Beyond combat moves, bodyguards for the rich pick up digital skills

At Genghis Security Academy in Tianjin, students training to be bodyguards learn that the threats to China's newly rich in the technological age are more likely to emerge from a hacker than a gunman. Digital defences are given equal pegging to tradit
At Genghis Security Academy in Tianjin, students training to be bodyguards learn that the threats to China's newly rich in the technological age are more likely to emerge from a hacker than a gunman. Digital defences are given equal pegging to traditional close-protection skills like combat. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
At Genghis Security Academy in Tianjin, students training to be bodyguards learn that the threats to China's newly rich in the technological age are more likely to emerge from a hacker than a gunman. Digital defences are given equal pegging to tradit
At Genghis Security Academy in Tianjin, students training to be bodyguards learn that the threats to China's newly rich in the technological age are more likely to emerge from a hacker than a gunman. Digital defences are given equal pegging to traditional close-protection skills like combat. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

TIANJIN • At the Genghis Security Academy, which bills itself as China's only dedicated bodyguard school, students learn that the threats to the country's newly rich in the technological age are more likely to emerge from a hacker than a gunman.

Each day, students in matching black business suits toil from dawn to midnight at the school in the eastern city of Tianjin, where digital defences are given equal pegging to the traditional close-protection skill set of combat, weapons training and high-speed driving.

Around a thousand graduate each year, hoping to land jobs as guards to China's burgeoning ranks of the rich and famous, positions which can be worth up to US$70,000 (S$95,000) - several times more than an annual office wage.

But the school says it cannot meet demand as China's rapid growth mints millionaires - 4.4 million according to a Credit Suisse 2019 report, more than in the United States.

The course fees are up to US$3,000 a student, and while they had to cancel training between February and June because of the coronavirus pandemic, demand has not dampened.

Only the best make the cut, said founder Chen Yongqing, insisting that his disciplinary standards are stricter than those in the army.

"I'm quick-tempered and very demanding," the army veteran from China's northern Inner Mongolia region told Agence France-Presse. "Only by being strict can we cultivate every good sword. If you don't forge it well, it will break itself."

About half of the students are former military men, Mr Chen said.

They train in rows in a large, shabby sports hall, holding blue plastic guns ahead of them with a steady stare - before practising hustling their clients safely into a black Audi with smashed windows.

Mobile phones are confiscated throughout, while meals are taken in silence in a large dining hall presided over by pictures of acclaimed graduates, who have protected everyone from China's second-richest man Jack Ma to visiting French presidents.

In one class, students in pairs work through a scenario protecting a "client" from an intruder. "Danger!" shouted instructor Ji Pengfei, prompting one guard to quickly throw the "boss" behind them and pull out a gun in the same move.

Those who fail to do it in two seconds are assigned 50 push-ups.

But in a highly surveilled country with a low rate of street crime, the modern minder needs an up-to-date skill set, against state monitoring or professional hackers.

"Chinese bosses don't need you to fight," Mr Chen told his students, referring to a client base which includes the country's biggest real estate and tech firms.

Repelling hacks on cellphones and network security, spotting eavesdroppers and wiping data are all required tools in the bodyguard's armoury. "What would you do if the boss wants to destroy a video file immediately?" Mr Chen asked a class.

Even so, old-school threats still exist in China. Earlier this year, billionaire He Xiangjian, founder of electrical appliance manufacturer Midea and one of the country's richest men, was kidnapped at home.

He reportedly escaped by jumping into a river and was able to call the police, who said they arrested five suspects at the scene.

Student Zhu Peipei, a 33-year-old army veteran from northern Shanxi province, hopes becoming a bodyguard could offset his lack of professional skills or academic qualifications. "And of course, it's cool," he added.

Students must also navigate the quirks of their wealthy clients, said Mr Ji. Some trust only bodyguards whose Chinese zodiac sign matches theirs, he explained, while one, from a Fortune 500 company, wanted to hire only from his home town.

The best candidates can command as much as 500,000 yuan (S$101,500) a year inside China, but some set their sights on a posting overseas, potentially working with foreign clients.

"I want to work in the Philippines or Myanmar," one student said, requesting anonymity. "Then I can carry a gun... it will be more challenging and I can earn more."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 21, 2020, with the headline Beyond combat moves, bodyguards for the rich pick up digital skills. Subscribe