Whips in the Dungeon: Singletail Techniques for Play

By Dex

Whips in the Dungeon: Singletail Techniques for Play explores the edgy and sensuous art of throwing and receiving the power of a singletail whip in the dungeon. Though beginner and advanced techniques are covered, the author guides the novice whip thrower through the basics, using an education learning theory that will get the whip out of the toybag and into dungeon play easier and quicker than might be expected. The author includes descriptions of various types of whips and their construction; deciphers whip cracks; offers valuable tips for targeting; and provides an in-depth look at safety concerns and consent issues. Beyond the basics, the whip thrower will learn about blending their whip scenes with the dungeon environment and dynamic throwing and footwork. There is a discussion of energy and the woo of the bullwhip, and something the experienced whip thrower will recognize: bullwhip magick. A variety of whip catchers candidly discuss intimate and detailed memories of their whip experiences on the receiving end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dex
• Release date: Jun 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463011607

Dex

Dex is a Dominant who began his journey in the leather lifestyle over 19 years ago on an educational and self-reflective path of discovery. He was the leader of an extended leather family for several years, with a home that was well-known for its dungeons and hospitality. As a college professor of education (now retired), Dex naturally put his teaching skills to use in the lifestyle. He has presented at numerous events and venues including Summer Bash, Spring Fling,The Floating World, SINSations in Leather, Southeast Leatherfest, Beyond Leather, Kinko de Mayo, Thunder in the Mountains, South Plains Leatherfest, Leatherfet, Lupercalia (Edmonton, CA), The Woodshed, the Tampa Bay Phoenix Club, E-P-I-C Lifestyle Conference 2016, FetishCon 2017, GLLA 2018, Sin in the City 2019, TESFest 2019, Weekend of Wickedness 2019. Although he loves variety in kinky dungeon activities, Dex's greatest passion is whip play. He has applied his education background to teaching others about whips, using techniques based upon proven theories in the field of adult education. He is the author of Whips in the Dungeon: Singletail Techniques for Play

Book preview

Preface

This book attempts to fill a void in several respects. First of all, there is not a book on singletail whips that focuses specifically on dungeon play and uses within the BDSM scene. There is a small section, written by Robert Dante, in Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns that discusses using a single-lash whip in SM play (Miller & Devon, pp. 162-167). There are some good books on leather crafting (Stohlman et al., 1984), but most books on whips are related to making whips (Morgan, 1972; Edwards, 1997), or sport cracking, target cracking, self-defense, or performance – whether it be vaudeville, western arts, or erotica (Conway, 2000; Dante, 2008/2016). Roger Stevens and marcy created an instructional DVD, Singletails in the Scene, which was very well done but is no longer readily available. Over the years many movies have incorporated the use of whips. Whips have been featured in a variety of film genres including western, fantasy, comic book superhero, and of course religious. However, probably none of those films focused on the use of whips in actual dungeon play within the BDSM scene.

This book may touch briefly on different aspects of the many uses of a whip, but only in such a way as it intersects and can be reasonably beneficial to the top in dungeon play.

Since whip enthusiasts in the lifestyle have many different identity preferences, the terms whip throwers or tops, and whip catchers or bottoms, will be used in this book. I will say in passing that this book will be written from third person as a matter of form and that I will break form with an I when shifting to discuss something of my own personal preference related to whips or dungeon play, or when otherwise necessary.

The book will take an approach grounded in the author’s own background in that I am a retired professor in the field of education. I have been in the BDSM lifestyle 19 years and for 17 of those years felt like I was living a leather life, and role playing each day as I followed a career in academe.

The BDSM scene, due to generally accepted social norms, is a scene focused toward people ages 18 and older. The use of whips in dungeon play is an activity for consenting adults. As a result, this book is intended only for readers 18 and older. Adults learn differently than adolescents. Malcolm Knowles, a well-known adult educator, coined the term andragogy as it relates to how adults learn best. Knowles spent a lifetime analyzing how adults learn and developing a theory of adult learning that has stood the test of time. In a nutshell, one of the keystones of his theory is that adults learn best by relating new learning to knowledge and skills that they have already acquired. By relating a new skill to a skill with which they already have experience, adults acquire proficiency with the new skill quicker. Connecting the mileage of the older skill to the new learning project, in this instance using a singletail in the dungeon, the whip top will gain proficiency with a whip much quicker than if they were to take a sport cracking or targeting approach.

