowns are not taught and not used

We always:

  • Work in pairs

  • Escort out, then disengage

  • Call 911 when anyone is injured or force was used — and preserve all video

Venues receive a one-page policy card to post and have each staffer sign.

Secure Guard teaches principles and documents your venue's own policy. It does not provide legal advice and does not certify staff in any use of force. Your venue's attorney owns your use-of-force policy; this training operates inside it.

Separate from our other training. Secure Guard is its own program. It is not a striking or fight-skills course, and it is not part of our Control Tactics training.

Who books this

Venue owners and general managers. Heads of security. Anyone responsible for a door or floor team.

Format

Two hours, in person, on-site at your venue — on your doors, in your layout. Everything is trained standing; no mats. Hands-on — staff should wear comfortable clothing. Up to 12 staff for a Venue session, up to 25 for a Group session.

Add-on modules

Booked separately, on top of the 2-hour session:

  • Event and crowd situations — large groups, lines, gate work, when a crowd turns

  • Entry conflicts, extended scenarios — refused entry deep-dives, the group that won't split up, bag checks

  • Working with police on scene — what to do when officers arrive mid-incident, information hand-off, staying out of their way

The three scenario add-ons run 60–90 minutes each.

Pricing

Request a quote. Priced per session; add-on modules are quoted separately. Contact us for details.

About Chris

Chris Sladky is the founder and lead instructor of Defensive Tactics.

  • Jiu-Jitsu black belt — 15+ years

  • Former professional MMA fighter

  • Nine years of U.S. Army service; Army Combatives Instructor

  • Seminars at Rutgers and Stevens Institute

Chris adapts deep grappling experience into simple, practical skills for working door staff. The seminar teaches control that resolves to the escort — not combat.

Secure Guard philosophy: the objective is not to teach staff how to fight, but to recognize trouble early, control space, disengage, and walk the patron out — safely, on camera, every time.

Request a session

Bring Secure Guard to your venue. Tell us about your team and we'll set up a conversation about a session, or ask about our pilot program for NJ venues.

Phone: 201-923-0724 · Email: chris@defensivetacticsnj.com