by Old Tom, of old-tom.com
Canes are normally used on one's back side. Sure, there are variations, but canes are for bottoms. A caning is *on* the bottom. That's what a caning *is*. Sure, the backs of the legs may be involved, but a caning involves the same target area as any other standard spanking.
We all *know* this.
That's one thing that makes the Sit Down Caning so unexpected, and so interesting.
(Check Overlap Toys to see some of my canes. They're in pictures 15 and 16. In picture 16, the three on the right are 20" rattan, the next from the right 30" rattan, the next four 36" rattan. I use canes without handles by preference.)
She (or they) are seated, on a couch, chair, edge of bed, whatever. If you're sitting down, your back side is *covered*. You're *safe*.
Well, no, you're not. Not if you're curious about the cane, or *know* your fascination with it.
Since you and I aren't together in person, let me lay out the disclaimer. Don't try this at home, unless you have the necessary accuracy and delicacy of touch. The cane causes more damage (bruising) through clothing, AND you're unable to see the damage as it happens. Learn the technique on bare skin, so you can see what you're doing, and assess the damage.
Once you *do* learn the technique on bare skin, remember that clothing makes a vast difference. Over clothing, the damage is far worse! The difference is quite dramatic. Allow for it.
This is equally true of a standard bottom caning. Six (or sixty) of the best over jeans leaves far greater bruising than the same strokes on bare skin. Weird but true.
The other aspect which makes Sit Down Caning so different, is the complete lack of any implications of punishment or discipline. We're there for the enjoyment and curiosity.
My technique of Sit Down Caning requires complete accuracy and control. Mistakes are unacceptable; the potential for disaster is too great. By accuracy I am NOT merely referring to caning technique. You need to accurately conduct the scene and read the situation. If you're working with a group, or in front of the group, you need to be *aware* of the group.
That's because the group is drawn into the scene, to a certain extent.
The standard caning has a fairly predictable sequence. (I'm referring to a consensual non-disciplinary scene.) Assume the position; whack, whack, whack; you okay? breathe; whack whack whack.
The Sit Down is more of an introduction to the cane itself. What are its characteristics; what makes it so different from everything else.
By conducting the scene face to face, we can better interact. Merely sitting, is an expression of relaxation and comfort. No "position" has been assumed; there was no premeditated "this is going to happen."
I can use the cane in the same way you might use a feather. That is, look at the feather itself, appreciate its characteristics and nature. Run it along the leg, neck, chin, etc. Tap tap tippy tap.
We can play tippy tap everywhere, like you might do with a short riding crop. From this I can judge what is comfortable and what is not. Can the neck be tapped? Breasts? Arm? Bottom of foot? If she's open to it, each of these "tappable" locations adds much to the Sit Down Caning. If she's *not* open to it, we have discovered this in non-threatening fashion.
We can increase the intensity in several ways. One of my favorites is to sit on the floor directly in front of her, perhaps an arm's length away, depending on the length of the cane in my hand at the moment. I can do a flat stroke, touching the leg from just above the knee most of the way to the hip. The lengthwise stroke can be along the top of the leg, inside, or outside.
The stroke itself is unusual, and helps to bring home the nature and versatility of the cane. But I'll talk more about that below :)
But, what I can do, is hold eye contact throughout the stroke. Require that she *only* look into my eyes, not at her leg. I can see when the secondary shock hits, and I can see her choosing to remain calm and relaxed. Many women - who are so inclined - will drop into subspace on the spot.
She'll eventually realize that I'm being completely accurate in the strokes, without looking at where I'm aiming. This helps her trust in my expertise, and she can relax just that much more. Only with that trust will she be able to let go.
I'm sure you've looked at one person, and thrown a softball (or something) to another. With practice, you can do it quite accurately. You can do the same with a cane - but remember that missed strokes are absolutely unacceptable.
With a softball, you can look at one person and throw elsewhere. You can probably see the "elsewhere" in your peripheral vision, and aim accordingly. That's what I'm describing with the cane. It *looks* like you're accurately striking without looking, but you're actually watching the target in your peripheral vision. You *must* watch what you're doing, lest someone move or put a hand in the way!
What I'm describing so far is a technique, an approach, a mind set. You can do these kinds of things with *any* suitable implement - especially a medium short riding crop. (We buy such crops for $2.95 at the local farm and fleet store, but you can easily get them for $20 online.)
Yes, there are things you can only do with a cane - we'll get to that below - but the Sit Down can have value regardless of the implement.
