Showing posts with label whip cracking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whip cracking. Show all posts

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Whip workshop

I've just done a longer blog post about this over on DeliciouslyDeviant, but here's a quick note about a workshop I went to yesterday.

My local munch organisers ran a whip workshop by Alex Jacob of Cobra Whips. It was billed as a small, low key affair. 'Low key' is not something I associate with Alex, who has a... let's just say a flamboyant personal style, especially with a whip in his hand. But it was an excellent session that, for my purposes, was a good way to revisit some of the basics of handling long whips.

I won't bore you with the details but in essence, you need to think of your arm and body as an extension of the whip, and keep all your movements smooth and flowing. The workshop was an occasion to work out how far out of practice I am (I haven't picked up my bullwhip and snakewhip for some time) and a good reminder that practice makes perfect.

Plus, Alex shortened the fall and refitted a better cracker to the snakewhip, roughly doubling the volume of its crack. And two of the other participants were a couple of writers, one of erotica and one of game scenarios, and we were able able to have a conversation over dinner.

So congratulations and many thanks to the organisers. Excellent session!

Quick note for those who don't know: a 'munch' is a low-key gathering of like-minded people, usually in a pub or bar. The term started out, I believe, in the US when computer geeks got together to discuss matters of mutual interest - but then other types of munch started as well, including those for people with an interest in bdsm. 

There are several dozen - in fact probably over a hundred - monthly bdsm munches around the UK, including five within a short drive of where I live (this says nothing about me other than that I'm fortunate, because I don't organise any and turn up only occasionally). A munch is likely to comprise anything from half a dozen to several dozen people, in a public venue and dressed (mostly) in normal everyday wear, who recognise each other through some symbol such as a particular item placed on the table they're using.

If you're relatively new to bdsm, or have moved to a new location, a munch is often a fast way to start to find out more about what bdsm is and how it works, and/or to connect with like-minded people locally. Many people new to bdsm aren't confident about going straight into the club scene and a munch is a good half-way house; you'll meet people in a normal environment who may then be contacts who can introduce you to other people, clubs, skill sets, or whatever you want, really. If you want to know what munches are around in your area, Fetlife (free to join) has lists as does, in the UK, Informed Consent (also free). 

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Happy 2012!

I know I've been sparse with posts recently, so first and foremost, a special thank you to the few people who bother to read this blog!

It's been a very busy 2011, with quite a lot written (and a good proportion of it published) despite the amount of time I've been spending on other and often quite unerotic, if financially rewarding, forms of writing. And of course the latter part of the year was taken up by a house move. We are mostly (though not entirely) unpacked, and I've finally found the box with the bullwhips in it... Just as well because I had a phone call the other day from a friend who tells me there's a new whip-cracking club starting up locally in the new year (it's becoming a popular sport, with national championships in the UK as well as the US: if you don't believe me, see this report from the BBC, from 2009).

I have quite a long to-do list already for 2012; in fact V and I worked out yesterday that I'll be able to get through January's schedule provided there are 45 days in the month... and one of the priorities will be to get the second story in the 'moving house' series posted up here as soon as possible (the first one in the series was posted on my other blog DeliciouslyDeviant).

In previous years I've sat down between Christmas and New Year and written, if not a set of New Year resolutions, at least some aims. I didn't get to achieve all my 2011 aims but I don't feel bad about it because we did achieve a couple of the big ones, including the house move, and a third is now only a few days from completion.

So for 2012? Mindful of the fact I'm already hugely overcommitted for January alone, the general aims are: write more erotica, find more time to travel and be social, and have fun!

So, happy New Year for 2012 - and if you have any particularly deviant or sexy new year resolutions, please feel free to share...