Safety: flogging

 

See also the articles about safety in general, for hitting on the buttocks and for face slapping

 

When talking about flogging, even if we say whip, we will refer to the use of flexible instruments, like whips, cats, floggers, straps (including the belt) and the like.

The main concern when using whips or similar is having total control of the force of the impact and of where the tips of the tails will hit.

The force of the blow is a function of the speed and the weight of the whip. The speed itself depends on the length of it, and the force imparted to the lash.

The point of long tails travel faster and are more difficult to control than short ones. Unless you have many, many hours (hundreds of hours for a bullwhip) of training, DO NOT use a whip longer than four feet (and you should practice enough with it anyway on an inanimate object before hitting your partner). You can hang a pillow or bag at the right height, and imagine that it is the son or daughter of the Spanish Governor of Maracaibo that you captured on your last incursion as a pirate. Or that it is the pirate that you, the Spanish Governor or Governess of Maracaibo, captured when trying to attack the city. Or that..., (sorry, too many movies…). Anyway, practice.

I think that the right whip for erotic play should have a handle one foot long, and a tail or tails of no more than 2 feet for a single-tailed whip, and even shorter for multi-tailed ones. A little less will be used when hitting with a belt or strap, which have no handle.

 

Another reason for using a short whip is the fact that you will need a free space (with no furniture or bystanders) all around you as large as the length of the whip plus your arm. You will also need some space over your head.

Of course, you can cut the skin even with a short whip, so, when hitting, don't put much force on the blow, just throw it and let the whip do the works. (The terrible Navy's cat o'nine was just three feet long). No using excessive force will help with your aim, too.

Aim for hitting with the whip's point, not with its body. Hitting where you want is difficult enough when doing so. If you aim for the whip's body, the point will end hitting anywhere, and the whip's tail will stop when hitting and some of its  energy will be transmitted as a wave to the still moving point, which will finally hit a lot harder.

The same will happen if you "wrap" the whip around the body. If the point overshoots its mark, and "wraps", the point will hit not only in the wrong place but also a lot harder. It is very easy to cut the skin when wrapping (and difficult to notice it from where you are standing. Check regularly for wrapping).

Hitting somebody is dangerous. If the blow is too strong, if the whip is too heavy, if the point hits the wrong place, you will hurt your partner. Be sure that both want that if you plan to give your partner a heavy whipping. And it can leave scars for life. A whip scarred back will be difficult to explain at the pool or at the beach.

In a movie, after the whipping, the hero recovers to take revenge on the bad guy. In real life, the people that suffered a judicial flogging with a whip or a cat were lucky if they managed to end the punishment alive, and most would never heal totally afterwards.

A whip carefully used will anyway leave red marks crisscrossing her back, which are very sensual, if you are into it. Hitting a little harder, welts will raise. If the blow is stronger, you'll get a purple welt. Be careful, because another blow over it (that will be very difficult to avoid), will likely open her skin. Finally, if the blow is strong enough, it will cut the skin, or even deep into the flesh.

A thin tail or point can cut the skin easily. A blow over the bruise of another lash can also do it. A heavy whip, with wide straps or tails, will bruise. A braided or otherwise rough whip (the inner leather side of a strap, for instance), or repeated blows can abrade the skin.

The number of tails is also important. Fewer tails tend to hit individually, each of one as a separate whip. They sting more, and can cut the skin. Many tails tend to hit together, with and impact more similar to a thick instrument. They can bruise, if heavy.

Breaking the skin can expose the whipped to infection from viruses, bacteria (on the blood or fluids left on the instrument from a previous use) and dirt introduced in the wound by the lash and infection from airborne bacteria and viruses and other contamination from hands, body, clothes, the instruments or the environment.

If you draw blood, DO NOT use the whip on other partner.

Cracking a bullwhip

A whip cracks because its tip travels at a speed greater than that of sound (the "crack" is a miniature sonic boom). Just imagine the effect of a point hitting on the flesh at such a speed. It will cut to the bone, and leave permanent scars. A punishment of that kind will maim for life or kill a person with not too many blows.

So forget Indy, Zorro and Xena. You probably saw at the movies people being hit with cracking bullwhips, but remember that the crack could be added afterwards as a sound effect. In live shows, professional whip performers are so skillful that can make the whip crack and spend its energy just before hitting, or hit with the end of the tail and make the point crack outside the body afterwards. Both tricks will make it look as if the person cracked the whip on his partner's body, but if the skin was not cut (and the subject is not jumping around and yelling curses), he didn't.

As they say on TV, "this kind of performance must be left to trained professionals, don't try it at home". You saw professionals throwing knives around their partners, but you never tried the trick on anybody. The same is valid for whips, which are treacherous weapons.

And even practicing is dangerous. If you look carefully, in some shots you will see the faintest of a scar on Harrison Ford's lip. It is what restorative surgery left (and he and the studios' insurance can spend a lot of money on surgery) of a cut made when practicing cracking a whip for his first Indy movie.

If you want to practice cracking a whip, use heavy clothing and a motorcycle helmet (I'm serious). At least, use a hat and safety glasses.

So, buy your bullwhip, learn how to make it crack, hang it from the wall as a decoration, but never, never, use it on your sub.

 

 

 

Published: 02/20/04