Take even the briefest of glances at the world of BDSM play, scoping out your dungeon, or simply by perusing many of the kinky videos here at HotMovies, and you’ll witness all kinds of implements and devices being deployed. Of them all, the use of a cane is one of the most frequent. In fact, it’s so often seen that it’s commonly considered to be an iconic symbol of the lifestyle—often right up there with crops and paddles. Videos like Big Bottoms Caned and The Caning, Wheel of Pain, and Cane On Nail are perfect examples.
But here’s the thing about canes: while they’ve graced the covers of many torrid paperbacks, or been the featured toy in more than a few films, how they are used usually is often limited to what’s known as “punishment strokes.”
For those unfamiliar with the term, this means that a cane is used to deliver a short, sharp impact—or impacts as the case may be—to the derriere of some misbehaving submissive or slave. The intent being to, you guessed it, punish them.
This is all well and good for those types of scenes, and a cane’s often-shocking intensity is extremely good for this, but even seasoned BDSM folx can be surprised that a cane can be utilized for other kinds of play as well. Play that—and I know this might sound weird—could even be considered sensual…
But before we get into the mechanics of how to use your favorite cane beyond using it to keep a wayward submissive in line, let’s first dip into the world of what canes are, and most of all, how to use them safely.
Wood, Plastic, and More
Canes come in a great variety of lengths, styles, and can be made of all kinds of materials. But the biggest difference between them, and what affects how they are used, is in the latter: which can be anything from wood, bamboo, to various kinds of artificial materials including, on occasion, metal.
There’s this range of materials because they can have a huge effect on how the cane feels to use and, of course, be on the receiving end of it being used. Wooden canes, for instance, are said to be warmer, with their impact not as sharp as when the cane is plastic or metal—though, naturally, this is totally subjective. Similarly, what the cane is made of, as well as its diameter and length, can affect a cane’s springiness.
With all this, it can be quite handy to think of selecting a cane as performing a kind of a mathematical formula, with the cane’s material plus its diameter also plus its length equalling a certain kind of sensation. Again, this is subjective, but for the most part, a thick, wooden cane will create more of a thudding sensation and potentially deep bruising. Meanwhile, a thinner plastic or metal cane will strike much, much sharper, and so will lean more towards causing welts.
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As with everything BDSM, discovering all this for yourself will take some trial, but mostly a lot of errors. Luckily, canes usually aren’t usually a high-price-point item, which is why those who know and love them often have a dozen or more that they can swap out depending on how they want the scene to go. Also, as with everything BDSM, discovering how canes work and developing the skills will also take a lot of education; so read lots of great articles, watch some informative videos, and—best of all—take a hands-on class from a caning expert.
You Can’t Beat Cane Safety!
On the risk-of-serious-injury scale, canes aren’t particularly high (not compared to activities like bondage, at any rate) but this doesn’t mean they don’t have their own set of potentially dangerous risks.
For instance, don’t forget that when using canes there is always the possibility that skin could be broken, and even if it doesn’t appear to have happened, there’s still the chance that enough of the skin has been damaged to possibly contaminate the cane being used. This is why when you are using a wooden cane, or a wooden anything for that matter in BDSM play, it should always be a one-person toy since it can never be adequately sterilized. Plastic and metal, of course, can be: just be sure and have some hefty disinfectant handy if you plan on using a cane with more than one person.
Physically, canes should only be used on a person’s posterior. Yes, I am well-aware that some enjoy being lightly caned on other parts of their body, but I do not recommend this as cane impacts can be quite intense, and while the ass provides a nice cushion (thank you, Mother Nature) that’s not true for other places. But when targeting the ass you still have to be careful. One of the biggest risks is accidentally hitting the coccyx (i.e. the tailbone). Though it may not be a common thing to happen since it’s still part of the spine—someplace on the human body you never want to impact with anything, particularly a fast-moving object like a cane.
