Dennis Martin - "Working with Warriors"

World class Karateka, famous doorman, combat shooting practitioner and instructor, bodyguard, CQB expert… Over the years, Dennis “Den” Martin has become a highly respected authority in those different fields.

“Working with warriors” is, at the same time, his autobiography and a tribute to his life-long mates: Gary Spiers and Terry O’Neill.

Spiers and O’Neill, were both very talented karate players in their own right (O’Neill has been the captain of the fierce KUGB team who defeated Japan at the 1975 world championship), and their ability to KO almost every encounter with a single hit, naturally lead them to work the doors of Liverpool’s and UK’s most dangerous night-clubs.

Beyond this great friendship story, Dennis gives us a fascinating book, full of real life stories and written with his own hilarious English humour, that take us from the Liverpool of the swinging 60’s to South Africa, by way of Japan and United States.

This book is also a great insight on the ever so slandered and misunderstood job of a bouncer.
As a doorwork legend, “Den” has witnessed every changes of the job, from the “Ale Tank” era (as they were nicknamed by his friend Tommy Mac), to the rise of big security firms like Premier Security.

To every martial artist, this book is also the tale of a “classical” Karateka, who was able to stay lucid and honest about his art, and who, moreover, was able to adjust his training to the specific, and very demanding, requirements of his tasks.
What eventually, will take him from Shotokan to WWII Combatives, which he’s now considered as one of the world’s greatest specialist.

As you can guess, I’ve deeply enjoyed the read of “Working with warriors” and I can’t recommend it enough to all those who have an interest in real-life fighting.

Peace,

Rico.

P.S.: Every pics in this article are coming from Dennis Martin's website www.CQBServices.com with his kind authorization