Learning about BDSM, whether it is about the social aspect of D/s, M/s, poly relationships, etiquette and protocols of dungeon play, or specific techniques in using implements of this type of erotic play, is largely a self-directed learning endeavor. Self-directed learning is an adult learning theory that begins with having a desire to learn about something new, taking the initiative to begin the learning process, and applying resourcefulness to the learning process and persistence to the completion of the learning task or project. This book will begin from the premise that any adult reading the book has the desire to learn more about singletail whips, will take the initiative to read and practice some of the techniques described within the book, that the reader will muster internal resources to locate, acquire and practice with a singletail whip, and will persist in the learning process until they become proficient enough to actually use the whip in play within a dungeon. The learning goal of this book is to get the whip out of the toybag and into active play within the dungeon.

Dex

Tampa, FL

03/07/2019

Acknowledgments

No journey is ever made alone, and my journey with the whip is no different. There are many miles, cracks, whip makers, enthusiasts and leather folk to thank. My journey started in 1999 when I entered the lifestyle. Stan Sherman, then with Happy Tails, advised me on my first whip purchases: a matching Tomcat and snake whip. I practiced using techniques Stan described to me over the phone and was a year into developing my throwing style before I ever attended a Bob Deegan workshop at Black Rose in D.C. Roger Stevens is owed a lot of credit for encouraging me to be myself and to continue to improve in the art of whip throwing. Robert Dante piqued my interest in bullwhips, showed me the cutback that has become such an integral part of my backhand routines, and encouraged me to follow the whip where ever it would lead me to go. Snoflak has provided me a loving community and play space to throw in and encouraged me to share my knowledge and skill with others. Snoflak, possibly the best East Coast Swing whip thrower I know, graciously demonstrated that technique for this book. My gratitude to Sir Sublime for taking photos of Snoflak. There is no other place in the world like Snoflak’s Feel Me Breathe. I would also like to thank Master Malik, Master Tom and slave linda (Southeast Master/slave 2005/2009) for granting their permission to use their journal entries revealing the inner voice of both whip top and whip bottom in their unique reflective remembrances of a scene.

No book can be complete without the helping hands of others. Many thanks to Jim (Tigrrrr) for shooting the photo of his partner Linda (budddd) for the book cover. When the project stalled for a few months, Knotty_guy_1000 took wonderful photos to keep things moving along. A special thanks go to The Space, Owned and Operated by Master Oakman and slave diamond of South Florida Community10 for providing a dungeon space for photos. A big thank you to one of the best kinky photographers around, The Quietmaster, for shooting the whip in motion.

As a whip collector whose passion for whips almost borders on obsession, I most certainly have a whip fetish. I own over 60 singletail whips. At one point, a good whip friend of mine, Talan, out of the NYC scene, said I needed a 12-step program and declared himself my personal handler. This worked well until one year at The Floating World, when he left me alone for 30 minutes and I bought another whip. Nevertheless, I want to thank him for sharing his passion with me.

Every whip and whip maker I have encountered has contributed to the evolution of knowing what I personally like in a dungeon whip. But at the end of the rainbow, my gratitude solidifies in naming Mike Murphy, Peter Jack and Bill Nones as direct contributors to my craft, the art of throwing a whip in the dungeon. I want to thank lady sally for not only being a wonderful whip bottom, but for being so gracious to braid the finest crackers for my whips. I can do this myself, but there is truly nothing like a lady sally cracker. I want to thank all of the whip bottoms with whom I have had the joy of throwing a bullwhip scene. Special thanks especially to the whip bottoms who agreed to contribute their voices to Chapter 18, A Perspective from the Bottom. And of course, I am forever grateful for my favorite whip catcher, Moodstone.

This book is dedicated to the most beautiful thing in the world…a whip catcher.

Introduction

Out of the Toybag and Into Your Play Repertoire

The learning goal of this book is to get the whip out of the toybag and into active play within the dungeon. Dante wrote, the crack of a whip is the epitome of SM. It explodes like lightning from the hand of a god or goddess, it snakes through the air like a dragon’s claw. It’s evil, languid, precise, supremely savage, and sensuous. In short, it is as sexy as it is dangerous (Miller & Devon, 1995, p. 163).

