Caning

To most submissives, they mean severe punishment; to sensation-seeking S/M bottoms, overload.  If we have care and patience, however, canes can be used in a loving and sensuous way.  The very stiffness of a good cane, that makes a hard stroke so intense, allows the lightest taps to be given with perfect control.  And a light canestroke is easy to aim, unlike a flexible whip that sags and flops at low power.  In the kind of sensuous play I'm describing here, light strokes are far more prevalent and important than heavy ones. 

CANING TECHNIQUE 

A single cane can deliver an entire symphony of sensation.  A snappy blow that is pulled back a bit just before impact will emphasize surface sting. The same sort of blow carried past the moment of impact, with follow-through, will have much more thud and penetration. 

The greatest intensity is delivered by the outer third or so of the cane's length.  This is the portion that leaves marks, in a hard blow.  In a light blow, this part of the cane will have a relatively stingy feel. Closer to the top's hand, the cane moves much more slowly, and the sensation will be more thuddy or even massage-like.  This allows a good way of maintaining rhythm and atmosphere while giving some relief to a bottom who is showing signs of overload. 

The very tip of a cane can be used on many targets that a full-length blow might harm, or be unable to even reach.  Tip shots can work the inside of the sweet spot, the bottoms of the feet, the muscles between the spine and the shoulder blades.  A traditional cane stroke in any of these areas would cross bony areas, causing bone bruises and pain that is not at all erotic; a hard one might chip bones or crush nerves, and cause truly harmful damage.  Note: try for these with any force until you are utterly sure of your aim!  Lighter tip shots are much safer, and feel much like percussion massage.

CANING AND OTHER PLEASURES 

Sexual connections: perhaps a quarter of women, and a very few men, can actually get orgasms from the cane.  I think this is incredibly hot, and it makes me very jealous!  There will be others who may not actually climax, but get extremely turned on, which can offer a pleasant answer to the question of "what do we do next?" 

The shock waves made by a cane are directional - they tend to continue through the target in the general direction the cane was moving when it hit.  In fact, if you slide a hand under your partner's thigh or belly, you can feel the shock of a medium cane stroke go right through them.  The "sweet spot" in the lower butt, to either side of the crack, is sweet for this reason; blows here can send waves up into a whole complex of muscles, nerves, and engorged tissue that is directly involved with sexual excitement.  Many bottoms will enjoy a steady rhythm of light or medium blows on the sweet spot - especially if they are angled to send their shock waves up and forward.  At least one lady I know has called the effect a "rattan vibrator". 

One good sign of this sexual connection is a face-down bottom whose hips begin to rise and fall in a steady rhythm.  You might try matching that rhythm, with light or medium strokes.  Or use your other hand to massage the nerve points around the pelvic dimples and to either side of the last few inches of the spine.

Caning is sting and burn, a sharply focused sensation, a compelling excursion into the entertainment potential of your central nervous system.  It's ecstasy for endorphin junkies, heaven for heavy players, paradise for bottoms who've learned to process pain into pleasure.  Pain is when I stub my toe.  Pleasure is when I'm tingling in anticipation of the next stroke.  Caning can be severe or sensuous, decadent or decorous, spontaneous or scripted.  Incorporating a single implement into your play can add oodles of atmosphere.