Dear Fairy Princess,

The time may come when you have to throw a punch. These are a few quick tips I received from Drag Queens when I worked in Chelsea early in my younger Princess days –

(a)   don’t tuck your thumb under your other fingers when you make a fist – it will break when you make contact with the target. Stilettos can be used as a weapon, especially the skinny steel reinforced ones. If you are wearing long boots, you can put a steel nail file in there and it works pretty well in a pinch for a variety of reasons.

(b)  Many times a Bully will walk away as long as you do not back down – try acting a little ‘too’ crazy – people are scared of the crazy, use it. Look up Gay History – who started the Gay Rights movement? Drag Queens at a bar called Stonewall who were tired of being messed with. Go batshit crazy if threatened, it works.

(c)   If you have to run away – and that is usually the best policy if you are outnumbered or in a remote area –  take off your heels to do it. If you run in heels, they’ll catch you and that’s too late to use the stiletto as a defensive weapon. With boots, leave them on, that’s why you have the nail file tucked inside, so you can reach down and grab it.

In my opinion – and it’s my blog, so it’s all my opinion – every Fairy Princess should know how to defend herself physically, and so here is a small tutorial from my pals, Diana Lee Inosanto and Ron Balicki – both amazing Martial Artists who I worked with on the feature film, The Sensei (which is about Gay Bullying and Self-Defense)