Canes & Caning

Author Unknown

The cane has an awesome reputation. It offers unmatched psychological and sensual intensity and an abundance of rich, multi-layered ritual. For the most serious aficionados, the cane by itself is the focus of their play; for many other players the cane is the implement used to bring a disciplinary session to its peak of intensity. The cane is the Rod of Authority, ceremoniously wielded by governess or tutor. No matter where the cane figures in their play, those who have learned to use it properly find it creates an intense sensual intimacy like no other implement. The cane is the Queen of the disciplinary implements. A queen, of course, must be treated with respect. The cane is a serious implement that, misused, can do serious damage. Even a light cane, used energetically enough, can raise welts, and if those welts cross, open wounding may result.

What is a cane?

Basically, a cane is a slim, flexible, resilient rod. It may have a crooked handle or a straight handle. It may be wood or (more frequently, these days) synthetic. Synthetic materials (such as polycarbonate) offer the advantages of ready availability, consistency, economy, smooth (hence safe) surface finish. And they can offer a "thud" value that has a particular appeal to heavy players. But natural materials have their attractions too. One is its infinite variability; no two canes are alike. Even when cut from the same length of stock, they will be different in diameter, resilience and density. And we've not yet found a synthetic material that can duplicate the sensuous flexibility, resilience or progressive response of a well-prepared rattan cane. DDE canes are made from rattan (the traditional material) and round reed. Both materials are species of giant Asian grasses and comprise a fibrous core encased in a smooth, hard bark. Reed is less dense than rattan (hence less inherently severe), has a thinner, less prominently jointed bark and produces a more fragile implement, but one which is ideally suited for more sensuous play. Some people do use bamboo for canes, but we strongly advise against it. Not only is bamboo far too inflexible and hence severe, but if it splits (and it can split surprisingly easily) it will cut like a razor.

Care and maintenance

Properly used and cared for, a cane should last many years. The average North American home tends to be a dry place, especially in the winter, and an excessively dry environment really ages a cane. If you can get away with it, hanging your canes in the bathroom (where the relative humidity is quite high) will keep them young and supple. Otherwise, a cool basement is a good storage place.

Apply a coat of good-quality paste wax to your canes every so often. The wax forms a tough, resilient coating, and it looks good too. After much use the tip of a cane can begin to split or fray. You should deal with this promptly, either by gluing or taping the split end, or trimming it off and accepting a slightly shorter cane. DDE will be glad to do that for you at no charge.

Safe use of the cane

The cane is a serious implement; misused it can do serious harm. If you are new to the cane, please take the time and effort to ensure that you can use it safely. Seriously consider getting advice or lessons from an expert (if you live in the greater Toronto area, DDE can put you in touch with some very experienced, safe users). DDE offers the following recommendations on safe use.

Select your implement with care; the denser and stiffer the cane, the more severe it can be, but remember that, paradoxically enough, a thin, light flexible cane can be much more severe to the novice than a stiffer, thicker implement used with care. The reason for this is that the former must be administered with a certain minimum force (by virtue of its flexibility and lightness) in the same way that a strap, belt or flogger must be swung hard enough to actually deliver a stroke, rather than flop uselessly across the skin. By contrast, a stiffer, thicker cane can deliver a much more controlled, lighter, but nonetheless definite, stroke.

Before playing, take the time to negotiate the caning scenario in detail. Check your cane carefully. The surface finish should be smooth and flawless-- don't forget this is an item that's to be impacting someone's epidermis at a fair rate of knots. Any irregularities or rough bits will very readily cause local bruising, and may, under severe circumstances, actually break the skin. Another important feature of a good surface finish is that it will very clearly reveal any nicks or incipient cracks-- a useful early warning system. Having a cane break during use isn't particularly dangerous (assuming it's being used properly) but the broken section will wrap very readily, causing local bruising. It's much better to avoid the possibility through careful inspection and repairing, or discarding, suspect equipment.

