Elvis Broke a Woman’s Ankle While Trying to Show Off His Karate Skills

Elvis Presley loved to show off his karate training whenever he could. He put on demonstrations for other celebrities, friends, and strangers after shows. During one post-show karate demonstration, Elvis accidentally broke a woman’s ankle. This caused problems for the musician and his entourage for months.

Elvis broke a woman’s ankle when trying to show off his karate

After a concert, Elvis invited several women up to his hotel suite to watch him show off his karate skills. When he did one move, a married woman asked him how he’d done it. In his demonstration, he accidentally broke the woman’s ankle.

Elvis’ bodyguards carefully led her from the room. According to the book Elvis: What Happened?, the woman later needed an operation to have a pin placed in her ankle. She initially wanted to keep the incident from her husband, not wanting him to know she was in Elvis’ suite, but she eventually told him.

This led to a blow up between Elvis and his bodyguards

A bit after this, Elvis and his bodyguard, Red West, got into a fight after a fan continuously threw her scarf onstage. Elvis wanted his bodyguard to have stopped her, but West thought Elvis should have stopped throwing the scarf. They reached a point of such heightened anger that Elvis pulled a gun on West. 

West was so angry that he considered standing up and going after Elvis. Instead, he told him information that everyone had been trying to keep from him. The husband of the woman whose ankle he broke was looking for him.

“I knew if I had got off that stool that would have been the end of my job and security for my family,” West said. “I thought, hell, let the crazy fool get it all out. Then I told him, ‘The husband is out here looking for you. We’ve been trying to keep him away. You know, the husband of the gal whose ankle you broke in a karate demonstration?'”

While Elvis initially began yelling for someone to bring the husband to him, cooler heads prevailed. In the end, the woman agreed not to sue and Elvis paid for her hospital bills. He also paid for her husband and his friends to see his show and stay in the hotel.

Elvis often did karate demonstrations for anyone who was around

Putting on karate demonstrations after performances became a part of Elvis’ routine. Liza Minnelli recalled seeing an Elvis show and going up to his suite afterward.

“We’re all just kind of sitting there, and [Elvis has] disappeared, so we’re kind of trying to chat,” she said on The Graham Norton Show. “Suddenly, the door flies open and I hear ‘Hi-yah!’ and he’s in the room in full dress.”

Minnelli was stunned when another man burst in from the other side of the room.

“We’re all going, ‘Gee, that’s… great. Do you do this every night?'” she said. “What do you say? I couldn’t believe it.”