A while back, I wrote about escapes and the problem I have with how they're being presented. I've come up with a way that I think makes escapes more interesting, and part of that is getting rid of anything that screams "magic trick" about them. I always hate when you see someone trying to escape from a car, a box, a building, a whatever, that suddenly goes wrong and lo and behold they're safe. That's a magic trick, not an escape.
Part of the presentation I'm working on is bringing the escapes out from behind a curtain and into full view. I think it becomes more interesting as a demonstration of skill than as something mystical. Now, that doesn't mean you actually need to have those skills in order to present it that way. Go ahead and use a gimmicked lock that you pretend to pick. I would rather do that in full view than just pull open the lock behind cover.
All that brings me around to the straitjacket I recently purchased. I've wanted one for years, literally over a decade. I could never bring myself to pull the trigger on one though. I finally ordered one because I decided to do an escape themed show for a festival and wanted to use the jacket as a closer. I always read that escaping from a regulation straitjacket isn't as hard as the audience thinks and I decided that, in the interest of realism, I would get the real jacket and do it the "right" way.
I'm an idiot.
While a regulation jacket isn't as hard as a lay audience believes, it certainly isn't easy, either. At least not for me. I'm a big guy, not necessarily "big" meaning "morbidly obese" but big and broad-shouldered. I get a lot of people asking what football position I played when they first meet me. I used to describe myself as more Penn than Teller, but then Penn lost a ton of weight and I can't use that anymore. I can't buy sport coats off the rack at most stores because putting my arms to the side will cause me to fat guy in a little coat. You get the idea.
I got the biggest Humane Restraint jacket I could get. It fits fine, but I have to be very careful about how tight the straps get pulled. Otherwise, I have a hell of a time pulling an arm out of the sleeve. I have gotten stuck before, several times, though thankfully none in actual performance (so far). I can get the arms over my head easily enough, it's just getting one arm out to undo the buckles that really kills me.
I also have an issue with the crotch strap. This is 100% on me for not researching further, but it has become an issue. When I picture a straitjacket, I picture a leather strap attached at the front with a buckle on the back, just like all the other straps on the jacket. What I got is a nylon strap that can be removed from the jacket entirely, threads from the back to the front and back under and clips in a friction buckle. In my experience, this is very difficult for a lay audience to understand. Even when I demonstrate how it clips before I'm put in the jacket, I still get people struggling to figure it out. It's kind of hard to point when your hands are bound and they're messing around by your ass.
Most importantly, nobody knows what a jacket is supposed to look like. I pattered about the canvas and the straps and how some people used fake jackets but this was 100% real and everyone took my word for it. I realized very quickly that nobody cares and they will believe what you say. I absolutely believe I could sell a gimmicked jacket as regulation and not get called on it.
All of this leads me to saying, I regret purchasing a real straitjacket. Given the opportunity to do it again, I would buy the gimmicked jacket in a heartbeat. From my research after the fact, I've found that some gimmicked jackets have larger arm holes to help facilitate slipping an arm out, they're made with softer canvas so you can manipulate the buckles through them, they include a way to get slack with the arms (not that I've had a problem with that, but I'd use the help if I had it), and they have a crotch strap more in line with what I had in mind. All of this would make it a lot easier when you do ten escapes in a day. It would also make me more confident in adding something to the escape, whether it's a time limit or chains or something to make it bigger. Right now, I honestly don't know that I can get out time after time so I make it more of a demonstration than a spectacular escape. It's not what it could be, and I know that.
I think it's a good think to know how to get out of a regulation jacket, but I also think doing it repeatedly is unnecessary work. After working it for one long day at the festival, my shoulder hurt and my thumb was rubbed raw from pulling my arm out. It's a lot of work for a couple minutes of applause. If I had to do it again, I would buy a gimmicked straitjacket. In fact, I may end up buying one in the future anyway.
If you are interested in getting a real straitjacket, I bought mine from Handcuff Warehouse. Their price was reasonable, their shipping was fast, and I have no complaints. I would order from them again in the future.
- Andster
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