[Guide] Impact play with optional scarification

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KinkInSpace
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[Guide] Impact play with optional scarification

Post by KinkInSpace »

Introduction
Many people are fascinated by impact play. Impact play is very broad, and even the milder forms are something that anyone will associate with BDSM.

Before I continue, lets briefly explain what impact play is. Impact play is the part where someone, usually the Mistress, uses an object to beat someone up. Impact play is not about what object is used, but mostly about hitting the submissive.

The reason for impact play can be a punishment but also as form or part of training.

I've decided to write a topic about impact play, because many people know about impact play, but not enough to understand how to do impact play efficiently.

You see, if you don't do impact play efficient, the desired result is not achieved. Either the effect is too little or too much.

Some people are after scarification, and impact play can be used for scarification.

Scarification basically means that once the session is over, scars and bruises remain which reminds the submissive they endured training/punishment. These forms of scars and bruises will under proper conditions heal within days to a week.

With scarification, someone can also refer to inflicting marks using other items, such as burning, cutting, etc. I will solely focus on Impact play here, because this is the most common and practiced form of scarification.

Forms of impact play
Impact play comes in many forms. The most commonly known form is smacking the butt with bare hands. In fact, your parents may have used this on you when you were little. But impact play goes a lot further. Not only is it possible to use instruments for impact play, such as a riding crop, a paddle, a flogger, a whip or a cane, the area to hit the submissive is not restricted to the buttocks either.

Areas often used during impact play are:
- The bottocks
- The back
- The tights (front or back
- The pussy
- The penis and/or balls
- The breasts
- The belly
- The soles of the feet

Most people will prefer to limit to only the buttocks. The reason is that the buttocks can handle by far the most impact without leaving a trace of the play. But as your pain threshold increases you may want to experience actual pain as part of a session. This is why one can use one of the other body parts to extend the session.

Different body parts bring different bonuses. For example the back of the tights extend from the butt but are much more sensitive. If you do proper impact play here, you may be able to experience after effects after the session, for example when you sit down, you can feel the impact again, which makes you reflect back.

When in bondage standing up, the back can be a great surface to hit, giving an enhanced feeling on the bondage itself as one can struggle but not escape the whip. Like the butt, the back can take a lot of force, but unlike the butt, the back will feel far more painful, similar as to the tights, except that the tights have more nerves and stuff under the skin so you get scarification easier there.

Different types of impacts
When you hit the skin with an object, many layers of the skin are hit at the same time. You have the skin at the very top that is hit, but the impact compresses that skin downwards into the body to layers below the skin. The first layer has nerves which allow you to feel pain and make you understand if your skin is cut. These nerves are very tiny and often don't fire unless the outer layer of the skin is damaged. The layer below that has different nerves. These are bigger and will fire to let you know something either penetrated deep into the skin, or an impact was given that that asks for some caution. For example, if you bump into an object, it are these nerves that fire mostly. There doesn't have to be actual damage though, they are sensitive.

A layer deeper will have other nerves. If these fire, then the impact was big enough to cause injury. These nerves often cause the body to release dopamine into the bloodstream so that the pain can be dealt with, and reconstruction can be worked on. These nerves will also paralyze the area around the wound a little bit. If you go this deep, you will see a blue area form under the skin which is often a ruptured blood vessel.

The above is written to give you an idea on how the skin works. I'm not a medical professional, so I may be slightly off, but its to give you an idea of how this works and why people who are not experienced in Impact play, don't get the desired effect.

Why are there so many different instruments?
There are different instruments when it comes to impact play. Each instrument is different than the other one and each instrument gives a different experience to the submissive.

Here is a list of what each instrument brings in terms of experience.
- Paddle:
The paddle is a big surface area. When you strike your submissive with it, before the blow lands, an air pocket is formed between the submissive and the paddle, slowing down the paddle. This results in the impact being reduced the bigger the surface area is. In addition, the paddle will hit the submissive but due to the large surface area, the impact is greatly distributed over the entire surface. There is little pain, and an extreme amount of force is required to cause serious injury. A red skin is often the result of impact play with a paddle. Because of how a paddle works, when the skin is red, it is often warm and the submissive may feel a slight tingling. This is great for warmup, but won't work for serious impact play.

