How to

Impact Play

Spank, swat, whip, flog, paddle.  When you want to really FEEL, impact play provides the power and sensations.

Impact play is a well-known, but often stereotyped and mis-portrayed, staple of BDSM play.  On the surface, it simply involves the use of hands or implements to strike a partner in a consensually pleasing way.  Below the surface impact play can be far more detailed and subtle and should be engaged in with very clear negotiations completed beforehand.  The is because the reasons for wanting to engage in impact play vary dramatically from person to person as do the specific means and thresholds by which they wish to enjoy it.

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Impact play is a broad category of BDSM that encompasses any act involving striking the body for the purpose of eliciting physical or mental pleasure for the recipient, giver, or both.  While it is closely tied to sexual acts, impact play does not always result in or involve direct sexual arousal or activities.  Types of play can range from light spanks with a soft furry paddle, a firm swat with an open hand, or welt-raising strikes with a cane.  Impact play in some form has existed throughout the centuries, indicating the intwining of sex, pain, and power are not new inventions.  Paintings in an Etruscan tomb dating back to the 5th century BC depict an erotic scene involving what appears to be whipping and spanking.  Modern impact play has merely taken the same ideas, added a larger variety of tools to choose from, and established a clearer set of accessible guidelines and rules.

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- test unfamiliar tools on yourself or an analog

- start light 

- receiver is in control 

- consent is central

- be sure the space is appropriate for the activity

- keep to least risky body parts like the butt, upper back, shoulders, legs

- avoid head, sides/kidneys, genitals, soft parts.... if receiver yes, proceed with extreme caution

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- Help giver out with boundaries and explicit consent

- Establish safe word if applicable or gestures (if able). 

- more on safe words

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