Teaching Extreme BDSM Play

Master John Weal is a very accomplished BDSM educator and we recently approached him about the issue of teaching extreme BDSM.  There are some factions in our community that think we shouldn't be in the business of educating on topics like hook pulls or breath play.  We asked Master John for his opinion on the topic.

WHY should we teach extreme classes to our lifestyle you ask?  Well if we don’t several things will happen, none of which are positive.  In this time where people are lear  ning things through the Internet and through watching videos, many of these educational venues don’t talk about the techniques or pitfalls behind edge play.  People are getting seriously hurt and even dying because of the lack of education in extreme BDSM.  

First off,  I am a teacher of extreme BDSM and teach everything from blood sports to crucifixion and more, including breath play.  It is my opinion and I've seen others teach simple classes and not be properly educated and teach such things like telling people to use 90 percent isopropyl alcohol instead of 70 percent in fire play.  The difference is night and day.  

My dear friend Lamalani, IMSL 2009,  and I were just talking about a class where someone was teaching fire play and didn’t mention using only cotton thread, string or whatever you need to make the fire wand they used nylon thread and caused burns in a fire class.  Oh my god that teacher should never teach again!  If good teachers are teaching, then extreme BDSM should be taught so everyone can get good correct information.  

Extreme caution must be used when interviewing an educator at any level but if you find one, and there are good ones in every community, use them as resources and get them to teach.  I know when I started doing blood sports as a gay male in my community people were scared to death.  Once they tried it, and started practicing the safe forms of extreme play, it flourished like wildfire.  

I believe that blood, fire, hanging of any type, whether it be suspension or crucifixion or just plain old fashion hanging, is extremely dangerous.  For those of us who find it exciting, we've found out how to do it safely or we wouldn’t be practicing them.  I always have looked at any demo I've seen and always tried to find out where I would do something different and more safely to protect me or the bottom, and if I can say I can’t, then I know it was a good demo.  That goes from basic flogging to advanced suspension, or blood sports.  

If the educator is thoroughly educated in the extreme play then he/she should pass that information on to his fellow leathermen that want to learn it.  If not, when the feather tickles the Dom to do it, they may end up hurting someone.  We all grow through this journey and get more extreme as we grow,  I'm sure everyone of you would agree that the flogging you do today is much more than when you started, or the whip play or the sounding or whatever it is that flips your button.  You got there through errors and education and learning.  

Why would you not want to teach the extreme?  Afraid of being blamed? Well then you shouldn’t teach it.  I look at it as a way to pass on my life before I die to those who may replace me in the future doing even more extreme play.  There is extreme to every type of play as well.  I have seen an extreme whipping scene much more brutual and savage and edgy then my harp scene of 100 needles inserted and zippered causing extreme blood as many of you have seen.  Yes I cut skin and do so in a safe environment and practice safety to the max.  Does the bottom enjoy it?  Absolutely and they line up to be the next victim.  

I don’t understand why we would want to limit ourselves as leathermen.  From the Old Guard Days we learned many things and we've changed them to protect ourselves just as our future leathermen will learn new and better ways.  But if we don’t give them the foundation to build upon they won't be able to go into the future.  

Extreme BDSM is about edge play and to many ask "where is the edge and when and where should that edge be determined?"  I ask you who are you to even ask that question?  Isn’t up to the two consenting adults?   

Extreme BDSM is out there and if we don’t protect what we do and teach it to our newer members of the community it will die, we will die.  It’s like anything else in this life of ours, we must pass it on, its part of who and what we are and what we owe to our brothers and sisters.  Extreme play will always be out there and will always be pushed further and further.  It baffles me why a serious leather organization of any substance would hinder this education and not promote it.  Its like sex and the many ways we all do it and we all do it differently.  So why not learn a new way or make an old way better if you can?  If we're going to do it, and we all know we are, then why not educate everyone so we can all protect one another whether we play extreme or not.

Not only is it part of our who and what we are, it's what needs to be done to further everyone's life in our lifestyle.  If we don’t educate our younger members they will go on to make horrific mistakes and bring us back to the days of being jailed and hitting the press with bad press of our lifestyle!

Be sure to check out the video interview we did with Master John about cigar play and the new book he has out on the topic.