Paddles
The types of paddles used in BDSM impact play, like many of the other items we’ve discussed, can range in style and workmanship from novelties to sophisticated instruments of pain and intimidation. The design of most paddles is pretty simple and straight-forward, consisting generally of a short plank of wood or other rigid material, wide at one end to form the blade, and narrower at the other end to form the handle. Wood is the most commonly used material in the construction of paddles, but they can also be made from metal, bamboo, plastic, carbon-fiber composites, and other synthetic materials. Design variations may include altering the size and shape of the paddle, adding holes to enhance the swing speed and strike of the paddle, cutting shapes or letters into the blade so that it leaves a unique pattern on the subjects skin, and using special or rare types of wood to enhance the weight, strength or beauty of the paddle. Paddles may be designed to be held in one hand, or swung with both hands.
When purchasing a paddle, personal preferences will typically dictate most of your choices, since the functionality of a paddle is rarely called into question. It is for that reason that a paddle’s aesthetics and appearance often take on greater importance in the buying decision. Certain types of wood can lend a certain elegance and beauty to a paddle that otherwise appear very ordinary. Some of the more unique and attractive woods used in the construction of paddles include oak, bamboo, maple, black walnut, hickory, mahogany, teak, South American monterillo, Bolivian rosewood, African padauk, and African bubinga.
It’s interesting that, for such a commonly used and simply constructed item, the safety concerns regarding paddles could probably fill an entire chapter. You might think that some of these safety tips are simply a matter of common sense but, unfortunately these days, there’s nothing common about common sense.
When using a paddle, always strike using the flat side of the paddle blade, never with the edge. Striking with the blade perfectly parallel to the skin surface ensures that the force of the strike is evenly distributed across the full length and breadth of the paddle blade. If there is even the slightest angle which deviates from the parallel, the strike could be far more painful than intended, and might even cause serious or permanent damage. A full-force edge strike from a paddle could easily break a bone or sever nerves and tendons.
It’s also very important to focus your paddle strikes to the muscled or fatty tissues of the body. By that, we mean the buttocks, thighs, breasts, shoulder blades and certain portions of the torso. Avoid bony areas, such as the arms, shoulders, shins, hips, hands and feet, and critically vulnerable areas like the spinal column, kidneys, neck and head. The most common targets for paddle play are the buttocks and the backs of the thighs, and it is not uncommon for people to simply assume that those will be your targets. If your plan involves striking other parts of the body, then it’s extremely important that you discuss those plans with the person who’ll be on the receiving end of the paddling.
Even well-padded areas of the body, such as the buttocks, can become problematic under certain circumstances. Certain body positions can sometimes pull the body tissues taut, reducing the amount of soft tissue providing natural padding, making bone and nerve tissues more vulnerable. If the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower spine through the buttocks and down the legs, becomes irritated or compressed, it can lead to an extremely painful condition called sciatica.
Paddling the breasts, if it is done at all, should be done with a lighter instrument. Prior to engaging in any breast paddling, a discussion should take place with the bottom to determine whether she has a personal or family history of fibroids in the breasts. There have been studies published which seem to establish a connection between impact play to the breasts and the growth of fibroids in the breast tissue. Fibroids are not inherently dangerous to a woman’s health, but they can result in false positives in mammograms and may affect the aesthetic appearance of the breasts.
Any impact play focused on the genitals - male or female - should be approached with a great deal of caution, not to mention forewarning and frank negotiation. Even if a bottom agrees to or even craves it does not necessarily mean it’s a good idea. Impact play aimed at the genitals can not only be extremely painful, it can sometimes result in irreversible damage to a person’s reproductive organs.
Whatever type of paddle you use there will always be a possibility of damage to the bottom’s skin. Some paddles are constructed with holes in the blade to reduce air-drag and increase the speed and force of the blows, which can increase the probability of skin damage, as well. Beginners are sometimes quite surprised to see that a freshly paddled part of the body which appears to be harmlessly red immediately after the paddling can turn alarmingly purple, black and blue within a few hours. In other rare cases, large water blisters or blood blisters may appear, and skin may simply peel away or slough off. Every individual has a uniquely different skin type and impact tolerance, and the skin’s durability may even differ widely from place to place on the same body. Obviously, the skin on the soles of your feet can take a lot more abuse than the skin on your inner thighs.
Our skin is the largest organ of the human body, and damaging it can interfere with a number of important functions that are critical to your health. Some of these functions include sensation, heating or cooling of the body through blood circulation or perspiration, and protecting the underlying tissue from infection. Damage to the skin - even if it isn’t serious or permanent damage - can interfere with these and other critical functions which, in turn, can lead to serious health issues. For example, many people are tempted to discount the severity of blistering or skin sloughing by thinking, “No problem; it will grow back.” But the issue isn’t whether it will grow back; of course it will. The real issue is whether serious infection will gain a toehold in the body, and whether there will be scarring or long-term nerve damage.
Finally, if a paddle has ever caused a bottom’s skin to become raw to the point where it appears that the pores of the skin are oozing tiny droplets of blood, then your paddle has come into contact with bodily fluids and should be thoroughly sanitized or fluid-bonded to that individual. Fortunately, paddles are typically a lot easier to sanitize than many other types of BDSM toys.
Whips
A whip can sometimes refer to a very wide range of BDSM toys, including floggers, lashes, cats-o’-nine-tails, and crops. Since we discuss each of those variations separately elsewhere in this section, we’ll confine our discussion here exclusively to single-tail whips, which come in three basic styles. They are stock whips, bullwhips, and snake whips.
A stock whip is characterized by a long rigid handle that is not integrated into the lash, but is instead connected to the lash by a leather swivel-joint called a keeper. Many buggy whips and horse whips also fall into this category. Generally speaking, stock whips have a short rigid handle, and a lash that can range from three to ten feet in length. The Australian stock whip is a variation on this style, and has a longer handle and a lash made exclusively from kangaroo hide. A stock whip is used primarily for the noise that it makes; it is the easiest type of whip for creating the classic “crack of the whip” sound that many of us associate with whips in general. The sad reality is it can actually be quite difficult to replicate; it may look easy in the movies, but that’s because it is almost always a sound effect added later. Stock whips are easy to use and make a wonderful sound, but are the least accurate type of single-tail.
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 retaini
ng 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.
Domination & Submission: The BDSM Relationship Handbook Page 24