The Art of the High Heel
August 6, 2007
Today’s entry started as my reply to a very mysterious comment posted by a person bravely named “anonymous” to my previous post about the Cosmopolitan article. It got kinda long, so I thought it deserved its own post. Here’s what our mystery friend (MF) writes:
MF: I don’t agree with you about high heels being great. Do you really think that if you’re attacked you’ll have time to take off your heel and use it as a weapon?
EW: That’s when you should politely ask Mr. Scary Bad Guy, “Excuse me, but may I have a moment while I slip off my shoe?” NOT. Let’s get real…a woman using a high heel as a weapon is in one of two situations: #1: she had advance prep time (saw a threat coming) or #2: she was knocked to the ground (and the shoe was accessible).
MF: Even if you could, a bad guy would see it coming plus heels bust off pretty easily upon impact and a high heel shoe doesn’t have much weight or mass or reach. You’d be better off surprising an attacker with a heavy purse or briefcase or laptop or a stick on the street.
EW: Really? Heels ‘bust off’ easily? Have you broken many heels on attackers? We’d love to hear your story. Cuz frankly, the heels we used in our full contract training program were smacked against walls, cement and body armor. And guess what? They’re still kickin’… (I couldn’t resist the pun.) I agree using a heavy purse, briefcase, laptop or stick would work great too. But you work with what you got in these situations…and you may or may not have any of these items to choose from.
MF: If you want to learn about improvised weapons do a google search or go to a martial arts forum where these topics are intelligently discussed.
EW: Are we not having an intelligent discussion? Oh wait, we can’t discuss because you left an anonymous comment post on my blog, therefore closing all doors for an respectful exchange.
On a final note, I offer the idea of using a high heel as a weapon to counteract the all-too-popular safety advice that women should never wear high heels at all! I believe a woman should wear whatever she wants, but be prepared to react in violent confrontations while wearing those outfits. At the end of the day, you don’t get the option to pick your outfit for a fight. Hey sister - use what you got to your advantage…and walk proudly (and safely) in those stilettos should you choose to do so!
Comments
4 Responses to “The Art of the High Heel”
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Go ‘head, Gourl! Great response. I’d rather fight off an attacker with a stiletto than a flip flop any day!
If you want some really good tips for improvised weapons, watch a Cynthia Rothrock film. She uses everything from freezer doors to trash can lids.
The important thing is to use your mind and improvise to stay alive. Anything can be a weapon if you hit someone in the right place!
Ms. Weed,
You left out THE crucial opening line of my post so kindly let me restate:
In you inital post when asked how you felt about wearing heels, you remarked, “Seriously, can you think of a better improvised weapon?”
My response was: YES I CAN think of better improvised weapons. That’s how my comment began leading into a sampling of items that would be superior. I never said they’d always be avaialable just that there ARE better improvised weapons.
I also took “improvised weapon” to mean something hand held. Of course if kicking is your primary defense you fight with what you’ve got on- agreed. (Although I assure you, boots of all pedigree are far superior.) But in the grand scheme of “best” tools heels should not be at the top of anyone’s list. You have to get in close, they’re far more unwieldy than something classically stick like or that can be slammed or even smaller items that can be driven into a target in close range assault.
LOL.. As a dude, no, I’ve never had one break off in a fight but I do know that can happen.
By “intelligent discussion” I mean by people with actual experience in these matters who can discuss the pros and cons of various improvised weapons and not issue unsubstantiated statements or misinformation.
Thanks for clarifying, Anonymous. You’re a cool dude.