Domination & Submission: The BDSM Relationship Handbook (29 page)

The bullwhip is the type of whip that most people
associate with
Indiana Jones. 
The handle is generally short and
integrated by braiding into the lash, which can be up to twenty feet
long.  At the end of the lash, you may also have a small strip of leather
that serves as the
fall
, or business end of the whip.  The
fall
is
the part of the whip that is expected to actually strike the target. 
There may also be a small strip of cord or string called a
cracker or popper
,
which is designed solely for the purpose of making it easier to produce the
whip crack sound.  The bullwhip is probably one of the
best-known
and iconic types of single-tail whip, but it is also one of the most difficult
to learn to use effectively and accurately.

A snake whip is a whip with no rigid handle, which
means the entire whip can be coiled up like a snake, hence the name.  The
most commonly used type of snake whip in the BDSM culture is the blacksnake
whip, which is characterized by a heavy weighted handle or butt-end of the whip
filled with lead ball shot or ball bearings.  The weighted interior can
sometimes extend as far as three-quarters down the length of the entire
whip.  Because of the weighted butt of the whip, that end can also be used
as a blackjack or flexible club. 

Purchasing a quality whip can be a daunting task for
anyone who may be doing so for the first time.  Novices are usually
advised to start with a four or five-foot bullwhip, and plan to move to a
longer one once their skills improve. 

The advantages to starting with a shorter whip
include lower cost, greater throw control and accuracy, it’s less fatiguing to
use during practice, and it requires less clearance space to use it
safely.  The skills and techniques that you perfect with a shorter whip
can easily be applied to a longer whip later on. 

Like any other leather implements, whips can vary
widely in quality and workmanship.  Beware of purchasing certain cheap
imitation
whips that are produced primarily in Mexico for the
tourist trade.
 
Many of them may
look
pretty
bad-ass
, but they are produced for
decorative
purposes only,
and will likely not
work
like the real thing, nor
last
much beyond their first use.  If it’s being sold out of a souvenir store, that
should be your first clue that it’s just
tourist junk
.  To purchase
a
quality
whip, consider online specialty retailers that cater to those
in the BDSM lifestyle and are
reputable.
  A decent four-foot
bullwhip will set you back $100 to $300.

The safety considerations related to the use of
whips are similar to the ones previously discussed for floggers and paddles,
with a few additional ones that are unique to single-tail whips.  The
longer the whip is, the less accurate it is going to be.  That means you’re
going to strike places that you didn’t intend to strike, which can be far more
problematic with a whip than it would be with a flogger or paddle.  You
should never forget a whip makes a cracking sound
because its tip is
breaking the sound barrier.
 When something moving
that fast
hits a person where it shouldn’t,
bad things can happen. 
A whip is
capable of producing more than just a
painful impact;
it can sometimes
cut
like a knife.

If you are learning to use a single tail whip, I
recommend that you wear safety glasses or goggles, a wide brim hat, and a
long-sleeve shirt.  You
will
end up striking
yourself,
probably more than a few times.  If you protect nothing else,
protect
your eyes. 
Being struck in the eye by a piece of leather traveling in
excess of 340 mph
will blind you. 

You should also be mindful of any small, loose
objects which may be lying about anywhere within the reach of the tip of your
whip.  A piece of gravel or any other small object can instantly be
transformed into a dangerous projectile if it is struck by the fall of your
whip. 

A fast-moving whip can cause a lot of damage if
you’re not careful.  While practicing, always clear a circle around you
with a radius equal to the length of your whip
and then some
, and
remember that you’ll need the same amount of clearance
over your head, as
well. 
Forgetting to extend that safety zone
vertically
as well
as horizontally can result in damage to ceilings or overhead light fixtures.

While you are still working on perfecting your
skills, try to resist the temptation to make a
real live person
your
target or, for that matter, placing
anyone
anywhere
near
your
targets.  Even after your accuracy has greatly improved, you may still
want to have your partner wear eye protection and other protective clothing as
appropriate until you can guarantee that an errant throw isn’t going to take
out an eye.

Crops

Crops, which are sometimes referred to as riding
crops or horse whips, typically consist of a long, slender and flexible shaft
which is thicker and reinforced at one end to form a handle and has, at the
other end, a tongue of leather, neoprene or cord called the
keeper. 
The
traditional shape of the keeper can be a square, rectangle, circle,
half-circle, fiddle, or half-fiddle.  Keepers can also come in a variety
of novelty shapes, as well.  The flexible shaft adds leverage and speed to
the strike, while the keeper is designed to come into contact with the
target.  Occasionally, you’ll encounter a
split keeper
, which
consists of
two
strips of leather designed to maximize the
sound
of the keeper’s impact upon your subject’s skin, or a
looped keeper
,
which delivers a less painful strike.  The traditional riding crop has
long been favored as a practical fashion accessory by Dominatrices and used
extensively in BDSM
pony play
, but it also makes a versatile play
accessory for just about anyone interested in rounding out their impact toy
collection.

Most crops are produced and sold primarily for the
purpose of
horse training
, and are readily available in a variety of
styles at most ranch and farm supply stores.  Quite often, the very same
crops that are offered there for $10 to $15 are purchased in bulk by kink toy
retailers and resold at twice or even three times the original retail
price.  By the same token, there
are
plenty of craftsmen who
produce similar products specifically for a BDSM clientele, and those crops are
often enhanced with extra touches or unique materials not found in the local
feed & tack stores.  Some crops even come with a collapsible shaft for
easy transport or storage.  For a crop crafted specifically for BDSM use,
you can expect to pay between $35 and $100.

