Playtime Explored: Basic Flogging

Flogging is one of my favorite activities. i prefer the thuddy kind but also like the stingy. I like stingy too, but thuddy IMG_3848definitely trumps it. What exactly do i mean by thuddy or stingy? Well thud is the sensation and sound when your flogger has a lot of tails and the tails land together not on the tips of the tails. It feels more like someone is pushing you with something on the back. Stingy is when a flogger has knots or is made out of thinner strips of leather, rubber or horse hair. The rubber and horse hair floggers are particularly stingy. It is also stingy when a dominant pulls back the flogger just before it hits you and only the tips hit your back then. This takes skill and practice though. Floggers made from chain, rope and latex could also be stingy. There are some floggers that could cause extensive damage like the chain floggers, but they are almost always used by edge players.

Paul Brown is Indiana Leatherboy 2013. He writes about explorations in leather and fetish and lives in southwestern Indiana. His column runs monthly.

Paul Brown is Indiana Leatherboy 2013. He writes about explorations in leather and fetish and lives in southwestern Indiana. His column runs monthly.

So what areas do you normally target if you flog someone – well, the upper back on both sides of the spine is perfect and can take a lot of abuse. The butt is also a good area for flogging, although it can lead to what we call wrapping if you are not careful. Wrapping is when the tails of a flogger wraps around the corner of flesh like the arms, the sides of the pecks or the thighs and the tips hit the body in an uncontrolled fashion. This leaves marks and is very painful. It is also a sign that you do not know what you are doing. There are of course submissive that actually like this, but i am not one of them.  It is better to go side to side or hit from the butt up.

How do you make sure that the submissive stays present and does not float away? Well, you vary your rhythm and the strokes. At first you will start out slow and warm up the back. Some dominants actually start by hitting the back with the palms of their hands until it is nice and red. Then they start flogging, at first soft and sensually, and this would generally include flogging the genitals as well by just brushing them with the tips of the tails. This is done to ensure that the body has a head start and that endorphin release at the right time to help the submissive handle the pain. You can cool down the back by using a water bottle and just splashing water softly on the back.

Sets are the periods during which the dominant will flog the submissive with periods of rest in between. Make sure that the submissive is tightly restrained and that there is very little chance of them falling over. Most dominants would use either a St Andrew’s Cross or a rack to make sure a submissive will be safe as soon as they start flying. When there is a little blood on the skin, make sure that you immediately see to this by sterilizing the wound and covering it. Sterilize your flogger immediately with one part bleach to ten parts water and wait for ten minutes before you use that flogger on anybody else. i would suggest that you do not even use the same flogger on anyone else during one day. After the scene hang the flogger and leave it out dry for two weeks.

A flogging done well is one of the most pleasurable forms of SM i have ever experienced. It is sensual and hardcore and i  know i in a great sub space with those tails after a good session.