Recap: Spanko Brunch 2.0 for September 5

What are your thoughts on switches? Let's find out.

Roz: I have been caned with garden variety bamboo cane, but never switched. It does always seem overly harsh to me also therefore I don't really enjoy reading about, or scenes that involve switching.

KDPierre: There's certainly nothing INappropriate about them. I mean, heck, they're environmental! LOL

I've been switched a few times over the years......maybe about a couple of dozen times total. Usually they were on camping trips or hikes, but a couple were 'domestic'. In fact the one and only time I experienced fisting, I also was switched......let's say.......THOROUGHLY? LOL. My butt looked worse than a washboard!

Depending on the switch, it can be like caning, or an entirely different thing. Light ones sting almost annoyingly to me.....like getting wasp stings. I prefer the heavier ones though they do hurt more as well as leave plump welts. But, it's not an experience I would crave regularly. More of a mood/situation thing. 

Wendel: The only time we have used a switch is when we go hiking. As we hike we each pick out an appropriate switch. If we come to a secluded spot then we will take turns whipping each other’s bare bottom. Stings like all hell and we are sore for the return hike. Other than that we do not use switches or canes. 

Rosco: Irene and I love switches. They’re a little hard to find, and they dry out after awhile - so when we do find them, it’s a little more special. Sometimes we’ll find them when we’re out walking with the dog, who will think it’s a stick for her to play with.

We’ve had the best luck in late spring with shoots growing from the bases of wild plum trees. They’re straight and supple without thorns or stubble that causes too much damage. These and other switches are intense, and deliver a deeply satisfying sting - like the taste of tart lemonade on a hot summer’s day. A great feeling with a sting that lasts, different from the sting of a paddle or even a whip.

In the early days, Irene sometimes would be a little enthusiastic and the switches would wrap around and whack my far hipbone - taking the fun out of the wonderful occasion for a bit.

Graham: Switches can be great fun, though we've only done it on vacations in reasonably private settings. I find it pretty thrilling to be ordered out to cut a switch with the possibility that someone might notice...not that they would know for sure what's up.

As to the severity, it depends on the selection of the switch and the vigor of the administrator! It certainly needn't be any more severe than a light cane.

Simon: You'd think that a switch would have a similar sensation to a cane but it's a completely different feeling. It's much stingier and leaves thin vivid welts. I personally find it much more painful than a cane especially if wielded on my sensitive thighs. And of course if you combine a number of switches together you get a birch. I have often had to tie switches together in the knowledge that they will shortly be used on my poor old bottom. And of course if I don't do a good job and the birch falls apart I know that I'm in a lot of trouble.

Rich Person: As Simon notes, combining switches gives you a birch. So, I distinguish between the single switch and the birch switch. Each has its own uses and sensations.

I have experienced receiving the switch on occasion, but most of my experience is administering it. Typically, I use the birch for stimulation, rather than punishment. In one case, I used it while the girl was suffering from being gingered at the same time. I picked it because it wouldn't risk hitting the ginger too hard and possibly injuring her. I think this was a particularly stimulating combination.

For another girl, we kept the birch in a pail of water outside. If she needed it, she had to strip naked and go fetch it. For long-term preservation, it's best to keep them in salt water.

As for the single switch, I had a remote relationship where I needed a good punishment that could be delivered without my physical presence. If she misbehaved, I'd send her to get and prepare the switch. For that, she cut a thin branch from a bush that had long, straight branches.

She was instructed to cut a switch about 45-55 cm long and fairly straight. Then, to remove any minor twigs and leaves. She was required to remove the bark on the last third down to the tip. Once prepared, she had to apply it to get a specific number and redness of welts on her bottom.

In my experience, girls are pretty responsive to the switch. That is, they would rather behave properly than get punished with one, unlike a spanking, the prospect of which sometimes encourages bad behavior.

Ronnie: P did cut one once when we were out walking in the woods and I had 3 strokes before it broke so no real experience. Would I like to try one properly, why not.

Barrel: Sure, I think a switch is an appropriate implement and I have felt many on my backside. The usual variety are spring shoots of purple leaf plum and rose of sharon. I do most of the pruning so I make them without being asked. I usually cut them from too thin a shoot and they tend to break easily as my wife only applies her strokes firmly. I find switches wrap quite easily and can bite deeply, so be careful.

I can’t add anything to what has been previously shared, as everything is spot on, insightful and encouraging. Such shares from brunch participants are the reason this is my favorite blog. Thanks for sharing.

Prefectdt: Yes, I think switches are appropriate. And I have been switched more than once. I usually cut switches at work, if I need them (and tell my workmates that they are for house decoration).

The great thing about switches is the variety of sensations available. Harshly stingy, from Salix (Willow, but not weeping), Thud from Malus (Apple), easy to take hard strokes from spring cut Cornus (Dog Wood) and the list could go on and on. 

Bonnie: Yes, it hurt in a persistent stinging way. As I recall, we eventually stopped because it was starting to break my skin.

Hermione: The thought sends shivers down my spine, and not in a good way. The stories I have read that include switching left me cringing. They seemed way too severe and cut into the skin, which is a hard line for me. They are all sting and no thud, so let whippy branches stay on trees where they belong.

Jeanie: I have never had a hickory switch used on my bottom. I live in an area where hickory trees grow, but there is no one in my life at present to do the honors. I imagine it would be comparable with a caning.

When I was in college, I house-sat for some wealthy friends I knew through my church. They had a privacy fence around their property. My boyfriend, James, informed me on our first night there that he intended to whip me with a switch from the weeping willow tree in the back yard, & that I was to strip naked. It was thrilling to go outside nude in the sunlight. My lover cut a willow branch about four foot long & removed all the leaves. I was made to lean against a tree trunk & stick my bum out. The switch really stung, but broke after about five lashes. We went back inside & I attacked him; we made love on the floor just inside the backdoor. So the very next night, he gave me the same instructions. I felt cocky, thinking that I knew what to expect. But he cut three willow switches and braided them together. This hurt much more and lasted the entire time James wanted to use it on me. It left beautiful welts that had that braided impression in each one. I bet he gave me fifty lashes, until I was yelping and dodging the strokes, so some missed my bottom & landed on my legs and lower back. I wish I had a photograph of my backside with those marks. The vivid impression is burned into my memory. Again, I could not wait to make love after my whipping.

Then, about three years ago, I and my most recent lover rented a bed & breakfast place in Northern Michigan. It had a sauna and was on a spring-fed lake. We read up on it, cut some switches from the many white birch trees that grew there. We kept two bundles of them in a bucket of water to keep them supple. After the sauna, I would whip him and he would whip me. We covered each others' bodies except for the genitalia region. He concentrated with a lot more strokes on my bottom. It was invigorating. Then we ran naked down to the lake and jumped off the dock into the cold water. The water was too cold to make love right then, so we ran back inside before getting busy.

What a variety of responses! To each his/her own, I say!