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I don't mean to be rude, but I'm really glad that I never had any of you, or a GG for that matter, teach me how to walk in heels.
Because I had no one to teach me, I taught myself. I did fall on my butt once. But after that it only took me about fifteen minutes to *master* it. Walking, climbing or descending stairs (ladders, too - do not go on the roof in heels - no, I never did, I'm just saying ... ;-).
And running. I can run nealy two klicks in about eleven minutes in runing sneakers without breathing very hard. (Yeah I know, ten kph is no big deal - I'm not trying to set a record, I just want to stay in shape.)
In 100 mm FMPs it takes me about a minute longer. Watch out - running fast (or slow for that matter) on carpet is DANGEROUS. Of course it takes me about another ten minutes to clean up the heel scuf marks on the tile ...
After finding this site and reading some stories where the hero/heroine has her first encounter with heels, and her friend/mentor tells her how to walk in them, I found myself chuckling and shaking my head in puzzlement. Then, I went out to the Net and Googled 'how to walk in high heels'. Hundreds of millions of hits. (Holy sh ...) A lot of them with video.
And they all said about the same thing that you guys said.
'Short steps, heel first, then toe, and practice for at least several days. Eventually, you will get it.'
So ... how did I do it in fifteen minutes? Can THAT many people be wrong? What kind of an arogant bitch am I, anyway?
???
T
PS - Think of it as a receipe that everyone uses. And I have found an extra ingredient that makes it better.
PPS - I can also teach your child how to ride a bike without training wheels in fifteen minutes.
PPPS- And I can teach any one how to drive a stick shift in fifteen minutes.
it's all about a missing ingredient in the recipie ...
Walking
Walking in heels is one thing. Walking well is another thing entirely.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
I agree
100 percent. The thing is ... how do you get started?
After I read some of the stories here, and watched a lot of those vidoes, I put my heels back on and paid attention to what I was actually doing.
Short steps, heel first, then toe. Just like every one says.
But that was not how I learned. I mean, taught myself. For the first fifteen minutes.
T
Lol
I never had anyone teach me either and had no problem at all with doing so. Just had to be really careful at first then careful about where I walked. I don't recommend wearing heels on soft ground for one thing. *grin*
Maggie
I wonder why people want to
wear heels with their tendency to cause leg problems.
May Your Light Forever Shine
Hi Stanman!
You are the proverbial 'man of few words'. I smile big every time I see one of your (very short) replies.
I guess I must be at least two sigmas off on the standard deviation. I can run a mile in 100 mm (4 inch) stilletos and not have any real problems. It's fun.
T
Heels
The other major factor is whether you place your feet in a single straight line or if you make separate lines with your left and right feet.
And the next big challenge is stairs. They feel steeper when you descend in heels.
Stairs
Can be a challenge if your feet are at the large end of the range.
Going down I have to put my feet diagonally on the step. If I don't the toe part will be off the step completely.
Coming up is just as much fun. Again, feet go on the steps diagonally or the heels will be off the step.
Now try doing that in a pencil skirt while holding a tray full of bedtime drinks...
Penny
I learned to walk in heels at nine years of age
I was nine when I got the feminine bug and began to "borrow" my sisters clothes. I taught myself to put on a bra, (put it on backwards and slide it around then slip arms in the straps)put on seamed stocking and get the seams straight, and walk in heels, all without instruction. My ankles wobbled a bit until I learned to set my ankle before putting my weight on that foot. I'd say that I became proficient in an hour or less. I didn't have much more than that much time to "borrow" my sister's thing before she got home. I don't remember any problem walking in heels the second time I tried.
Learning to become comfortable walking in heels does take a little time. That is comfortable enough to do it without thinking about it. However even that was accomplished with in a month of having two to three hours a week to dress up and not all of that time was spent walking in heels.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Heel walking
I'm so glad you posted this.
When I was a little boy, we used to have 'games' sessions in the gym at school, and one of the games we would play was to try to sneak around a blindfolded kid to get some target thingy he was 'guarding'. This taught us all to walk about on tip-toes.
I found the first time I put on heels, it was the same, except I had some support if I balanced backwards a bit. I started on 3 inch heels and it took me maybe 15 seconds to walk around. Maybe 15 minutes to be doing it gracefully.
It has also always surprised me at the (written) difficulties that people have getting used to them.
Nowadays, of course, it surprises me at the pains in my poor tortured feet.
Love and hugs and all that good stuff
Di.
I knew
that I couldn't be the only one to have seen this.
We all know that you have to put all your weight on your toes going up or down the stairs. And if you have ever tried to run in heels you figure out quickly that you have to put all your weight on your toes to do that also.
Walking is different. To look good (feminine, sexy, graceful) the consensus of all those videos is that you need to take small steps and put your heel on the floor before you put your toe on the floor. So that is what we are taught to do. But to avoid twisting an ankle or falling you still need to keep most of your weight on your toe, and for some reason that 'missing ingredient' is always left out of the recipe.
At least, so far I've not seen a video or a story mention it while teaching how to walk.
When learning to walk, force yourself to lift the heel completely off the floor and keep all your weight on your toes for a few minutes. It does not look graceful, but you will feel stable and confident. And, walking on your toes like that naturally forces you to take very short steps.