- Paddle with holes:
A paddle can have holes. This reduces the amount of air that can be trapped inside, making it easier to land a big hit, but it is still a matter of a big surface area hitting a big surface area. The holes will add to the sensation but still can't do much damage unless abused with extreme force. This too is a warmup instrument.

- Bare hand:
Bare hands are basically like paddles. The biggest difference is that you feel the impact you deal to your own hands, so the Mistress can very easily gauge how much pain it gives. Keep in mind that the hand will likely feel more pain than say... the buttocks.

- Riding Crop:
A riding crop is like a paddle, but a small one. It is light, and easy to use. When struck it will give a stinging feeling similar to a paddle, but because the surface area is smaller, less force is required to get the same effect. The danger with a riding crop is that one is able to cause subdermal injury if struck too hard, depending on what area is being hit. Buttocks won't suffer from this, but areas such as the penis, and pussy, and even the tights can cause bleeding under the skin. Because this instrument can cause this much damage, one can inflict pain without striking too hard, but one cannot give pain that will last for more than a second. It is pain on impact and that's it, unless you cause subdermal injury, but that is really not the kind of pain one wants to feel after a session usually.

- Flogger:
The flogger comes in many sizes. It is a whip with many tails. Like the paddle, a flogger will strike with a large surface area and as such won't be able to do serious damage. The biggest difference between the flogger and the paddle is the fact that a flogger has thin strands. When used properly, these strands will brush over the skin, which can feel like a cutting feeling. When a flogger is used properly, this is the desired effect to go for. You do not want to just smack the flogger on the target area, but you want to brush it past. If you don't do this, scarification can't occur unless you really screw up, but then you case subdermal injury. If you use the flogger to brush the skin, the flogger can actually cause enough scraping to bruise the outer layer of the skin. This will cause the tiny nerves to fire that are on the first layer. This pain will last longer after the hit is given which makes that many hits on the same spot will become more and more painful without the damage becoming a problem. Too much of this kind of flogging can cause the skin to rupture, but if you get to this point, then you missed all the obvious warnings..

- Whip:
A whip is a single strand long braided cable, usually with a special tip at the end. There are many different whips out there, but before I continue, a whip is a serious impact play instrument. If you don't know how to use a whip, you can cause far more damage than intended. There are long and short whips. The shorter ones are best to begin with because they are less powerful. You can still cause an awful lot of damage with these, but probably not as bad as with the long ones. Keep in mind that a whip has a large striking area. You can't really use one in your home without risking of hitting other items (and destroying them) such as your tv. Even the smaller ones can do this.
That said, the principle of a whip is twofold. The tip is like a riding crop. It will hurt for sure on impact but the sting stops the moment it hits. It can cause subdermal injury if struck too hard. The second part of the whip is the braided part of the cable. As you struck the body with it, if you pull back on the whip as it impacts the body, the braided cable will brush over the skin as if you use sandpaper. This causes skindamage that has a lasting pain and gives nice red stripes on the surface. Given that the braided cable is not actually covered with sandpaper, but usually with leather, the effects are not that serious, but repeated strokes can definitely get to that point. It is this effect that you will want to be after. Hit the skin with not too much force, but then pull hard on the whip so that it burns the skin for lasting effect. In addition, if the braided cable hits the skin itself properly, the skin will curve around the whip momentarily causing a similar effect. Combine both for an optimal effect. If a whip is used correctly, this effect should be achieved naturally without much force.

