Okay, it's true. Paddling isn't rocket science. If you have a paddle and a partner with a bare butt, it's pretty easy to figure out what to do next, even without a user's guide.

Still, there's a lot you can do other than swat and repeat. In this section, I'll talk a little bit about ways to mix it up a bit. I'll also talk about role-playing ideas you can integrate into your paddling play.

SETTINGS, STYLES, AND TECHNIQUES

Different people get different things out of erotic paddling. Some people like heavy, intense sensation; for other people, the spanking itself is largely symbolic, a tangible representation of a power dynamic, rather than something enjoyable by itself. To people who like the symbolism of spanking and paddling, a heavy paddling might not be enjoyable.

As with any kind of impact play, it's important to talk to your partner before you start. Even if you're engaged in a spontaneous, impromptu paddling session (and hey, who hasn't had a chance meeting on a subway turn into an over-the-knee paddling, right?) a few words before you begin--"Do you like to be spanked hard?" or "Say 'red' if it becomes too much"--can help.

	Paddling does not necessary have to be painful. If done lightly, with rapid but not hard taps, it can be quite sensual. Oftentimes, people are reluctant to explore paddling and other kinds of impact play out of fear of hurting their partners. A few things that can ease this fear are talking to your partner about what he or she wants and hopes to get out of it; what your partner's limits are; and ways your partner can let you know if what you're doing feels too good or is going too hard, without breaking out of the mood. Many people like to use "stoplight safewords"--when your partner says "green," that means keep going; "yellow" means keep going but do not increase the level of sensation; "red" means stop. When you're learning your partner's limits, increase the speed and intensity of the strokes gradually until your partner says "yellow," which means you've reached the edge of your partner's tolerance. This will let you know how far you can go and what levels to stay within.

Even people who like a very hard, intense paddling don't often like leaping straight into it without a warmup. Warming up your partner gets the blood flowing and also gets your partner turned on; sexual arousal makes a big difference in any kind of impact or pain play. For people who enjoy intense spanking, a good warmup is often the key to a good, fun session. (I've met people who like to go directly into intense impact play without a warmup, but people who like this are relatively rare.)

You can warm up your partner by beginning with light, brisk taps with the flat of the paddle directly on the center of the buttocks, or even with your open hand. As you warm up your partner, you can increase both the speed and the intensity of your paddling; the warmup will help your partner relax, and help establish both a physical and psychological framework for the session.

	The buttocks are largely muscle and can take a very hefty whalloping without permanent injury. However, it is important to take care not to strike the tailbone or the base of the spine; these areas are surprisingly delicate, and can be injured easily. When using a paddle especially, it's important to keep the spankings on the center and lower part of the buttocks, away from the tailbone. You can also use a paddle with care on the inner thighs. Don't go below thee level of the inner thighs, though; the knees, like the tailbone, are fragile and easily injured. Avoid using a paddle over any area where bone is close to the surface of the skin (fingers, hands, shins, feet, and so forth); over joints such as elbows or knees; and over any part of the body where organs are not protected, such as kidneys and stomach.

BEGINNINGS: WARMUP AND LOCATION

The first thing that springs into many people's minds when they think of "spanking" or "paddling" is probably the classic over-the-knee spanking session, where the paddler sits on a chair or couch and turns the paddlee over his or her knee to administer the spanking. This position, especially if the spanker is sitting on narrow chair, puts the spankee off-balance, and creates a psychological sense of vulnerability. And, of course, it also puts the person being paddled in a very convenient position to be groped and teased as well.

Naturally, with this sort of paddling, one doesn't want clothing in the way of the paddle, because that might decrease the effectiveness of the paddling, right? Bare-bottom spankings are more intimate than spankings through clothing, and can also be more intense as well, if you choose. They also offer an opportunity to restrict your partner's range of motion, which can make the psychological aspect of the paddling more interesting as well.