The cane is a high intensity implement and as such a formal, structured approach can be the safest way to start exploring its potential. If you're into role-playing, then the formal schoolteacher or governess scenario can be used. If that sort of thing doesn't appeal, then just take the caning deliberately out of the context of a play session, as a bit of practice just before a tea break ("I'll just put the kettle on dear, while you bend over the back of this chair..."). Yes, this sounds less than spontaneous, but when you're learning to enjoy a new and potentially dangerous implement, a bit of spontaneity just has to be sacrificed.

The players should be positioned so that the cane moves predominantly in a horizontal, or close to horizontal, plane. The cane is principally driven by the forearm and wrist-- the upper arm should move very little.

No two canes are the same in curvature, flexibility or density, and this has important implications for the way the stroke lands. One of the things that can really spoil a good caning scene is an uneven stroke. A stroke that delivers disproportionate intensity to one cheek or the other simply provides the "wrong sort of pain"-- and it's fatally easy to do it (a right-handed person using a forehand stroke has a strong natural tendency to deliver disproportionate impact to the right cheek). This means that the first thing you should do is feedback on a few trial strokes, one by one, until the strokes are landing evenly. The disciplinarian should adjust his/her stance to change the way the cane lands, not wrist or arm movements.

Once you're both satisfied that the strokes are landing evenly, then you can proceed. Start with a clearly specified number of strokes-- for some reason formal canings are traditionally administered in sixes, or multiples thereof, and six is a good enough number to start with. The recipient should try to save any feedback until all six strokes have been delivered, unless of course the intensity is clearly unacceptably high right from the start-- the cumulative effect of all six strokes is the important thing. Remember that the more intense a stroke, the longer the time needed for recovery, and pace delivery accordingly. One thing that can help give the disciplinarian a good idea of the effect of the discipline is to have the recipient count the strokes aloud-- the stress (or lack of it) in the recipient's voice will tell the disciplinarian a great deal. A further refinement is for the disciplinarian to count the strokes aloud while the recipient requests each stroke, thus the recipient has an explicit degree of control of the pacing.

DDE strongly recommends that you confine application of the cane to the buttocks. Of course, the cane can be used to caress all kinds of body parts in the most sensual manner imaginable, and playful, teasing taps here and there are fine, so long as they are kept playful. But always keep in mind that the cane can deliver rather a lot of energy to a rather limited area, and that can be very dangerous where bones or joints are involved. The only real target for the cane is the bottom.

The "nursery" cane

The "Nursery cane", as defined in Wildfire's excellent Female Disciplinary Manual is a short implement (usually no more than 24 in long, designed for more informal, summary chastisement than the full-length cane. The shortness of the nursery cane offers the advantages of high controllability (which makes it an ideal implement for the beginner), convenience for sensual play, and transportability, since it will readily fit into most conventional luggage, or even a capacious briefcase.

DDE produces nursery canes of both rattan and round reed. Length is typically 24 in or less. Whippiness, "sting" value and stiffness vary widely; we recommend that beginners select a stiffer implement, since this will deliver an effective stroke, even when used lightly. The more flexible models will tend to be more severe since, like straps or floggers, they must be used with a minimum force in order to deliver any kind of stroke.

Use of the nursery cane

Traditionally the nursery cane is kept ready to hand on a table or bookshelf-- it may even be attached by its lanyard to the recipient's wrist or waist to make it even more swiftly available-- and used for summary correction or instruction. Normally it is administered without the formality or ceremony associated with the full-sized implement-- the recipient is simply bent over the nearest convenient piece of furniture, or even taken across the disciplinarian's knee. The number of strokes is not announced in advance, nor is the recipient expected to count them. The strokes may be punctuated with comments or questions to ensure the recipient understands the rationale for the correction he/she is receiving and commits him/herself to learning from it. In short, the disciplinary exchange with the nursery cane is more spontaneous, more maternal or paternal, and involves more informal intimacy, than the measured ritual associated with the full-sized implement.