The versatility of a crop has always been one of its
major selling points.  It’s both fashionable
and
functional, can be
used to deliver both playful
and
painful strikes, and is the most
accurate of all the whip types.  Some crops come with interchangeable
keepers
,
which allow users to vary how the crop is utilized.  Crops are most
commonly used to deliver stinging or glancing strikes against particularly
sensitive areas of the body such as the genitals or nipples, but they can be
used practically anywhere on the body with varying techniques and levels of
force.  Crops are also good for caressing, flicking or sensitizing the
skin through repeated small slaps to the same area.  The appeal of the
crop is rooted as much in its
psychological connotations
as its
functional versatility.  It’s often viewed as a symbol of absolute
authority or severe discipline, and those connotations can be used to
effectively enhance a scene, role play activity, photography or a person’s
public image.

Safety concerns about the use of crops are few; the
same basic rules for impact play in general apply equally to crops.  There
are only a few additional caveats.  Always ensure that the keeper remains
firmly attached to the end of the flexible shaft.  If it should come loose
or detach, the bare end of the shaft could cause some injury.  Second,
even with a keeper
attached
, the business end of a crop has the potential
to cause serious eye injury if it is inadvertently poked into someone’s eye, or
if someone walks into the tip.  It’s usually a good idea to keep the tip
pointed downwards when you’re not actually using the crop, and to avoid ever
intentionally pointing it into a person’s face.  Finally, since crops are
often used to strike or tease the genital area, and because the keepers are
usually made of leather, precautions regarding bodily fluids will sometimes
need to be taken.

Slappers

A
slapper
is typically a
semi-rigid or
flexible
paddle which is often slender in appearance and made from stiff
leather which may or may not be reinforced by an inner metal shaft. 
Slappers are used on farms and ranches all over the country to control
livestock, and are usually referred to as
pig slappers
.  Like
riding crops, basic leather pig slappers can be purchased quite affordably from
just about any ranch and farm supply store for a fraction of the cost of
similar items from a specialty BDSM retailer. 

The slappers that are purchased from stores
specializing in BDSM gear usually cost between $40 and $100 and will be made
from higher quality leather, come in a wider selection of styles, and may have
interesting features that you won’t find on your typical farm-quality
pig
slapper.
  Some of those features may include custom textures, shaped
cut-outs, noise-enhancing designs, inner reinforcement, and wrist retaining
straps to ensure that the slapper doesn’t become a missile when it slips out of
your hand in mid-stroke.  Human kinksters usually find the wide selection
of styles, shapes and colors
exciting
but, obviously, on a farm, they’d
probably be considered
pearls before swine.
  

I happen to be partial to slappers; they are fun to
use and every bit as
intimidating
as paddles, yet tend to be a
lot
more
versatile.  Depending upon their design, you can use slappers on parts of
the body that simply wouldn’t be appropriate for paddles, and for purposes that
couldn’t be accomplished with anything heavier
or
lighter.  In many
ways, slappers incorporate many of the best qualities of paddles, whips
and
crops.

To use a slapper safely, observe the safety tips
we’ve discussed for all of the preceding impact toys, paying particular
attention to the potential for skin and nerve damage.  Slappers can be a
great
deal of fun
, and for that reason, it can be
incredibly
easy to
forget that it may
hours
before you see the full extent of the effects
upon your subject’s skin.

Canes & Switches

When most
Americans
think of a
cane,
they
see a mental image of a rigid wooden walking stick with either a curved or
ornamental handle.  It’s understandable, therefore, that when you mention
the practice of
caning
to some BDSM novices, they typically imagine a
scene vaguely reminiscent of being clubbed like a baby seal by hungry
Eskimos. 
Fortunately
, this misconception is simply the result of
one of those subtle differences between
American
English and
British
English.  To a
Brit,
a cane is a long, thin rattan rod used for
corporal punishment, and it is
this
type of cane that is used in BDSM
caning play.  For all intents and purposes, the cane used in corporal
punishment is virtually indistinguishable from the iconic
“switch”
that
certain rural parents may have sent their kids outside to find, prior to
applying discipline to their back-sides.

The rattan canes used for centuries in Great Britain
for corporal punishment in schools, the military and the courts never really
caught on in American institutions, possibly because rattan was harder to
obtain in the Americas.  As a result, Americans tended to substitute
hickory
switches
and paddles to accomplish the same results.  Today, rattan
canes are not only more readily available in the United States, but they have
managed to make a comeback as implements used almost exclusively in the fetish
culture.

Canes are pretty simple in design.  They
typically range in length from 21” to 36”, and may have a straight or curved
handle.  Some variations may have a tassel at the end, which allows the
user to apply different striking styles.  Most modern cane designs draw on
a variety of materials besides the traditional rattan, to include wood,
fiberglass, nylon, plastic, aluminum, bamboo and carbon composites. 
Purchasers generally choose the materials for their strength, flexibility and
durability.  Rattan switches can usually be purchased for $10 to $15, and
are often so inexpensive that retailers offer them in sets of three or
more.  Canes constructed from high-tech or unusual materials can be priced
significantly
higher, ranging easily from $25 to $100.

Despite their elegant simplicity, the proper use of
a cane can require a great deal of nuance and skill.  Cane strikes, which
are more accurately referred to as
strokes or cuts
, will almost always
sting,
but the degree of pain and nature of the effects upon the subject can easily be
controlled through proper technique and by striking with different parts of the
cane.  Some users like to employ an unpredictable mix of painless taps and
stinging strokes to intensify the bottom’s sensations.  A significant part
of the caning experience is
psychological,
and so varying the strength,
location, timing, or grouping of strokes can spell the difference between an
erotically
stimulating
caning scene and an
inept beating.