Tips for newbie caners

One of our occasional commenters here at Spanking Writers wrote to us recently, with a plea. She’d just plucked up the courage to invest in some canes for the first time – and had realised that neither she, nor her husband, actually really knew how to apply a caning safely and effectively. Did I have any advice?

Being keen to ensure that the canes didn’t gather dust in the cupboard for lack of suggestions, I threw together a quick twelve-of-the-best tips for them to consider. I thought it’d be fun to post the list here – and to get others’ comments on technique for newbie caners:

1. Practice first: get used to hitting the target by whacking pillows. (Yes, it may sound silly, but…)

2. Give a warm-up – say an OTK spanking first: it helps to make the cane strokes slightly more bearable (even though some think it’s inauthentic if you’re playing, say, a school scene).

3. Choose the right position. It’s easier to cane accurately, at least if you’re new to it, if the young lady is lying down (perhaps on a bed with a pillow under her hips to lift her bottom up – the top can then stand to the side of the bed). If not, having you bend over something (a chair back, a desk if you have one) is easier than touching-your-toes.

4. Aim at the right spot. Be careful not to whack too high (watch out for the tail bone, particularly) or too low (the crease between the buttocks and thighs is usually seen as a sensible lowest point). Some tops mark the boundaries – the first stroke at the top of the “range”, the second at the bottom, which then it makes it easier to land the remainder on target.

5. Don’t hurry. Twenty seconds or so between strokes is good, to let the impact of the stroke reach its maximum point and level out, before applying the next one.

6. Don’t “wrap”. The worst marks come if the cane tip doesn’t land on the buttocks, but goes right round onto the hips or front of the thighs. Making sure he doesn’t stand too close will help.

7. Don’t be tempted to whack too hard, or too many times, especially the first time. I know I was tempted to give my first spankee 30 of the best. Six, slowly, well-done with cuddles afterwards can be far more intense. And the cane doesn’t need to hit the ceiling on the backswing! (Whilst getting used to wielding the cane, it may also be easier to hold it some way along, thus effectively shortening its length – that can help with accuracy until he’s confident).

8. Close the windows, and put on the TV if you’re at all worried about noise travelling. You want to enjoy it together – not have a worry at the back of your minds about the neighbours hearing and calling the police to rescue the poor woman being beaten next door.

9. Have an appropriate safeword. Sounds obvious, but “no”, “it hurts”, “owwww” and “stoooopppppp” may well come out naturally – yet you may actually be enjoying it (deep down) and wanting the scene to continue. Traffic lights work well (amber = OMG it hurts, so be careful, but keep going; red = stop now).

10. Don’t panic if the odd stroke does go astray. It may well do so – even with experienced players, the odd one does!

11. Have some arnica cream handy (if you can find some), or aloe vera if not, or decent moisturiser if not, and rub it in afterwards.

12. Don’t book a session at the local spa, or in the local swimming pool with vanilla friends, for the following morning! You may have marks that might take a couple of days to fade!

And finally – have fun!

So, what d’ya think? Any other advice?

16 thoughts on “Tips for newbie caners

  • 18 April, 2008 at 10:22 am
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    This looks pretty comprehensive to me. I would stress the tip about gripping the cane along the handle so that it is shorter and easier to control.

    Tip number one about thrashing the pillow is probably the best way of getting in the necessary practice. But a nice, reasonably firm, velvet cushion may be better than a pillow. You can see where the cane landed as it leaves a nice imprint.

    I suggest that the caner practices on their own. I’m not sure that it does a canee any good to see how wildly the cane can fly.

    And now you know why some of your friends have a lone velvet cushion in their sitting room. Well, why else would one have such a thing in the house?

    Reply
  • 18 April, 2008 at 12:00 pm
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    No advice. It all looks good – including the bit when you wrote that the cane need not touch the ceiling. If the cane were to touch the ceiling it would hurt, and it’s not meant to hurt.

    Right?

    Reply
  • 18 April, 2008 at 7:38 pm
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    I just read somewhere about how rubbing in Vit. E oil before a caning reduces the marks … do you guys know anything about that…?