- Cane:
A cane is probably the worst when it comes to impact play. A cane is often made of wood and a cane is meant to work mostly like a riding crop. But because a cane is round and not flat, the surface of the skin is affected differently. When the cane hits the skin, the skin is stretched around the cane upon impact and rubbed against it, similar to how a whip achieves it. But given that a cane is usually smaller (there are different sizes), the thinner a cane is, the sharper the pain is. Because the skin bends upon impact, a cane hit will have a lasting effect that lasts longer than the hit itself. If you hit many times with a cane, especially on previously stretched skin, the skin gets more damaged. A cane does not have to hit very hard for a lasting effect, but it does depends on the area where you hit. Buttocks will take far more to get a lasting effect than the tights do. If you hit the skin hard with a cane, subdermal injury will occur. It requires experience to find out how hard you need to hit to get the desired effect. Start slow and work your way up. And remember, it takes a few strokes on the same place for the lasting effect to occur. Don't start hitting harder to get that result or you'll overdo it.

Ways of hitting
As you can see, each instrument has different ways to be used. I already gave an example with the flogger. If you don't brush, you're not effective with the flogger.
But as with any of the solid instruments, the best way to give a more lasting pain that doesn't dissipate after the blow is to hit the skin, but let the instrument bounce off the skin naturally. This will ensure that the skin itself can continue to flex as it is being hit, and the instrument itself does not dampen that hit. It is this flexing of the skin that has the most effect. Especially with a cane, this is important. If you swing on the body with a cane and right before you hit the body, you release the grip of the cane to a very gentle grip, you will allow the cane to naturally bounce off. You can also simulate this by hitting the body and the moment you hit it, pull back. It is a bit harder to do this, but if you do it right, you can achieve a better result, because it allows you to hit harder and more effecitve.

The sore skin
You have probably noticed how you can get blisters when you burn yourself. Your body can create blisters which essentially is an air pocket so that the wound is shielded from more heat which allows the wound to heel better. Similar to how your skin can get blisters when it gets burned, it can also become bruised (thicker) after impact for the very same reason. It creates sort of a bumper to protect against more impact. This will happen if both the first and second layer of skin are sufficiently hit. Because the first layer of skin is the most sensitive from the outside, it creates that when you touch the bruised skin, you feel it and it hurts. If you want to succeed at proper impact play, this is the result you will want to be after (or less if you don't want the accompanying pain).

Impact play in a solo session
It is not easy to do impact play on someone else, but it is almost impossible to do impact play on yourself. I'm pretty sure many people have tried it and failed.
The biggest reason why most people fail are 2 reasons.
1. They don't know how to do proper impact play and tend to aim at creating subdermal injury and when they finally succeed, they still miss the injury on the skin surface and it just feels different.
2. It is really hard to damage the outer layer of the skin when you hold the instrument that is designed to hit you.

The easiest instrument to do proper impact play with is a flogger, but it is very hard to nearly impossible to use a flogger correctly on yourself because you can't really do the brushing that makes a flogger so effective.

A whip and cane can both be used solo, but the biggest problem with either is that you usually can't inspect the result, so you can't really see if the impact is causing enough damage or too much damage. In addition, hitting a cane and let it naturally bounce off is really hard too. Doing it properly with your own force is very demanding, causing you to tire out quickly.

For proper impact play in a solo session, the best instrument is a plastic cable, such as an old VGA cable, network cable, telephone cable, etc. The thicker the cable the better though. You would want to aim for about 0.5mm thickness. The thinner the cable, the lighter it is, making it harder to control.

If you use a cable and you strike your buttocks with lots of force, it will definitely hurt and you may even see some welts form from 1st and 2nd layer skin damage. It is this kind of pain that will last for a bit after the session, although once the initial pain is gone, it is more a feeling of: oh, I definitely hit the skin there, rather than actual pain. Which is the goal of course.

I hope this guide helped you. Feel free to comment on it. :)
Formally known as Slave_L.
I'm not yet very comfortable expressing my love for kink from my private life. I will therefor hide behind my username KinkInSpace and not allow any connections to who I really am. I'm sure you'll understand.
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sweh
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Re: [Guide] Impact play with optional scarification

Post by sweh »

Slave_L wrote:The reason for impact play can be a punishment but also as form or part of training.
It can also be purely for fun. Not everything has a D/s lens.

