I am a novice compared with most of the other individuals posting here but I hope I might offer some encouragement anyone who is tempted to take the plunge but nervous about it. We are all different and I can only tell it as I have found it myself.

I spent years trying to image what it would be like to be stripped, whipped and caned. I finally plucked up the courage after I retired. The punishment itself can be extremely painful but if the idea appeals to you then the anticipation is fantastic and the caning is merely something to be endured. (You will devise techniques to help you cope with the pain if you need to.) I enjoy constucting scenarios which require me to be punished, setting them out in an email and then acting them out during the session. I visited my first Mistress upwards of twenty times. She was a really lovely lady but quite a pussycat compared to Victoria, whom I have now visited twice.

On the first occasion Mistress warmed me up very thoroughly and then gave me several sets of 20 shots with the cane and finished off with a hairbrush. She is clearly a very experienced professional with great technical skills (lovely parallel lines from the cane) and she reads your body language well. I was never really distressed and could have taken more of the hairbrush when she finished.

My second visit was as a headmaster receiving ‘therapy’ from a doctor following an ‘incident’ with one of the schoolgirls. I was made to strip to my underpants and have both hands caned; then a surprisingly gentle application of a strap to my genitals; then to the bench! Pants down, strapped down, warmed up (extremely thoroughly) and only then told that I was going to receive 200 strokes with the cane. I knew that was not possible but Mistress demonstrated that the impossible merely takes a little longer and hurts a little more. I was literally shaking by the time it was over. It was just incredibly, awfully painful. She is a real sadist and delights in pushing you as far as you can go; my backside is a real mess. (Somewhere in the ether there is a photograph but I don’t know where!) The strange thing is, a day later, I just cannot wait to have it done again; the thought of the Mistress inflicting almost unendurable pain is now a really erotic turn-on for me.

Bear in mind that what the Mistress did with me is what she thought was right for me. She may be gentler or more severe with you but whatever she does will be right for you. In my opinion you really need to do at least two sessions so as to benefit properly from the recovery and anticipation cycle. By then you will either be hooked for the long term or know that it is not really for you. The only other thought I would offer is to talk it over with your spouse before you do it. You then have a clear conscience and you can enjoy the markings rather than worrying about them!