    Reply
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  • 18 April, 2008 at 9:14 pm
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    This is exactly the sort of resource the internet needs.

    Now we just need to suggest you to author “Corporal Punishment for Dummies.”

    Reply
  • 19 April, 2008 at 7:23 am
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    Good tips, Abel.

    And, here’s my take, since you asked.

    (1) The canes I’ve seen have something of a natural curve to them. I’m not sure that’s true of the best canes, but what can I say? Perhaps I’m not getting the best here in sunny CA. But I’ve found it can be helpful to align the curve so that it’s in the plane in which the stroke is intended to occur. This tends to keep it from oscillating up and down, throwing the stroke off mark.

    (2) I like to form my pillows into the rough shape of a buttocks, with a slight crease down the center. Okay, that probably means I’m anal. Go ahead and write your jokes!

    (3) A warm up?! Are you kidding? That’s not punishment! (Act accordingly….)

    (4) There’s some trade-off, I suspect, between authenticity and the kind of experience you want the target, er, submissive to have. I’ve never tried to run at my target or deliver with all the force I can. Standing somewhat forward of the culprit and close to them can allow me to use some of the wrap with more control to get the end on the cheek (where it belongs).

    (5) The tail bone. Extra care is needed because some incidences have been reported where the cane cracked the tail bone, with disastrous results. I’m inclined to put some kind of padding over it, really, although if I have good control of the sub that’s obviously overkill.

    (6) Timing is an individual thing. I’ve tried out various timings and I think that about 5-6 seconds works well for lighter canings. I suspect that a full on blow would require more time to recover, but I want the next stroke to come just as the pain peaks from the first.

    That’s only half as many points, but you’re the master, Abel!

    Reply
  • 19 April, 2008 at 7:43 am
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    Rich: But if the next stroke comes just as the pain peaks from the first, that would hurt. (Dah!)
    Are you quite sure that the culprit would be back for more…or is that your point?

    Reply
  • 19 April, 2008 at 3:43 pm
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    Thanks for all the comments :-)

    Rich raises an interesting question about warm-ups. When authenticity’s at stake, then I struggle to build a warm-up into the scene: my Headmasters wouldn’t dream of hand-spanking a girl before caning her. Therein lies the challenge – for a newbie ‘recipient’ especially, I think it’s pretty much essential to warm her up – but at the same time, she may want her first caning to have that genuine air of authenticity. Tough choice!

    Reply
  • 20 April, 2008 at 5:59 am
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    Oh, I think people with sufficient creativity can figure out how to work in a spanking before the trip to the headmaster’s study. Not only would a little moderate discipline at the hands of a kindly prefect provide a good warm-up, but imagine the embarrassment of appearing before the headmaster with an already bright-red bottom. Or perhaps the girl in question has been caught engaging in a certain style of foreplay with her boyfriend?

    Reply
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  • 20 April, 2008 at 5:51 pm
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    Excellent stuff!

    However, I am on record as being opposed, in a good-natured sort of way, to #1, the “practice on a pillow” suggestion. It’s sensible and practical and a good idea, I’ll grant all this. But it’s not necessary in my view (see #10) and I think there’s some value in practicing on a real live bottom if your relationship with the practicee will stand the stress of your mistakes. Plus, it creates just the right sense of suffering injustice in the practicee, if you enjoy that sort of thing, which I do.

    If you simply must practice on an inanimate object, using one of her teddy bears will (a) result in great gobs of hilarity for you and (b) have her swiftly and pleadingly assuring you that you’ve done enough “practice”.

    Reply
  • 22 April, 2008 at 9:24 pm
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    I think, Abel, you forgot one thing! (Or maybe you do it differently. Well, the best piece of advice I ever got was to aim the cane is such a way that the tip is meant to land no further than the center of the farther’s buttock. That prevents wrapping. J didn’t know that, until someone gave me this advice on a spanking forum, and it’s the best one so far!

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  • 22 April, 2008 at 9:31 pm
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    Hi, Amber – good to hear from you. I think that’s part of what I meant by number 6 on my list, but your explanation is much clearer! Thanks :-)

    Reply
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