how to make a punishment more severe or effective

I received an interesting email recently - very different from the usual questions I am asked. LL finds that during a punishment beating her bottom soon starts to go numb which rather ruins the point of it. Here is her email which will explain. 

Dear Uncle Agony,

My husband of nearly 20 yrs and I have been pursuing DD and a D/s dynamic in our relationship for the past year.

In that time, we've progressed from very light paddles, a 5-gallon paint stick, a paddle-style hairbrush, & wooden spoons of varying weights & densities to a thin heavy plastic/rubbery stick, and his implement of choice - the poplar paddle (he's a carpenter. He's got a thing for wood 😏). The paddle is 3"x12"x3/4" - not including the handle.

Our problem is that by the time a session gets uncomfortable enough to be effective punishment, I'm already beginning to go numb. He always does a warm-up (with the paint stick), and has developed the habit of taking a couple of breaks during a session to lecture & switch implements. Our most recent punishment session left me in a very dark place emotionally. It felt very much as if the session was cut off in the middle - there was no closure at all.

What recommendations can you make to help us make punishment more severe/effective? (I understand that severe & effective aren't always the same thing, but I believe that in this instance they are closely related.)  I feel that we may need to move on to a more severe implement. If so, what would that be? I've been wondering if a tawse or other fairly heavy leather implement would be more effective.

Any suggestions you have would be very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

LL 

Here is my response.

Dear LL

I am not sure that spanking is my main area of expertise though I admit to enjoying giving spankings and beatings. My approach tends to be sensual rather than with the aim of inflicting maximum pain. However I am sure there will be readers of Uncle Agony who have the same approach as yourselves. In both approaches though the aim is to create, maintain and increase sensation. Numbness of course spoils the whole point.

So how best to maintain maximum sensation?

I wonder first if you might already be starting off a little harshly. Yes it needs to hurt - but the start is perhaps more to get the nerve endings sensitised so that they feel the later action more rather than less. So I suggest you start almost gently and build more slowly.

The other main point though that is most important is frequent long pauses with rubbing of the bottom and perhaps squeezing or even scratching it lightly. The pauses for stroking should be at least two to three minutes long. That may seem rather long and a waste of good spanking time. However I think you will find after each pause that the sensations are greater and there is less numbness.

You might also vary and alternate between different types of implement and experiment with using them in a different order. A lot of your instruments seem to be heavy and thuddy as opposed to light and whippy. A thin light cane can cause a very different pain from a heavy paddle. Each will have a different physical effect and there are dangers of different kind of damage. A heavy paddle can cause deep bruising yet a thin cane has more likelihood of breaking the skin. While it is of course nice to leave marks my personal preference is not to cause longer lasting damage. In any case the nature of Inès' work is such that she cannot have obvious and long lasting marks. A tawse, strap or belt gives a very different kind of sensation - also floggers and whips.

I hope this is of some help. However I am sure thre will be more expertise among my readers I hope we will get some more suggestions from my readers.

Good luck and happy spanking

Pygar

So dear readers. Have you expertise in this area? Have I got it wrong? What would you suggest?

Learning about Dominance

I have just had an interesting exchange of emails with J. He is interested in learning more about dominance but has not found the resources he seeks. I publish our emails below.

Hello there!

I am interested in learning more about the brass tacks of Dominance in so far as scene crafting and basic how-to's. Most of what I have seen out there from an educational standpoint seems to be slave training or stuff geared toward submissives. My sub and I have attended a few workshops here and there when time allows, but I don't know any other Dom/mes that I can skillshare with or bounce ideas off of. Another issue is that I identify as a feminist and I want to steer clear of people who aren't respectful to gender minorities and/or don't have a proper understanding of power and privileges that play out in our non-BDSM lives. Can you offer any advice or connect me with anyone who can give some insight to newly out Dom/mes? Is there anything you've read that has been particularly enlightening? I'm considering getting the Topping and Bottoming books and I have read The Loving Dominant. Something that's less theory and more "meat" would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

J

I replied,

I don't beleive that there are right or wrong ways to be a Dominant - other than in the ethical sense and that is what led me to start writing the "A Kind Dom" blog. I wanted to esplore the ethical contradivtions in kindness and being dominant. I also wanted to look at the danger of emotionally or psychologically vulnerable submissives becoming being manipulated or abused. I too would identify as a feminist and have discussed it on the blog here and here. There was an interesting comment by Remittance Girl which also discussed feminism here.

I have come across many submissive bloggers who would describe themselves as feminists. A quick Google comes up with lots. Though there are many others for whom feminism is an anathema. Everyone is different and I believe it is for each of us to come up with our own model of what works for us in a respectful and trusting relationship.

Reading though can help you find lots of other ideas and models. As well as The Loving Dominant I have listed a number of books on Uncle Agony that have been recommended by readers and a few websites.

You may also find that joining a kinky social networking site like Fetlife will help you find like minded networks of people with whom you can discuss your thoughts and learn from them. Even just reading personal bdsm blogs can give a special insight into how real people live their lives within a bdsm framework.

I suggested that I publish J's email on Uncle Agony in the hope that readers may respond. He replied positively and added,

Part of my desire to learn more as a Dom/me (spelled thusly because I am gender fluid) stems from my desired to dominate ethically and with the psychological wellbeing of my submssive (who is also my wife) intact. I have been a member of FetLife for approximately two years, and while it's a great way to network, resources for feminist Dominants are lacking on there as well. I was drawn to your blog after I made contact with a Dom who initially said things I appreciate, but digging into other writings of his revealed him to be quite problematic and misogynistic.

I suppose I shall continue my search. I've considered just trying to learn as much as I can from a Dom/me who might be problematic, while actively filtering out that which I know doesn't jive with my consciousness. But damn, that feels like a daunting task! It also leaves one vulnerable to being associated with someone who doesn't have a great track record, and that is dangerous in small communities where affiliation is important.

So readers. Do you have any direct suggestions for J or other ideas for where he can search?