"They say the easiest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I find though the ribcage is much easier. As someone who seduces men to their doom, I should know. I mean honestly. Try stabbing a man's heart through his stomach. He'd have to be a giant or you would have to be on the floor. Sure you can also just kill them by stabbing them in the stomach but that takes longer and isn't as satisfying. So take your blade of choice and stab through the ribcage in an upwards motion. If you are worried about not having enough force behind your thrust, grab their shoulder and pull them at the same time you stab. This will change your blade's trajectory so adjust as needed but it will also serve to unbalance the man and he will find it harder to dodge or retaliate. This technique is especially useful if you are using any form or version of the seduction technique I taught last week. I'm sure you can think of multiple stages during the process, particularly when you are closer to your victim, where grabbing their shoulder would be easy and not raise suspicion. However, remember the warning I gave you all last week when approaching "the end" of your seduction process the victim will be more trusting and vulnerable (particularly when undressed) but he will also be more physically aware and his emotions will be raised and if your first strike is none fatal, it probably will be fatal for you.

Now someone asked me in one of the tutorials what kind of weapons are best. If you look at the syllabus you will see we will do a whole week on this and I'll cover all weapons not just blades and the different scenarios they work better in. However, because I know assessments are coming up and some of you wish to start on them early I will answer the question as simply as I can. In almost every situation I use either a stiletto, dirk or cinquedea. Anything you can hide on your person easily and long enough to puncture major organs is best. Unless you plan to be slicing your victim's throat then stabbing blades are preferred. As for simple weapons such as kitchen knives I never use them. They only time would be when you have lost your principal weapon and are scrambling to find another, in which case other blunt weapons and larger blades are more likely to be found and are more useful. However, in a pinch, anything is better than nothing. Improvised weapons you are likely to find and are most useful I would recommend your victim's sword. If you follow my tips for seduction then the man will not have it on him but it is likely to be lying somewhere in the bedroom, getting hold of it before he does is essential, nothing you will find is likely to be successful if he has his sword, he is almost certainly stronger, faster and better trained than any of you, even me. If you were successful in removing the sword entirely from the picture (remember this is both a greater assurance of safety and a greater risk of failure) then other useful weapons for killing will be sconces, fire pokers, ceremonial weapons on the wall and finally sheets, curtains and cords(strangeling takes both time and great strength but is surprisingly satisfying.) If you are simply trying to escape a failed attempt alive then anything and everything becomes a weapon and speed your greatest ally. I have used mirrors, tapestries, books, my dress, pitchers, plates and a handful of burning ashes to escape a number of failures. Remember that while your body is useful in a while up close, 9 times out of 10 you will lose and your main objective should be to escape close contact. So bite and scratch to escape is grasp and then run. I will teach more on the order of escape but briefly it is wound and surprise, run, delay and find a weapon. You wound and surprise them with something to escape close contact, you run, delay them by throwing anything and everything as you run and find any permanent weapon you can but never stop running. Even if you find a sword or a bow or something you are trained to use, keep running, don't try and win a fight against him. This is also why home turf is such an important part of the seduction method. Even if you aren't somewhere you are more familiar than he is, you should still know a fast and clear way of escape. Now does anyone have any questions about that or on the proper methods to stab a man?"

"Yes, you in the very appropriately inappropriate red dress?"

"Ah-huh. Right. Okay. So for those of you who didn't hear, she asked whether it was better to take a one-and-done stab or if a frenzied stabbing spree was better. She did also add that she thinks she knows my answer and I expect you is right. One and done is far better. It's faster, more efficient, cleaner and less dangerous for you. It is okay to take a second or third stab if you feel the first few aren't going to cut it. It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't stabbed someone before but you can tell when the first stab will be enough or if you'll need a second. A frenzied spree is never the way to go. Not only is it messy and more time-consuming, but it's also far more dangerous. The man will have an opportunity to attack you, he could move and cause a lot of your stabs to miss, he'll have time to call out and most importantly you lose the element of surprise after that first strike so best make the first one worth it. Not only that but a frenzied spree is often a sign of passion and lack of control. As I explained passion of often risky but sometimes your victim is such an asshole you can't help but long for his demise. However, the passions of jealousy, spurned love and other romantically entangled passions are to be avoided. They cause a severe lack of control and cloud your judgement, usually leading to your demise. While we are using passion to make our victims vulnerable it is imperative that we remain as passionless as possible during the process. So isn't entirely that stabbing randomly and quickly isn't a problem, although it is, it's that it's a sign that you have lost control, probably haven't thought everything through and are likely to meet your end. So be careful whenever you feel the desire to attack ruthlessly. Any other questions?"

"No. Wonderful. That concludes this lecture, I will see you all in tutorials throughout the week. Please read continue to read 'The Fashionable Lady's guide to Conciled Weapons'