I remember one party I was at where the submissive (a woman) was being flogged with a heavy heavy chain flogger. By heavy I mean the links were maybe 4 or 5 inches high and a good half inch thich. Now, obviously, this sort of flogger isn't used the same way... you just rock it back and forth so the weight of the chain makes a _thud_. The top spends more energy holding the flogger than they do in swinging it.

But this woman... she was tied standing, spreadeagled... and as time went on every hit released a moan of pleasure... and eventually she climaxed from it.

The heaviest flogger I own is a rope one, with knots at the end. When I'm tied to the wall and my Lady is flogging me... it's so relaxing!
When used properly, these strands will brush over the skin, which can feel like a cutting feeling.
I'm sorry, no. That's not "properly". That's just _one way_ of using a flogger. Not everyone wants sting.

Some people may want sting, some may want bruises, some may want scars... but others may want the noise. My Lady likes using a leather slapping paddle 'cos it makes a really loud "slap" noise; the other side is covered in fur so she switches it around at random so I don't know what's coming.

My suggestion for people is to determine the _effect_ they want to achieve, and then work out the best way to achieve it. You want thud; try "this"; you want sting, try "that", you want to leave marks, try "the other"...

There is no "one true way" in this. There is "what works for you and your partner". And _that_ is the proper way.
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Blacky
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Re: [Guide] Impact play with optional scarification

Post by Blacky »

sweh wrote:... There is "what works for you and your partner". And _that_ is the proper way.
As long as nobody gets injured against their will that stands true in any other situation as well.

Unfortunately there are quite a lot of people who obviously prefer to look for instructions for basically everything, rather than just think about what they want to do and find a safe approach to it.
While that's not essentially wrong it does however limit, or even exclude, the possibility of coming up with something entirely new and thus innovative (For which thus no "proper way of doing it" can have been defined by then).

I'll always prefer creativity within the restraints safety implies. :mrgreen:

Just my 2ct,

Blacky :hi:
If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. (W. Blake)
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Re: [Guide] Impact play with optional scarification

Post by lj »

I would add a few points, from personal experience both as a giver and receiver of impact play.

Floggers come in many shapes. The "falls" as the strands are called (by some) can be anything from thin wire, plastic, leather, cord, so the impact can by light and stingy, with the thin falls, through to like being hit with a piece of timber if they are heavy strips of suede leather. I have one flogger made from scrap strips of quite hard pvc, with a profile like a saw-blade with 10mm teeth - this will draw blood quite easily. I also have one madre from the innards of bungee cords, which feel like being stroked with a damp sponge! Then there's the one made from the thin ball-chain used to secure bathplugs, which is great for sensation but serious if used with any force.

Canes can be made from a variety of materials. NEVER use bamboo ! (it splits easily into razor sharp strands and fibres) and dowel rod is similarly dangerous. Plastics like Delrin are good, but not for the faint-hearted, particularly the thicker rods 10mm diameter up.

Whips can be used as a sensation play, or pain-play. A skilled operator can hit with just the "cracker" at the tip of the whip - a friend uses her whips with considerable skill, hitting the target reliably with just the suede cracker as it flicks back at supersonic speed to make the "crack" - this gives a delightfully viscious burst of pain lasting a split-second :D

The thinner the implement, the more likely it is to cause skin break, provided it has sufficient momentum and mass.

"warming up" the recipient is usually a good way to extend the session to both party's satisfaction. A cold start with a cane, applying 20 hard stroked is (a) a masochist's delight or (b) a serious punishment. On the other hand, I did have an excellent session with an ex-ProDomme who gave me around 20 strokes with around 20 different canes ( I wasn't counting, neither was she!) starting with light implements and moving through to 10mm rattan and Delrin.

In my experience, you can't give yourself a decent impact play session. You can't get the right aim and stroke, you can't prevent yourself modifying what you do, in number, strength, severity, control. So find a skilled partner and enjoy/suffer
be a switch, double the fun :-)
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