Steel toe boots? Any good applications?

[cracked butt]

While driving to work today I realized that about 90% of the time I wear steel toe boots. I wear them at work, and when I'm off work, I tend to favor my steel toe doc martins as I'm usually doing construction work around my house or at my cabin.

ANyone know of any good self defense use for the boots? I would think that they would be pretty effective against knees and shins as the boots have alot of mass and would seem to be easy to snap a quick instep type kick to a low area. Protection of the toes and tarsals seems to be a good sd thing to have- not as much worry about getting your feet boken with a stomp. I wear sandals alot in summer and feel kind of vulnerable wearing them, but that's just me. What do you think?

 

[TallPine]

What do you think?

Don't bring a boot to a gun fight.

 

[DigMe]

Or don't bring a regular boot to a steel-toe boot fight.

I guess that steel toes would be the most effective in doing some lower leg damage. The only issue would be weight and getting your kick off fast enough with all that weight. I have some because it's always good to have a pair around when you need 'em for a potentially toe-crushing job. I rarely wear them though and like you I wear flip-flops more than anything. I've always been a shorts and flip-flops kinda guy. Not really willing to give that up.

brad cook

 

[bbrins]

Steel toes to the shins, if a hard enough kick will at least drop you to your knees. Trust me, when I used to work in a warehouse a buddy of mine said something he shouldn't have to a female worker and she turned around and kicked the wrong person in the shin for it! It has been 7 or 8 years since then and once in a while if I bump it a little bit in that spot, I have a God awful pain shoot up my leg.

On the issue of overcoming the weight, if you are like me (all of my shoes have steel toe) and wear them a lot, you don't even notice.

 

[R.H. Lee]

They might prove useful when drawing your Glock from the two o-clock position

 

[GigaBuist]

They might prove useful when drawing your Glock from the two o-clock position

Nahhh... we can't get the Glocks in .380 due to import regulations!

 

[Soap]

There are a number of applications:

-It can protect you from some kinds of stomps.
-Most steel toe boots also have thick soles, you can use Fairbairn's boot technique with the heavy sole.
-Whenever you drive the person down, give them a boot party until they stop being a threat.
-A kick to the shin is okay but it relies on an amount of precision to be effective. This level of precision may not be possible in a confrontation.

 

[Skofnung]

I've seen what a pair can do to someone. Lets just say that it was not pretty.

Yhea, they are a good SD option if you are good with your feet.

I have a pair that I use when I am working with heavy stuff (felling trees, working with tractors, ect...) and I used to wear them to school and around town every now and then. I never used them on anyone personally, but man... They do add power to your kicks.

 

[sanchezero]

Steel toe boots? Any good applications?

Maybe, uh, kicking people?

 

[entropy]

Steel toed sneakers are an excellent summer/casual option. And yes, they do make them. The best weapon is the mind. Steel toed boots are another tool that can be used.

 

[Eskimo Jim]

Cracked,
I believe that steel toed boots would work best when they are on your feet.

However, I'm sure that you are well aware of this already.

I'd say trip up the perp and then tap dance on 'em with the boots but then again, in most states, hitting someone with a 'shod foot' is assault and battery with a dangerouse weapon and intent to kill. That's the legal rumor I've heard for years. YMMV

-Jim

 

[Bopleo]

Steel toe boots or meet my dentist Dr. Martin.

 

[Ozendorph]

"in most states, hitting someone with a 'shod foot' is assault and battery with a dangerouse weapon and intent to kill. That's the legal rumor I've heard for years. YMMV"

I don't think there's anything on the books like that here (CA). Really, it always comes down to proving self defense and reasonable use of force. In a clear SD situation, no jury is going to fault you for kicking someone's shin, regardless of your footwear. However, kicking a fallen opponent in the head is going to be viewed as a rather extreme act in most circumstances.

Just to throw in a bit of advice, always keep your kicks low (stomach-hight being the absolute highest target). The higher the kick, the more distance for your foot to traverse, and the greater the likelyhood your kick will miss its target or be intercepted. If you mean to attack the shin/foot/knee area with a steel-toed boot, keep the opponent's attention upstairs by grabbing the upper body or feinting a punch. Also, don't expect the bg to go down in a heap when your kick connects...adrenaline is a powerful thing. Always follow up your strikes until you're able to safely disengage or subdue (depending on situation).

 

[Foreign Devil]

The toe sounds like a small striking surface and hard to aim, shouldn't you use the side of your foot instead?

 

[Ozendorph]

"The toe sounds like a small striking surface and hard to aim, shouldn't you use the side of your foot instead?"