You can't keep doing that for long of course, because it takes a lot of energy and strength. Soon you will tire and your heels will begin touching the floor, and a small part of your weight will go to them. It is amazing how little weight has to shift back to the heel to feel a lot better. Each person will have to learn how much weight they can safely shift back like that. Just take your time and be careful.
Within about ten or fifteen minutes your heel will in fact start touching the floor before your toe does, but you should still be putting most of your weight on your toe. Your step size, while still short, will get longer as well. Now you can work on 'the look'.
Probably the only time it is 'safe' to put a lot of weight on your heel is when you are standing still. And even then it is a good idea to be holding on to something. I have in fact fallen on my butt once or twice while just standing.
T
Watch and learn
Find some fashion shows on the catwalk and watch the models walking. It tends to be a bit exaggerated, but it works just fine if toned down. Or not toned down, whatever works for you!
Some of the models might look a bit off, but that is because the shoe isn't the right size, a common occurrence at fashion shoes. You have to fit what they brought, and if you aren't in the 99 percentile, you have to make them work.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
I agree... with a caveat.
Most GG's learn about high heels from their Moms Sisters, and friends. Most guys learn nothing about them except how great they make the girls legs look. The reason you see males in movies, trying to impersonate females, having trouble walking in high heels is because it increases the "humor" content, not because they can't learn to do it.
Anyone with a decent sense of balance can learn how to walk in heels in a relatively short space of time. The more difficult thing is learning how to do it and look graceful/feminine while doing it. Additionally there is the "feeling comfortable/ not fatigued or muscle sore" factor. Most women learn by doing over a relatively extended amount of time that their feet DO tend to hurt, sometimes quite a lot... so they learn tricks to rest their feet out of heels or resting with no weight on them.
With experience and instruction, all of the tricks can be learned, but as we all know, wearing high heels over extended periods of time, can stretch the tendons in the front of the leg and shorten the ones in the back of the leg. This has an effect on the way one walks OUT of heels and can, over time, make it difficult or even painful to walk in flat heeled shoes. Most women who work in places where heels are almost mandatory, or expected to be worn, carry their heels to and from work, or keep them in their desk drawers, wearing flats to and from work.
Then too, lets; not forget the way men and women walk. Men stride with feet apart, women keep their feet closer together. Men place their weight on the flat, or heel of their foot, very heavily, carrying their weight, or balancing if you will, forward of their body mass, which is mostly higher than that of women. Women tend to place their weight a bit backward from their center of their body weight and walk more lightly, maybe simply because women, as a whole, weigh less then men and their center of mass is lower. Men lead their walk with their shoulders, women lead with their hips.
I had no real problems learning how to walk in heels, but learning to get used to them and wear them for any extended amount of time, took a long time, since I couldn't walk/practice in them for more than a few minutes a day. Once I began "dressing" for extended periods of time, walking in heels became easier, but because of my weight, over 200 pounds, it's still painful to wear them for more than an hour or two without resting my feet. As for running in them? Heh... let;s just say, running is not something I do unless my life is in danger.
These are MY opinions, observations and experiences. I'm certain everyone else's mileage will vary.
Hugs and love,
Catherine Linda MIchel
As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script.
*shrugs*
I never had any issue with heels. Partially it's a balance thing. Partially it's how strong your ankles are. Last summer - out shopping for shoes to wear to work (with my family) post transition, on a lark I tried on some lovely blue heels (5" /12.5 cm)... They fit well, and walking was not a problem (much to my older daughter's surprise!). That said, I found it not so comfortable to walk in them (my lower leg muscles were constantly tightening). And, when I took them off - after no more than 5 minutes, it felt funny walking with no shoes. On the other hand, I can go back and forth between flats/sneakers (or Trainers as our UK friends might put it) and pumps/boots with 2 or 3 inch heels (5-8cm) with no noticeable issues.
That all said, both of my daughters had issues the first time they wore heels over about 2 inches... And, my wife wouldn't even consider putting on - much less walking in heels over 3 inches today (Though, 30 years ago she did wear 3 inch heels on a regular basis).
So, it depends on the person... and how they walk. And, don't bet GGs have someone to teach them... My wife was out of heels by the time the older daughter started, and her little sister learned on her own as well.
Food for thought.
Annette
heel first?
I always laugh at that one, for myself, every step, in any shoe, with heels or not, the ball of my foot is the first to touch the ground, my heels only kiss it lightly.
and my own balance is very high, to the point I have gotten nicknamed catman/woman.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
I still remember a Simpsons episode
I still remember a Simpsons episode, where Bart taught Lisa how to walk in heels. I think I was 7 or so, and it cracked me up at the time that a boy had to teach a girl how to do it.
Then I got a little older (14) and tried it for myself. It wasn't so easy. Luckily nobody was there to laugh at me, and by then there were Youtube videos of actual women demonstrating it. I picked my favorite, and tried to emulate her. It took a little over an hour, but I got to where I was satisfied with myself.
Though I learned the old tried and true technique back then, it wasn't until 19, when I actually had to go out in them, that I really learned. Learning to walk down a hallway is vastly different than walking down an uneven sidewalk, or up stairs, or on wet tile (don't ask). I don't wear heels a lot, but I've at least grown confident slipping some on for a night out. And I would definitely say the early technique helped with this, but application is far better.
~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.