It's a great way to introduce a new person to a greater range of sensations and possibilities. You can talk your way through trying this and trying that. If she has a curiosity and is open to experimentation, this is a relaxed and non-threatening way to do so. If there are several people, you can work with one person and then another. That way she can see what's happening, the effect, and so on. Most importantly, she can see that you are safe. That is, she can see the lack of errors, the reading of body language, the respect of limits and preferences. She can see that you're interesting, creative, and skilled. As you build credibility, she builds trust - and trust is everything.
You can take a "show and tell" approach, demonstrating a number of techniques. For example, cover her ear with one hand, to protect her ear and face, and use the crop or cane on the side and back of her neck, top of the shoulder, and so on.
One of my favorites is to require that she remain relaxed as the pain hits. This could be from a crop stroke, a clothespin or pinch, whatever. But no flinching, just remain relaxed, with her hands open along her legs. Thus she sinks into the scene.
It's also fun to have her keep her hands behind her, while her breasts are cropped. She can see it coming - she can't miss it - and she needs to remain still and relaxed. It's not easy, and when she's able to do so, she's gained a delightful headspace.
Any number of these little games are very easy to play, because you're face to face and can work directly with her. She can see what's happening and needn't wonder about a thing.
What about the cane?
The cane's characteristics allow me to take this game to a much higher level.
Let me see if I can describe what I mean. If you would, please, place your arm and hand flat on the table right now, palm down. Now lift up so everything is about a half inch above the table.
Touch the heel of your hand to the table, then rock your hand so that the heel touches, then the palm, and then the fingers and finger tips. By finger tips I mean the pads on your fingers, not the actual tip where the fingernail connects.
Do this same motion several times, and you should see something of a wave motion. The wave travels from the wrist down your hand to the ends of the fingers. Can you see what I mean?
One cane technique is to create that same wave motion. I use that motion, for example, when I strike the cane flat along the top of her leg as she's sitting down. The stroke first lands slightly above the knee (stay away from the knee cap, and ask about knee problems beforehand!), and then the "landing zone" travels up the cane, to where the tip strikes towards the top of the leg.
Now, let's see if I can describe a second motion.
Rock your hand against the table as before, but this time put two fingers from your other hand in the way. Place them crossways under the palm of your rocking hand, so that the fingers act as a fulcrum or "teeter totter."
Move the fulcrum (meaning those two fingers from your other hand) to the top of your palm - on your foot, I would call this the ball of your foot. In other words, just before the base of your fingers.
Now, the rocking motion should be like this. The forearm strikes the table (gently!), then the heel of your hand. Next the "top" of your palm strikes your fingers (the fulcrum). The palm itself doesn't strike anything - the fingers of your other hand have stopped the motion and are in the way.
Let your fingers relax and flex. They should then strike the table on their own. This time it's the finger *tips* rather than the flat of the hand.
Do this motion several times, letting your arm and hand fall of its own weight, and you should *feel* it when your fingertips land on the table.
Can you see that the wave motion has carried the energy of the stroke to your fingertips? Using this technique, you can concentrate the entire energy of the cane stroke, into an area the size of a dime.
Accurately striking one nipple at a time, touching *nothing* else, can be quite the eye opener! Use the arm of the chair or couch as the fulcrum point, and come in from the side. The effect is unexpected, and thus quite dramatic.
This works remarkably well for touching the inside of the thigh. The rattan canes I use are quite flexible, and will easily bend into a semi-circle. Just get the fulcrum at the right point, and you can get the tip to wrap in and under the leg. Only the tip touches, and you've made your point.
You can use the leg itself as your fulcrum. Strike the top of the leg, leaving the end of the cane (two or three inches) to wrap on in to the inside. If you judge it just right, you may choose to have the tip skim the edge of the other leg as it wraps on in. Or, you can use the top of one leg as your fulcrum, and aim to land the tip on the inside of the other leg.
Remember, the cane is a very high-energy item. We're taking that energy, and concentrating that energy into an area the size of a thumbtack. Also remember the damage (marking/bruising) is far worse if this is done over clothing. If she's wearing jeans or slacks, *she* will have no idea of the extent of the marking.
It is *your* responsibility to remember this, and take care to keep things sane. When she *does* discover the marks, be sure to point out to her that, since they're on the insides of her legs, she'll feel them every time she walks. That's a feature :)
Let's return to the hand motions.
Do the same "fulcrum" motion as before, but this time stiffen the ends of your fingers (the last finger joint, just above the fingernail), so that the pads of your fingers land on the table rather than the tips of your fingers. You have created a variation in the dispersal of energy. That is, when the cane lands, it has a different effect. (Have you figured out yet, that weilding the cane is a simple matter of pure physics?)
You achieve this effect when you use the top of one of her legs - remember that she is in a sitting position - as the fulcrum, and strike the cane against the top of her other leg. You're striking a solid object with the middle of the cane. The cane bends, and the tip continues to whip on in, until it strikes something.