Notwithstanding the above, those who are just starting to become acquainted with the cane may well decide that the nursery cane shall be employed with all due ceremony and formality in order to introduce the recipient gradually to the cane. This introductory period over, the nursery cane can be relegated to its role as an instrument of summary correction and the recipient will be prepared for the more rigorous ritual of a formal caning.

In all caning, wrist movement is the most important element in laying on a stroke. With the short nursery cane, a stroke is almost exclusively wrist-driven. The arc of swing is short-- big back-swings are neither necessary nor practical. Because the short cane is inherently less severe, groups of strokes may be delivered in fairly rapid succession-- three fast, light strokes followed by a pause to allow the sensation to be fully absorbed, will be much more effective that a single, heavy stroke. The short distance the cane has to travel also makes accuracy easier to obtain. But the disciplinarian must still take care to ensure that the tip of the cane extends no more than an inch or so further than the centre of the far buttock-- even a seemingly stiff, short cane can be surprisingly flexible, and will wrap. And of course, the stripes should be even, parallel, horizontal, and should never cross.

In one sense, use of the nursery cane is no different from use of any other cane, in that both disciplinarian and recipient must be fully engaged, committed and recognize each other as equals in the disciplinary exchange. A caning must begin and end with mutual respect. And reconciliation between disciplinarian and recipient must be cemented in the appropriate manner. Should the recipient be required to exhibit his/her stripes (and such display is often a vital element in the disciplinary exchange) then such exhibition must be done in such a way as to maintain and enhance the recipient's dignity. He/she has honorably discharged his/her duties and this should be acknowledged appropriately, at the very least with a reconciliatory hug and kiss.

We recommend that the nursery cane should be waxed before and after use-- a task which can most appropriately be delegated to the recipient. In fact, some disciplinarians assign all nursery cane care and maintenance duties to the recipient, who is required to present the cane for inspection each day.

The formality of the cane

The intensity of the cane, and the unique demands it makes of both disciplinarian and recipient, encourage formality and measured ritual. The following notes are intended for those who enjoy such elements in their play. They are not guidelines for the "right" way to play with the cane, merely suggestions for formal play that I've personally found fun and exciting. DDE's many friends and customers are urged to contribute their own ideas, opinions and experiences to this section. Those interested in finding out more cannot do better than consult such publications as The Female Disciplinary Manual or A Guide to the Correction of Young Gentlemen, or visit the Alice Kerr-Sutherland website to check their comprehensive bibliography.

Caning over clothing

An important feature of the cane is that it can deliver an efficacious stroke through layers of clothing. Indeed, it was this feature that, in the nineteenth century, commended the implement to those who felt it unseemly that buttocks should be bared for chastisement, and found it an admirable substitute for the birch, which was only really effective on bare skin. For us, although the peak of sensual intensity of the cane is attained through caning on the bare skin, a caning administered over clothing can be an exciting segment of a disciplinary session. A distinct advantage, of course, is that the protection afforded by clothing means that the disciplinarian can use a stronger stroke, with the accompanying evocative "swish," without threatening the recipient's limits (this can be of particular value to the less experienced).

A caning administered over clothing is a brisk, almost spontaneous affair, often used to begin a session, and hence not too severe. It is inherently a less formal procedure, for it is frequently used as summary correction. For example, depending on your role-play, a caning may be administered to correct untimeliness, with the number of strokes determined by the number of minutes late (or early). A lady of my acquaintance frequently corrects her partner's tardiness in this fashion, emphasizing the informal and summary nature of the correction by interpolating the strokes (which he has to count aloud) with questioning him about the reasons for his lateness and reminding him of the virtues of punctuality.

Immediately following the caning, the recipient may be required to disrobe for the inspection/exhibition of any marks.

A word of warning: you might want to avoid caning over jeans, or indeed any other garment featuring metal buttons or rivets. Impact with these can seriously damage the surface of the cane.

