Abbot's Place

Flogging 103: Honing Your Flogging Skills

In Flogging 101, I talked about different kinds of floggers and how they're constructed. In Flogging 102 I showed you what parts of the body are safe to flog under various circumstances.

So, you've gone out and gotten a flogger, you know which end is the handle, and you know where it's okay to whack... you're ready for a human target, right?

Wrong!

At this point you're missing one vital element: control. And the only way to get that is to practice.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

It would definitely be more fun to practice on a real live person... as long as things went right. But even though a flogger is one of the safer impact toys, it's possible to hurt someone if things go wrong. Swing too low on a back shot, and you could hit the kidneys. Wrap on a hip shot and the tips of the tails will pound on sensitive nerves. And take it from me, those tresses sometimes have a mind of their own.

Probably the best practice target is a pillow. Pick a soft one; a foam pillow won't "remember" where you hit, but a down or feather one will: you'll be left with a "dent" that reveals exactly where your flogger landed. Better yet, if you can find one with a velour covering -- or any significant nap -- smooth it out evenly first, and your strokes will be very obvious.

Lay the pillow on a bed if you want to practice for a reclined submissive, or propped in a chair or on a sofa for standing. Move an easy arm's length away. Pick a spot on the pillow where you're going to land your first blow. Swing the flogger behind you and over.

Betcha miss.

This is where the practice part comes in. You need to learn how far to stand from your target so you just "kiss" it with the tips, or land the full force of the tails as you choose. You have to discover how to guide the tails through a gentle arc so they won't fly off where you don't intend. And you'll want to get the hang of swinging smoothly so the tails all group together instead of spreading out.

It's really not as difficult as it sounds. If it is, you're trying too hard.

Let's rewind a bit. If you've tried a couple of swings you know about where you want to be standing. For practice's sake, try to have the tips just barely caress the pillow. Now, relax. Stand with your weight balanced between both feet, facing your target squarely. (Some folks prefer to "lead" with one shoulder or the other; I'm one of them. If this feels more comfortable to you, go for it.)

It's really impressive to "lean into" a flogging stroke with all your might and body weight. But there's no need if you have the right tools. I find a certain perverted pleasure in being able to loaf my wrist over and elicit a yelp from a submissive with my "stinger" made of hard rubber. And you're practicing now, remember? Let's stick to good form and save the fancy stuff for later. Keep your shoulders squared, and don't lean into the swing.

The Basic Forehand Stroke

Now, hold the flogger with a loose, comfortable grip near the balance point, and let your arm hang naturally at your side; your palm will be turned towards your thigh. As you swing your arm back, your hand should turn; by the time your hand is behind you, your palm should be facing up. It will remain facing "forward" until the flogger makes contact.

The circle you describe should be smooth and even; don't snap or jerk the flogger. You should be able to "pinwheel" your arm in a gentle circle and hit the pillow each time. Focus on the pillow -- not the flogger -- and "will" the flogger to always hit the same spot. It may be difficult at first, but keep trying and you'll get the hang of it.

If you're serious about flogging and practicing, your arm is going to get sore. Unless you're a baseball pitcher, you're probably using your muscles in a new way. Don't overdo it; each day you'll find your practice gets easier and your aim will get better.

Working On Your Backhand

Once you've gotten the hang of hitting one spot consistently with a forehand stroke, try a backhand. This will be easier if you turn your body a bit so the shoulder you're not swinging with is closer to the target. Cross the arc across your body at about a 45 degree angle instead of straight-on. As you swing the flogger up in back, continue turning your palm instead of letting it face forward. By the time you reach your target, your palm should be facing up.

I've not seen many people do a backhand for a backhand's sake. But practice this stroke until you can reliably hit the same spot with the same intensity, and then you can graduate to...

The Figure Eight

This is a combination of a forehand and backhand on each pass. You'll find it works your muscles more evenly and is a bit easier for longer flogging sessions... plus it has a certain flair.

Start with a normal forehand as you've already practiced. As you come down towards your target, however, don't go straight down; instead, cross in front of yourself. Rather than bringing your flogger down along your right side, bring it down to your left. Now swing up on the left and cross back; you'll find your palm naturally turns for a backhand shot. Swing down and back to the right, then repeat the eight.

This one will probably feel awkward at first. One key is not to travel back as far as you do for a forehand or backhand swing alone. Just let the flogger follow a gentle figure eight in front of you. With practice you'll find you can hit the same spot with the same intensity on both the forehand and backhand strokes.

As you're practicing the various strokes, keep an eye on the pillow and what's happening to it. Are you seeing marks in the nap that extend from the center around the pillow, a clear sign of wrapped tails? Learn how to avoid wrapping with a pillow, before you ever lay your flogger's tresses on a real person.

Spinning

Spinning or pinwheeling a flogger can provide a gentle breeze, a fast caressing touch, or a barrage of stings. The technique is simple: hold the flogger's handle firmly, and whirl the tails around in a tight circle. At first you might find it easier to get the tails spinning, then move them into contact with your target.

You may find you have lots of problems with spinning; don't blame yourself until you try a different flogger. Some just don't seem to want to cooperate, tangling their tresses around the handle or twisting amongst each other. Thicker, softer tails seem to exhibit this problem the most.

Wrist Action

Most references and teachers will tell you to swing from the shoulder. But when I attended Sarah Lashes' flogging workshop at BR10, she also demonstrated another technique. Instead of grasping the flogger at the balance point, she held onto the "button" -- the knob at the rear of the handle -- and proceeded to spin the flogger, mostly using her wrist. It was a nice fluid motion, and she seemed to have a lot of control and flexibility without waving her arm all over the place. I've been told that the wrist was never meant to be worked that hard, and I've noticed my wrist gets sore very quickly when I experiment with this technique. Perhaps Sarah has a special twist that eluded me, or maybe this really is bad for the wrist. But it certainly looked nice, and I still play with it from time to time... you might want to do the same.

Let the Flogging Begin!

In the next installment we'll take a look at working with a human target... and how to make flogging an enjoyable experience for both of you. Until then, practice, practice, practice!