If that something is merely the top of the other leg, you have a flat stroke, but with the energy concentrated along the last inch or two of the cane. Once you understand the stroke, you can use it anywhere.
If you're working with multiple people, you can (with permission!) use one person's arm, leg, whatever, as your fulcrum, and strike the other person. You can even be tricky about this: Both think the "fulcrum" person is the target - until that tip nips the inside of the *other* person's leg.
Here's another hand motion.
Get rid of the fulcrum; we're returning to the original rocking motion. As you will recall, the original motion simulated a flat cane stroke. Do the rocking motion, as a sort of wave action. Touch your wrist to the table, then the heel of your hand (lifting the wrist slightly back from the table), then touch *only* the palm, and continue to the ends of your fingers. As the motion ends, only your fingers should be touching the table. Do this several times to get a clear picture of the "wave" rhythm.
Can you picture this as a wave traveling down your hand? Your wrist touches as the wave passes, then the palm of your hand, and so on.
Just after the wave passes your wrist (the contact is rocking from the heel of your hand to the top of your palm), jerk your wrist sharply upwards. If you're keeping the wave rhythm, this should cause the ends of your fingers to slap onto the table.
Try this several times, until you get it to be a smooth motion. What you're doing now is a "crack the whip" type of motion, or "pulling the stroke."
As a cane stroke, you're concentrating the stroke's energy *along* the length of the cane, but along only the last inch or two of that length. You're literally setting up a wave motion along the length of the cane. It's a "crack the whip" motion, though of course you won't hear a whip-crack or anything like that.
The way you do this with a cane, is to lay on the stroke, but jerk your hand backwards just *before* the cane contacts the target. The tip will continue on to lay flat, with only an inch or so of cane touching the target.
The stroke has a different effect, and therefore has value in demonstrating the range of techniques available.
You can use the fulcrum stroke to play with the breasts from the person's side. However, to play with the breasts from directly in front, you can tippy tap, or you can use this pulled-stroke technique. The pulled stroke is *very* powerful, so be sure you know what you're doing! But, with this technique, you can accurately place a strong stroke in a small area (such as a nipple).
In my opinion, the pulled stroke is the best stroke to use for purposely marking someone - particularly, for marking the back of the upper leg. If you simply use a hard stroke, causing the cane tip to wrap on in, the tip hits so hard that you're more likely to break the skin.
(Incidentally, if the end of your cane is squared off, it's more likely to break the skin, than if it's sanded down to a rounded end, somewhat like a blunt pencil point. Get out your sandpaper and give your canes a more pronounced rounding at the tip.)
Hmmm... let me be more clear about that. I use three basic marking strokes.
(1) Just lay on the cane so freakin hard that it nearly breaks the skin. I'm referring to approximately 50% more force than needed to raise a strong welt. The tip will likely leave a mark, which develops into a round bruise an inch or more in diameter.
If you're an idiot and allowed the cane tip to wrap around onto the hip bone, the mark can last 3-6 months. The "idiot stroke" is the one you'll see most commonly portrayed in caning videos.
Even a moderately light stroke will develop after a few seconds, into a pair of parallel lines, which fade after a few minutes or hours. You can watch the lines develop just like a polaroid picture - and at about the same time frame.
You can use a variation of this stroke to mark the inner thigh, either from the front (she's sitting down), or from the back (she's standing or kneeling, perhaps bent over a chair). Strike the front (or back) of the leg, hard, allowing the tip to wrap around to the inside. She'll know without a doubt, where the tip landed.
If you strike the leg so that the tip wraps to the *outside* of the leg, you have just achieved a variation of the idiot stroke. It's time for her to run, not walk, for the nearest exit. (If you perform the same stroke across her bottom, so that the tip wraps around to the outside, you have achieved the True Idiot stroke, and likely scared her away from canes for the rest of her life.)
(2) The fulcrum stroke, where you cause the tip to wrap right around, and dig into the target. Each such strike creates a small circular bruise. Control the severity of the bruise, by controlling the force transmitted via the cane. (Yes, it's pure physics!)
I've never known this stroke to break the skin. However, I generally use it for highly-sensitive areas such as the breast or inner thigh. It's a very dramatic stroke with only moderate force. Considering the (relative lack of) force, the marking is likewise dramatic.
(3) The pulled stroke. This stroke, by its nature, will be moderate to full force. The full cane stroke, then, is placed along the edge of the cane, but only the last inch or so. The result is very similar to striking with the tip of a whip (singletail). I prefer this stroke for marking the back of a leg - but that's not part of a Sit Down Caning!
Now that you understand the nature of the cane, and have plenty of practice, you can keep things quite interesting!