Anticipation

If caning is a gourmet dish, then anticipation is the appetizer, and a powerful one at that. A formal caning is planned, and announced well in advance. In a scholastic context, a recipient may be "put down for the Cane" up to a week in advance of the event. In my own play, I find it efficacious to warn a young lady that a specified number of days hence, at a specified time, she will be soundly caned. The formality may be enhanced by documenting the planned correction (see Disciplinary Documentation below). All formal canings should be precisely scheduled, and the schedule should be strictly adhered to. If circumstances do not permit planning days ahead, then ensure that at the session the caning is scheduled to the hour and the minute. A chiming clock can be a powerful adjunct to the scene, especially if the caning is scheduled on the hour. I don't have a chiming clock, and I have tried using the oven timer instead, but it just isn't the same somehow.

Some disciplinarians believe in heightening the anticipation further by having the recipient wax the canes some time in advance of the caning. This isn't something I do myself, but I can see how it would help focus the recipient's mind very effectively, and could form an important part of the whole ritual.

Depending on the context, the visual presence or absence of the cane can be a powerful element in building anticipation. Prominently displayed, the cane is a symbol of the disciplinarian's authority and a constant reminder of the correction that is to come. In my own play, however, I don't usually have the implement on display-- I have a lot of canes, and having them all on display would be going a bit over the top. I prefer to keep them out of sight until the moment comes to select the appropriate implement/s, and make this selection process one of the details of my disciplinary play. I sometimes may instruct the recipient to select a number of canes and bring them to me, which brings us to the topic of...

Cooperation

Physical safety as well as sensual and psychological fulfillment demand a close degree of cooperation on the part of both participants. On the grounds of safety alone-- mishandled, a cane can do serious damage-- both recipient and disciplinarian must work together. I never use restraints in a caning session because to me the essence of such intense disciplinary play is consensual, and restraints would remove an important element of that consensual-- the recipient is physically free to move at any time. By declining to do so, she remains a voluntary participant in the disciplinary exchange. As well, and equally importantly, the unrestrained recipient can make small adjustments to his/her position to best absorb the impact. Having said that, let's be very clear that there is absolutely nothing unacceptable about negotiating a scene in which the recipient is restrained-- just make sure that the recipient's position is stable and well-supported.

Cooperation can include the recipient

• preparing the cane/s for use (as noted above)
• selecting the cane/s
• requesting the caning from the disciplinarian, at the appointed time
• assuming the required position without instruction
• The important thing to keep in mind is that, more than any other disciplinary exchange, a caning demands active participation from both players.

Documentation

A fancy term for writing things down. The "punishment book" is not myth-- for example, such records of the administration of corporal punishment were required to be maintained in English state schools. I don't like the term "punishment" and I don't use it in my own play, but I have used a written "Disciplinary Record", and found it an exciting and powerful element in formal disciplinary play. For discipline in a domestic context, the record could be an elegantly bound octavo notebook (someone I know kept one with silk covers, no less!). For a more formal, scholarly or institutional context, a hard-bound quarto (or even foolscap) ledger would be very appropriate, and I suppose the more technically inclined could use a ring binder or a clipboard. Any good stationer's should have a good selection. You can be as simple or elaborate as you like-- here are a few suggestions on how you could use such documentation to enhance your own scenes.

At the time that the planned correction is announced, it should be written down. It is not necessary that all details should be recorded (in fact it increases the anticipation if they are not) but the date, time and place should be noted. The disciplinarian may do this him/herself or may require the recipient to make the entry, and then simply initial it (this affords the possibility of scheduling additional correction for poor handwriting).

At the scheduled time the recipient should present the disciplinary record to the disciplinarian who will then enter the details of the caning to be administered (or instruct the recipient to enter them). Typically these will comprise the number of strokes to be administered and which cane/s shall be used. Other information, such as the intensity of the strokes or the position to be adopted by the recipient may be included (or added after the caning, see below). The disciplinarian may preface this by reviewing the record of previous canings with the recipient to establish a basis for the number and severity of the strokes to be administered on this occasion.