How is that? Well, the trick is not to remove your partners clothing altogether, but simply move it enough to get access.

• If your partner is wearing pants: Unfasten the pants, and pull them, and your partner's underwear, down to about knee level or so before turning your partner over your knee. This tangles up your partner's legs, making struggling or escaping more difficult.
• If your partner is wearing a skirt or dress: Bend your partner over your knee, then hike up the skirt or dress to give you access. Pull down your partner's underwear to about knee level, but don't remove it; again, this tangles up your partner's legs.

This gives you the ability to mix the spanking with teasing and fondling as well. One fun technique to use is to begin tapping your partner very lightly with the paddle, then gradually increase the strength of the taps, working up to good, sound, rapid thwacks, until you make your partner squeal. Then stop the paddling and slip your hand between your partner's legs. Touch, stroke, and fondle until your partner is aroused and squirming, then start with the rapid paddling again--gently at first and with gradually increasing intensity. By alternating back and forth between paddling that ramps up in intensity and stroking and fondling, you can work your partner up into a state where the spanking itself becomes arousing. Pain is processed differently when a person is aroused; it can actually feel different Combining spanking with fondling can make the sexual arousal much more intense.

Of course, if straight-ahead, uncomplicated spanking is more your thing, you can have fun by telling your partner to count the paddlings out loud. Pick a number, then tell your partner that he ir she will receive that many paddles. Tell him or her that after each paddle, he or she will be required to count that apddle number and say "Please, sir, may I have another?" (as in "One! Please, sir, may I have another?" and so forth). Vary the time between paddles, but try not to give any indication about when the whack will land; remain still for a few moments, then without warning deliver the next thwack to your partner's backside. By doing this, you increase the sense of anticipation and force your partner to focus on waiting for each whack, which heightens the sensation.

For added deviousness, you can make your partner choose the number of paddles, indirectly. Ask your partner a question you do not believe that he or she will be able to answer; something like "How old was I the first time I drove a car?" or "How many music albums did I own when i was a senior in high school?" If your partner gets the aswer right, then he or she is exempt from the paddling--but if your partner gets the answer wrong, then whatever the guess was becomes the number of paddlings he or she will get. (Or, if you're a kindhearted soul, then perhaps the difference between your partner's answer and the correct answer becomes the number of paddlings; this will also keep your partner from trying to dodge the paddlings by always answering "Zero!" or "One!".)

CHOOSING ROLES

By far the most common paddling role-play scenario I've seen among fans of spanking and paddling is the student/teacher scenario, in which one person takes the role of a misbehaving student and the other takes the role of a disciplining teacher. This role-play has the person playing the part of the teacher sternly disciplining the person playing the student for some infraction--cheating, cutting in line, fighting, or whatever; then administering good old-fashioned bent-over corporeal punishment for the misdeed. Variants on this idea involve lecturing the student about the transgression, then offering the student a choice between expulsion and paddling, or discovering that the student has put a book or magazine in his or her pants to make the spanking less harsh, which will require the teacher to remove the magazine (and the student's pants!) to deliver the paddling.

This kind of role-playing scenario can be flipped on its head, with the student delivering the paddling to the teacher. Imagine that the student has caught the teacher engaged in some misdeed that would result in the teacher being fired if it came to light--altering a grade for a friend's child, perhaps, or stealing supplies from the broom closet. The student threatens to expose the teacher to administration, unless...

An especially ambitious student can take advantage of the opportunity to seduce the teacher as well, and thereby ensure that he or she can continue the blackmail into the future.

Similar role-playing scenarios can involve a boss who has caught an employee pilfering office supplies or breaking company rules, who then explains that the employee can be fired for the transgression, or can accept a more direct and personal form of "company discipline." The boss can deliver this discipline to the employee's backside, bent over the desk in the boss' office...and, of course, if the employee shows any sign of sexual arousal during the spanking, the boss can take advantage of the opportunity to blackmail the employee into a little sexual serivce as well.