When BDSM is visualized, several toys come to mind: rope, a flogger, a cane, a paddle, and of course a singletail whip. These are symbols of the BDSM lifestyle. These are the tools of most tops. Whether they are wielded sensuously, or simply with a rhythmic percussion that in a different environment than a dungeon would yield the equivalent of a massage; or whether they are wielded to bring endorphins to a flush of the senses, these are the tools most tops have in their toybag and as part of their repertoire. Each requires a different skill. Some of these toys are wielded using similar techniques in throwing. Often pulled out in the social area, looked at, touched, fondled, cared for, compared between toybags, they are an essential part in negotiating a scene with a bottom. Decades ago few tops owned singletails as they were made out of kangaroo, there were few quality dungeon whip plaiters in the world, and they were costly even by 1990’s economic standards. Only true whipmasters owned singletails in those days mainly because of cost. Many of those who did own them had not mastered them, so they never let on that they spent that kind of money on a toy they could not even use. They either quietly sold their expensive whip, or hung it in the back of a closet to gather dust. But eventually that changed.

Bob Deegan deserves a lot of credit for developing a singletail (signal whip) throwing style that is easy to learn and is accurate with a little practice. He was a major contributor to the singletail popularity in the early 2000’s. With the help of his workshops, signal whips became synonymous with singletails in the scene. In fact, many folks may not even know that the singletail in their toybag is a dog signal whip. Deegan was very fluid and appeared to take elements from Tai Chi and dance. His style of throwing has become commonly known as East Coast Swing. The basic throw he was teaching was a horizontal throw that utilized the geometric radius between the thrower and the catcher. Signal whips plaited for this style of throwing were made very stiff, usually with a fairly heavy shot loaded core. More about signal whips later.

As with anything SM, toys and play run in trends and the current trend seems to be rope, specifically suspension. It is somewhat rare to see more than one top throwing a singletail in the dungeon these days. This is ironic because in the last decade paracord whips have become more and more plentiful and economically priced. Paracord singletails are within the price reach of almost all tops. The result is almost every top now has a singletail lash of some type, but not enough are taking them out of the toybag and using them in scenes in the dungeon. Limitations of paracord whips will be discussed in a future chapter, but they have made singletails affordable for everyone. They are a starting place. I encourage everyone interested in learning to throw a whip to begin with the purchase of a paracord whip. But before the whip is purchased and pulled out of the bag, first let’s learn about different classes of whips…

Chapter 1

Classes of Whips

While the focus of this book is on singletail whips, it is important to know about the different classes of whips. The techniques used to throw the types of whips more commonly seen in the dungeon will lay a foundation for techniques applied to throwing a singletail whip in the dungeon.

The most common whips used in every dungeon are multi-tail or multi-lash whips.

Multi-tail Whips

Floggers. A flogger is the most common multi-tail whip seen in the dungeon. Almost every top owns one and knows how to throw it. It is a fairly easy whip to learn how to throw and will most likely not cause serious damage if a mistake is made when throwing. Floggers can be made of many materials, but traditionally are made of some form of leather. A good flogger will typically have from between 80 to 200 tails. The weight of the tails must be properly counterbalanced. Balancing the handle behind the pineapple transition knot to counter-balance the weight of the tails will prevent premature tiring of the throwing arm during a scene. The flogger depicted in Photo 1 is a balanced oil tanned goat skin flogger with a kangaroo plaited handle with finishing pineapple knots.

Photo 1

Quirts or Viper tongues. Quirts are not as common in the dungeon as floggers. Quirts only have two tails, which are shaped into a viper tongue form and are stingy. With skill they can be feathered and used to warm up the skin for other types of play. They can easily leave a mark and light bottoms probably will not enjoy them. Heavier bottoms will most likely embrace the sting and burning sensations they can provide. A short quirt, often called a Western quirt, can be found in most tack shops. They are fairly inexpensive and most often made out of cow hide. Longer quirts, like a dog signal quirt, mirror the construction of a signal whip or a pocket snake whip, but instead of ending with a cracker, or fall/cracker, the long quirt is finished with a wider fall cut in the shape of a viper tongue (Compare Western quirt with long quirt in Photo 2).

Photo 2

Cat O’ Nines. The cat o’ nine is synonymous with corporal punishment whippings, and is the implement most often seen in movies and described in historical accounts for that purpose. Cats can be made out of any type of material, but traditionally they are made out of leather. Not surprisingly, they have nine tails. Sometimes objects are tied into the end of the tails to cut, dig, or leave marks.

Traditional Cats. A traditional cat o’