Get Guards Gone Wild! @ Books Kinokuniya

Guards Gone Wild! is a collection of short stories about my adventures as a security guard. The abuse and scamming described in the book, incredible as they may sound, really happened.

If you wish to know more about the lives of security guards and support a local writer at the same time, you can purchase a copy of my book from Books Kinokuniya outlets in Singapore.

You can also place your order via their webstore.

Loh Teck Yong

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Knife, Truck And Security Guard

Earlier this year, I did an interview with the Long Kang Kitties, a podcast group based in Singapore. The following is the blurb written for the interview.

While some people view security guards as low class people not fit to socialise with, we at the LongKang hold no such illusions! This week we invite Loh Teck Yong, author of “Guards gone wild!” as a guest. The ex-security guard/wordsmith spills the beans on what it is REALLY like working in the security industry in Singapore, from getting threatened with a knife to being almost literally thrown under a truck, this old guard had plenty of stories to tell!

We also covered the new law that will penalises guards who fall asleep on the job. How will this affect the industry and more importantly, the already cash-strapped guards whose livelihoods are wholly dependent on their security licenses?

If you wish to listen to the podcast, you can visit the Long Kang Kitties’ soundcloud site.

Loh Teck Yong

* I grabbed the above image from the Long Kang Kitties’ Facebook page. It’s their work, not mine.

Help! I Need Ideas!

Singapore is having a literary festival next year. It’s called #BuySingLit. And there’s an open call for programmes. Interested parties have to submit their proposals by 23rd of this month.

The #BuySingLit festival is looking for programmes that say Singapore literature is engaging, interesting and representative of our cultural identity. The festival also wants to promote the message that Singapore writers and publishers and booksellers have an important role in bringing our stories to all.

Programmes may include but not limited to author talks, workshops, performances, panel discussions, book clubs, pop-up stores and cosplay etc. All programmes must be held in Singapore during one or both of the #BuySingLit weekends.

Now, I face 2 problems. Firstly, I don’t have anyone, not one single friend, to assist me so I can’t do anything big. An author talk maybe, but nothing like a workshop.

And secondly, my book is a non-fiction memoir about my work as a security guard. Unlike a YA fantasy novel or a children’s storybook, there isn’t room in a non-fiction memoir for dress-up games or puppet shows.

So I am stumped for ideas about what I can do for a programme. Feel free to share your ideas with me.

Loh Teck Yong

* I grabbed the above image from the Buy SingLit Facebook page.

 

Guest Review: The Art of Self Defense – bears a striking resemblance to a real life martial arts cult

FlixChatter Film Blog

GUEST REVIEW by Russell Johnson

Writer/Director: Riley Stearns
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots, David Zellner 

Synopsis: A man is attacked at random on the street. He enlists at a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious sensei, in an effort to learn how to defend himself.

I met Jesse Eisenberg when I was an extra on the film End of the Tour when it was filming in Minnesota along with Jason Segel and Joan Cusack. As an extra I was instructed not to approach him, or talk to him and especially don’t ask for a picture. I stood next to him. He smiled at me, shook his head and acknowledging me, said hello. That was the extent of us meeting. There are well founded reasons for this set etiquette and overzealous celebrity worshipping fans is just one of them. That is not me. Of course, most…

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Looking Back

We had a good run, my book and I.

September 2018

I received 500 copies of Guards Gone Wild! from the printers. When they were delivered to my flat, I felt a sense of nostalgic happiness like, I was a child again, receiving my Christmas present for the very first time.

Guards Gone Wild! is my book. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

October 2018

I managed to convince Select Books, a local distributor, to carry and help me get Guards Gone Wild! into the bookstores.

November 2018

Good news! Select Books informed me that both Times and Kinokuniya, 2 chain bookstores in Singapore, have agreed to retail my book in their stores!

And in this month, I also had my book reviewed for the very 1st time! And despite my worries, it turned out that the reviewer liked my book.

#SWFatSWFreviews 5:

I received a random email a few weeks back from Loh Teck Yong, security guard and self-published author, who wanted to mail SLS a copy of his new book. I thought, what could go wrong? and then last week, a 200 page soft cover volume popped up on my table.

I just read it! the book’s self published, the man honestly needs an editor to clean up some of the self-referentiality and order the nonfiction narrative a bit, and the tone is a teensy bit pompous and overwritten…

…but hey, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Guards Gone Wild is the security guard’s Kitchen Confidential – you’ll find out about the dank underbelly of guard agencies and condo / mall management, the intricacies of merry-go-rounding and WYSIWYG and the mysterious world of 24-hour guards. tales of rogue Operations Managers and dodgy church fundraisers and macho Old Guards speckle the episodes of this idiosyncratic creative nonfiction collection. Loh Teck Yong is a slightly less powderful Anthony Bourdain, if Bourdain was locked in a box with no aircon for 12 hours a day, 72 hours a week, and screamed at by rude Singaporeans all day long.

you can get this book from the author at guardsgonewild at Gmail dot com.

– Joshua Ip, 11 November 2018

Obituary Of A Book

I have heavy news to announce.

Last year, my book Guards Gone Wild! was accepted by 2 chain bookstores in Singapore. Namely, Times and Kinokuniya.

When I made that announcement, it was the proudest moment of my life as a writer.

Well, today, my distributor informed me that my book was removed from all Times outlets in Singapore.

The reason was due to low sales. They had to make way for new titles.

Now, my book is only available at Kinokuniya outlets. Of course, it could also get removed from their shelves if sales are bad.

Maybe I have come to the end of my journey as a writer.

Loh Teck Yong

Names For Martial Art Meetup Group

I am trying to gather like-minded martial artists for the purpose of collaborative training, and I need help coming up with a name for the meetup group. The name has to tell the public what the group is doing, without pretensions and false advertising.

And now, to help you guys with the brainstorming, let me list down the core beliefs of my meetup group.

• I move very slowly during training. I believe that performing techniques and drills very slowly is the best way to improve precision of one’s techniques.

• Precise punches are much faster and heavier than sloppy ones.

• During partner drills where one side throws a punch while the other side dodges, it’s very easy to develop sloppy posture and habits if you move fast. For example, novices have a tendency to dodge with a too-wide margin when they face incoming punches.

  I find that the best way to correct that bad habit is not to force the beginners to move faster but to make them go really slow, so that they can make sure that they are really dodging incoming punches by a really small margin (like an inch!).

• The number of reps you perform is more important, far more important, than how fast and hard you practice your techniques.

So taking into account the core beliefs I just mentioned and the fact that it’s going to serve the function of collaborative training, what do you think I should name this martial art meetup group?

Loh Teck Yong