As soon as it has been completed, the caning should be formally noted in the disciplinary record by, at a minimum, the signature of the disciplinarian (recording he/she has administered the caning) and that of the recipient (confirming she/he has received the discipline). The way in which the recipient received the discipline may be described, or the disciplinarian may require the recipient to record her/his reactions or impressions. Some disciplinarians require quite lengthy reports to be written (sometimes in a separate disciplinary journal), which they subsequently review and assess.

The use of written disciplinary records is limited only by your imagination, and for many people it can be a powerfully evocative element in their play, and richly satisfying in its own right.

Administration

Administration of a formal caning should be characterized by calm, deliberation and good manners, on both sides. Abusive or demeaning language is quite out of the question (it is always out of the question in my play, anyway). The disciplinarian's attitude should be calm assumption of control and he/she should treat the recipient formally but with scrupulous politeness.

The traditional "dungeon" environment with stone walls, chains and shackles is not the most appropriate one for a formal caning. The study or the library are both traditional venues for administration of discipline in the academic context. For the domestic context, a graciously furnished drawing room is quite appropriate, particularly if the discipline is to be administered before witnesses, or else the bedroom. A refinement to the administration of a caning is to send the recipient to his/her room instructing him/her to disrobe, wait for a specified time interval (typically for as long as it takes him/her to count to 300), before assuming the specified position, and ringing a small bell to summon the disciplinarian.

The recipient may be instructed to select the canes to be used and place them in an appropriate position (usually so they can be clearly seen by the recipient when she/he is in position). Alternatively the disciplinarian may select the canes (with due deliberation) and then request the recipient to carry them. If there are witnesses present, they may be involved in the selection process (see Participation below).

The best position for receiving a caning is one in which the recipient receives the most support. The traditional "bend over and touch your toes" position is not recommended since the recipient is essentially unsupported and has to devote considerable concentration to maintaining balance. Ideally the recipient should be bent over a piece of furniture that is both sturdy and stable. A table or a desk are both eminently suitable, although my favorite is the traditional chair, with the recipient bent over the back. This provides excellent support, is quite stable yet conveniently easy to move about the place (the recipient may be instructed to position the chair), and it allows the recipient to be fully bent over. I usually ask the recipient to place her forearms flat on the seat of the chair and grasp the front edge of the seat, which keeps her well bent over, and excellently supported. Even a tall recipient will be adequately supported by a relatively low-backed chair, though it would be nice to be able to adjust the height. With a small amount of ingenuity it should be possible to modify a standard upright chair to make the back adjustable, thus accommodating recipients of different heights.

Kneeling (usually on the bed) is a popular, and perfectly acceptable position in that it is highly stable, although in my experience the recipient cannot tolerate as high intensity strokes as when well-braced over a chair back.

The number of strokes should always be announced beforehand, and the strokes should be counted aloud, either by the recipient or the disciplinarian. The recipient should not be required to respond to questions during the caning-- the only verbal response required should be either counting the strokes aloud, or requesting each stroke.

Excessive movement or excessive protests by the recipient are traditionally grounds for the administration of extra strokes or even, in extreme cases, starting from the beginning again. The recipient should be told this at the start, and given one warning. Of course, this does not apply to those involuntary movements or verbal expressions that often follow a stroke.

When all the strokes have been delivered, and the caning is over, do not forget to admire the resulting stripes. A nice set of stripes should be a matter for mutual congratulation, since they are testament to both the expertise of the disciplinarian and the fortitude of the recipient.

Participation

Because of the concentration demanded of both parties, a caning scene is difficult (and sometimes hazardous) to play in the crowded, noisy and poorly illuminated environment of the typical fetish party. However that doesn't mean caning isn't suitable for group play. A caning party, within the context of a formal tea-party or cocktail party, can be exciting, moving and fulfilling for everybody. The presence of witnesses to the event can add another layer of formality to an already formal occasion. The enterprising host or hostess may even prepare a written program listing the participants in order of their appearance, and specifying the details of the discipline to be administered in each case. While it's true that only one person can use a cane at a time, sensations can be heightened for the recipient if the disciplinarian engages the assistance of one or two bystanders to hold the recipient in position. Your imagination is your only limit.