You could, but the effect is different. The toe area, being a smaller surface (and, in this case, covered with a steel plate) is going to cause more damage and pain than any other striking surface of the foot (save perhaps the heel).

A shin-height kick can't really make use of the ball of the foot, as you might with a higher kick (say, to the solarplexus). You could use the instep/shin with a thai roundhouse-type kick, but unless you really have that attack trained it's not a natural motion and isn't going to penetrate like a steel-reinforced toe punt.

The inside edge and outer (blade) edge of the foot are better IMO for trapping or uprooting techniques. The intended effect there is (normally) to unbalance or otherwise hamper the mobility of the opponent, typically as a setup for another attack. We do that a lot in bagua (kobu and baibu kicking).

In some styles the side of the foot is used for crescent kicks, which take a bit of training to do with significant speed and force, but can be an effective knockout strike for sure.

 

[Vermonter]

I've heard that a kick to the head is considered attack with a deadly weapon.

And remember once they're down you're supposed to run in most states. Unless defending others. Women could probably get away with most anything as well

 

[Ozendorph]

I think the "kick to the head" law is in the same book with the "boxers and blackbelts have to be registered as deadly weapons" laws.

I can't speak for everywhere, some states have some very odd laws, but 99% of the time it's going to come down to whether you used excessive force. Here in CA it's VERY easy to get sued and possibly even jailed for defending youself even in your own home. What constitutes "excessive force" can vary tremendously, depending on circumstances and the squeemishness of the jury.

I always tell people not to keep a knife or other cutting weapon for home defense for just that reason. When a jury sees photos of stab wounds or some jerk's arterial spray on the walls of your hallway, they may easily be persuaded to believe you acted in an overly violent/bloodthirsty manner, regardless of the threat to your life and the lives of your family. Personally, I keep a nice, handy baton around...kinda hard to characterize a weapon used by nearly every police department in the U.S. as somehow sinister.

 

[fjolnirsson]

Personally, I keep a nice, handy baton around...kinda hard to characterize a weapon used by nearly every police department in the U.S. as somehow sinister.

Just a word of advice.
Unless you're LEO, batons are illegal here in CA. Posession, even in your own home, is a felony.

 

[Ozendorph]

"Just a word of advice.
Unless you're LEO, batons are illegal here in CA. Posession, even in your own home, is a felony."

That's a new one on me. I use a baton for MA training all the time, and so do most of the kung fu folks I know (a couple of which are former sheriffs).

Are you talking about a particular type or something? I know collapsable batons are illegal here (as are brass knuckles, or just about anything else you could reasonably conceal on your person to protect yourself).

I'll have to look that one up...seems funny to me that owning a baton would be a felony, while owning a high-carbon scimitar is just fine.

 

[fjolnirsson]

Well, it could be that my academy instructor was confused, and meant collapsible batons. However, as I understand it, certain prohibited weapons have exemptions for martial artists, with the provision that they be used for training or exhibition only, and can only be carried en route to such. I'll double check my penal code and get back to you, but IIRC, they fall under section 12020 of the CA penal code. I beleive they're described there as "billy" clubs.
I used to have a friend who was arrested on that charge, as they found the baton during a search of his apartment where his roommate had some drugs. I don't recall, though, if the charges were dropped, or what happened with them...

I'll have to look that one up...seems funny to me that owning a baton would be a felony, while owning a high-carbon scimitar is just fine.

Yeah, I hear ya. CA laws make no sense. I mean, if you have a ccw, the state considers you stable enough to carry a loaded gun just about anywhere, but you still can't possess a Leatherman on school grounds.
Along the same lines, a high carbon scimitar is legal, while a switchblade or butterfly knife with a 4 inch blade is a felony.

 

[Ozendorph]

I scanned over 12020 last night, but I didn't see anything that indicated merely owning a baton was a crime, but I easily could've missed something in all that mumbo-jumbo (I'm one of seven or eight Californians that hasn't passed the state bar exam).

I imagine the police would be quick to grab any weapons in conjunction with a drug bust, as the two elements combine to equal a rather lengthy sentence for the guilty party.

I agree, the concealed weapons laws here are nuts. We've got a state full of people packing rape-whistles...I'm not sure what else we can do to make criminals feel more comfortable.

 

[Camel]

Steel toe boots? Any good applications?

Apply to shins, apply to knees, apply to groin. Work your way up from there

 

[target4fun]

In high school a friend and i were walking to the bus stop when a guy started making racial slurs to us, and we told him to leave us alone and then he wanted to fight then my friend Kicked him in the mouth (with his steel toe boots), It threw him on his @sss to say the least, and the fight was over, guess he just picked the wrong white boy to pick on...