A girl being caned must surely, after a few strokes, recognise a pattern in the disciplinarian’s approach to beating her. The subtle shift in his position, as he steadies himself to apply the next stroke; the sense that he’s lifting his arm high. The measuring of the cane across its intended target; a gentle tap, tap, tap marking the spot. It’s as if we tops wish to remove any element of surprise, to forewarn the girl and allow her to prepare mentally and brace herself for the impact.
On the one hand, that – from a top’s perspective – is a good thing, anticipation being part of the punishment. But what if the caning was administered more out of the blue – the bound girl blindfolded so she couldn’t see, deprived of her hearing (ear plugs, noise-cancelling headphones? – not terribly elegant or sexy, but effective!). The strokes could be inflicted at more random intervals, so no discernible pattern emerged, and the first she’d know of each was when the rattan cut home. Mmmm, I’m interested to experiment; I’m half thinking that a soft silk gag might, whilst not adding to the element of uncertainty, also add a certain something to the proceedings.
Abel, what you described is the Art of Caning a naughty woman. Each anticipated stroke of this pliable spanking implement, must be felt by the naughty one. Leading to the crescendo of the last stroke. That is always the ultimate goal. Can it be achieved. Only the receipient knows for sure.
Not all tops tap first. It raises anticipation, but it’s very helpful when not tied down because it’s much harder to stay in position when there’s no chance to brace for the impact. The gentleness of the tapping is also a kind of short break from the harshness of the caning itself. However, all these effects seem to lessen with the number of strokes.
Blindfolds are very interesting toys. Sometimes, they even increase focus on any sounds around me (never tried headphones), but sometimes they seem to help with letting go.
The loss of sound would freak me out.
Interested by the comment that it’s harder when not tied down. Isn’t the converse perhaps true – that a girl is only tied for the most severe punishments, so the very process of being bound into place would be utterly terrifying?
Getting tied down could well mean that the beating itself would be particularly hard. What I meant to say was that the specific aspect of staying in position is harder (in fact, it’s only a problem at all) when you are not restrained, so in that respect the tapping helps you to focus on staying down when it really counts … what you called “bracing for the impact”.