FLOGGING SAFETY

First things first. Some parts of the body are safer to flog than others; since you don't want to injure your partner, it pays to pay attention to were you're flogging, and how hard.

Generally speaking, those parts of the body that are thickly padded with muscle are the safest to flog. The buttocks, for example, can easily take a hard flogging. The upper part of the back, below the shoulders, is a safe place to flog as well.

You can, if you're careful, flog other parts of the body, though you should be aware that these places are more sensitive and can not be flogged as hard. These places include the breasts, upper chest, backs of the legs, pubic area of women (you should take care if your partner is male not to directly strike the testicles), calves, and lower legs.

Avoid striking any part of the body where you have organs unprotected by bone, such as the stomach and kidney area. You should also avoid striking the face or neck, the center of the spine, any joints, the tops of the hipbone, the tailbone, and the ankles or tops of the feet. Note that you can strike the soles of the feet; in fact, this technique even has a name ("bastinado") and a number of enthusiastic participants.

The picture below will give you a rough guide to knowing where it is and is not safe to flog someone. Of course, common sense always applies; be cautious, pay attention, and check in with your partner. And, of course, a flogger may be used softly and sensuously as well as firmly, and you can brush the ends of a flogger or touch your partner with a flogger anywhere.

When you flog someone, be careful not to "wrap" the lashes of the flogger around your partner's body. This can happen if, for example, you are moving the flogger in a sideways motion and you strike your partner's side; the ends of the lashes can wrap around the person's side. This can easily cause injury, and you should take care not to do it. Practice using your flogger on an object such as a pillow. Move the flogger in vertical circles by rotating your wrist; keep the motion of the flogger in your wrist rather than your forearm, and you can more easily control where the flogger strikes. (More on this in the next section, "how to use a flogger.")

STD ISSUES

Generally speaking, flogging is very safe and does not bring the person doing the flogging into contact with any blood or bodily fluids that might transmit disease. However, some floggers, such as horsehair floggers and floggers with very narrow or knotted lashes, are capable of breaking the skin if used very firmly. Most floggers can not easily be cleaned if this happens. If you are engaging in a vigorous flogging with such an implement, be aware of the possibility of breaking skin. Do not re-use floggers which have broken skin on other people. If you inadvertently break skin and you are not fluid-bonded with your partner, stop and clean the affected area with alcohol.

BASICS OF FLOGGING

You can flog a partner who is standing, kneeling on all fours, bent over an object such as a bed or bench, or lying prone. Be aware that any part of the body that is stretched or taut (for example, the backs of the legs of a person who is bent over) will not be as well protected or as well padded as the same part of the body when it's not taut, so behave accordingly.

There's more to flogging than simply picking up a flogger and hitting your partner. Flogging is an extraordinarily sensual form of impact play, and rhythm and tempo are key parts of the experience. Keep in mind that with most people, it's usually better to warm up your partner slowly, starting with steady soft strikes and gradually increasing the force of the strikes. Floggers with wider tails are often better for warming up your partner than floggers with narrow or knotted tails, and different floggers may have different sensations depending on how warmed up your partner is, so you may find yourself changing floggers frequently during a session.

So, let's get down to the specifics! On to Part III, How to Use a Flogger!