In regards to what might happen after being repeatedly struck on the ass with one, as I touched on above, that usually falls into either welts or bruises, or a combo of the two. The jury is still out on the long-lasting effects of being frequently caned, but some have reported that their asses have gotten a bit leathery over time, though this will no doubt vary from person to person. Telling when bruises or welts are beginning can be tricky, which is why I highly recommend everyone check in with what’s going on every few strokes by touching where the area where the cane is impacting. If it’s hot to the touch, then bruising and/or welts might be forming. But, again, this isn’t a concrete rule as all kinds of body-specific factors can come into play.
A Beat You Can Beat To
Okay, you’ve been more than patient with me—though I have to reiterate that safety should always be the first thing you think about when doing any kind of BDSM play—so let’s get onto that different way to use a cane. The thing about punishment strokes is they are immediate and severe. This is good for those kinds of scenes, but for someone who enjoys a good endorphin rush, this can more times than not be more shocking than satisfying.
So instead of using a cane like a lighting bolt, instead consider using it as a thunderstorm. By this, I mean steadily, rhythmically striking a person’s ass with it. How fast depends on the cane and the people involved, but I find that beginning fairly light and then slowly building up the intensity and so ramping up those sweet, sweet endorphins. Beginning slow and light has the extra added benefit of being a great way for the top to get comfortable with how the cane is behaving, as well as getting into a position where the repetitive action won’t mess up their back or arm.
Of course, you don’t have to hit only one precise spot for the entire session, but do avoid striking higgledy-piggledy. This is about a slow build-up to raise endorphins, remember, and jumping around a person’s ass with random strikes is not ideal for doing that. Besides, by dramatically shifting the point where your cane-strikes are landing, you also increase the likelihood that in doing so, you might miss the target completely, even accidentally striking something you never should strike, such as the coccyx.
So rather than jumping, say, half a foot across someone’s ass, instead focus on moving where you’re impacting incrementally, like an inch or two or three at a time. Though you can definitely also take a break, do a check-in, and then start the next part of the session by starting off slow again with the other ass cheek. You also don’t have to keep the same beat. Yes, it should be rhythmic, but there’s no reason why you can’t shift from Buddy Rich to Gene Krupa (and, boy, have I just dated myself) to keep things interesting. And as things get hotter and hotter and those lovely brain chemicals have started to get flowing, so too can the intensity be increased as well, or even be a good time to swap out one cane for another to provide some extra-added variety.
If this sounds a tad intimidating, then don’t fret because it will take some practice before you can use canes in this way. I find that using a pillow can be a great way to perfect your targeting skills, as can putting a big of reflective tape on the tip of the cane so you can see exactly where it’s landing. Plus, it gives you lots of time to perfect your stance so you don’t hurt your back or arm while delivering stroke after stroke in rapid succession.
Canes aren’t the only toy you can apply this technique to. Anything that’s used in impact play, like paddles, crops, floggers, or even bare-handed spanking can be done rhythmically. Though with spanking, you really need to be careful as your hand is much more fragile and therefore easier to damage than someone’s ass.
Executing a Perfect Strike
Canes are indeed one of the most iconic symbols of BDSM play: the often-favorite implement of many a leather-clad Master or Mistress in videos, books, and everywhere else kinky fun is depicted. But as I hope this article as shown you, though using them as a tool for punishment can still be quite enjoyable for many kinksters, the cane can also be used to deliver quite a different experience: one involving repetitive, rhythmic escalation of impacts to raise—and then perhaps keep raising—a bottom’s endorphin levels.
It will take some pillow-hitting practice, as well as setting aside a great deal of time to learn everything you possibly can about how canes are made, how they act, how they can feel, and—most of all—everything that might possibly go wrong then they are used but at the end of all this, you may never look at the classic image of a cane the same way again.
M. Christian is a highly regarded author (if he does say so himself) of kinky books and stories, informative non-fiction articles on sex and futurism, and—when he’s not writing—teaches BDSM classes with his pal, R. Greco Jr. Check him out at mchristian.com and be sure to tune the podcast he also does with Ralph: ‘Licking Non Vanilla.’
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