Does the thought of being swatted with a hard spank turn your play partner on? Do you entertain fantasies of naughty schoolchildren being punished? Spanking is one of the most basic forms of discipline in the bondage community and many people's first taste of SM. Best of all, spanking is easy to learn and one of the less dangerous BDSM activities, making it a great way for new tops and bottoms to start their SM explorations.

There are many reasons to spank. You may find spanking a natural, informal part of sex play, or a complicated, scripted ritual including costumes and props. You may spank a bottom for their pleasure, in a role-playing scene, as pretend punishment or for real discipline (especially effective with non-masochists). Before spanking in any situation, however, you need to observe some basic physical and emotional safety precautions.

First, remove any rings! They can cause cutting and bruising. It's best to remove your watch as well. Make sure that your bottom has explicitly given his or her prior consent for spanking. If you're spanking someone for the first time, be prepared for a strong emotional reaction on their part, especially if they have been spanked as a child. Make sure there is some kind of safeword arrangement by which the spank can stop the scene.

There are many ways to start a spanking scene. I suggest simply order your bottom to drop their pants or get naked and assume the spanking position or you can precede this with telling the bottom how bad they've been and how much they deserve to be punished. You can spank a bottom while they are standing, chained up, leaning over a spanking bench or table, or any number of positions that expose their buttocks. Your bottom may be chained or free.

My personal favorite is to have my slave strip naked and lay across my knees. This is the classic position used by many parents and teachers, and gives the added benefit of nestling the slave's genitals in my lap (he gets extra spanks if he gets an erection). You can sit in a regular armless chair, although a bench of some kind works better. We found that a folding keyboard bench works wonderfully, you can get one for about $30 in any music store that sells keyboards.

To start, rest your spanking hand on the bottoms ass. Stroke the ass and give it a long, appreciative look. You have to get in tune with the ass, and prepare to approach it lovingly yet sternly. Start your spanking lightly, moving slowly from warm-up strokes to harder hits. It's best to maintain a steady rhythm throughout. I usually find about one spank a second hits the spot. Spanking involves more than simply smacking away at someone's ass. Your hits should be precise and you should retain control over their strength. You can hold your hand in various positions; the two most common are flat and cupped. An open, flat hand is the easiest to start with, and if directed to the right point of contact, should give a smart, stinging sensation. A cupped hand will give a louder smack and a more concentrated sensation.

While technically you can spank anywhere on someone's ass, some spots are better than others. Stay away from the upper ass, near the waist, it's close to the kidneys. The sides of the ass are acceptable but won't give as much traditional spanking sensation. The best place to hit is the "sweet spot," a square encompassing the lower portion of the ass and the tops of the thighs. This area also has nerve connections to the Kegel muscles of the groin area, and spanking here can actually cause pleasurable stimulation. You can use many methods to determine the length of a spanking session. You can have your bottom choose a number of spanks that they think they deserve, and then have them count every stroke. You can encourage them to get "stuck" on certain numbers if they wish ("5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9 ...").

When I spank someone for the first time, I like to have them rate my strokes on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of strength/pain ("That's a 3. That's a 5. That's,OUCH!, definitely an 8"). I then have them request strokes of different strengths "May I have a 6, please, Mistress." If my long-term slave misbehaves during the day, I tell him "that's 10" or however many spanks he is going to get; later I will give him all his accumulated spanks in one play session. Be tolerant to your bottoms pain tolerance, of course.

Don't be alarmed by some redness on the bottom's ass, this is normal. I have, however, seen a bottom spanked for at least an hour, until her ass turned a dark red and suddenly started bleeding. I definitely don't recommend this for beginners! Often, you may find your hand tires before your bottoms' bottom, thus the advantage of alternating with paddles, crops and canes (the subject of a future column). But a simple, well-administered spanking can be highly satisfying to both top and bottom, and is a great way to start exploring BDSM.