Pride and Punishment

Punishment and discipline: difference

Although the words in general are often used interchangeably, I try to impart some difference:

• Discipline: the imposition of a set of rules and regulations.
• Punishment: the penalty imposed for the infraction of these rules and regulations.

Probably due to me liking clear boundaries, I try to maintain this distinction in terminology. So discipline constrains and directs bois towards particular types of behaviour and away from others, and punishments are there to ensure that they are adhered to.

Punishments: what are they?

The only iron law that I adhere to is that punishments should not be enjoyable. The fear and dislike of being punished are vital to ensure that a slave adheres to the disciplinary rules that the master expects them to follow. As such punishments are different for slaves. If a slave enjoys CP then it is no use reaching for the lash in order to instil a lesson. Instead a Master must use his imagination and ring the changes in punishments. This prevents a slave from bratting or being able to predict what sort of punishment they will get. So, for example, I have one boi who hates spam: can’t stand it. But it won’t kill him so when he earns a penalty point (more of which later) he has to eat a cube of spam.

Penalty Points

I operate a penalty point system, handing them out to slaves so they know where they are in the punishment stakes. The rule of thumb is one penalty point is equivalent to one lash stroke. This can be substituted for something else. On point could be one minute in bondage and ignored or, as in the case given above, one cube of spam! I generally do not administer a punishment until the total reaches ten points and never usually go over twenty. Over twenty points then I go up to twenty and then judge whether the boi can take more in a single session.
Gold Stars and other reductions

Penalty points can be reduced in number. A boi may do something particularly good or startling that deserves a reward. One method of reward is to reduce the tally of penalty points that a slave has. This sets them goals automatically in order to reduce their punishment. One concept introduced to me by Peter, and used by one of his old Masters (not Vermeer) was the idea of Gold Stars: trade-able counters that reduce punishments. Slaves can keep them or trade them among each other. I set the value of one Gold Star at ten penalty points. These are of course awarded at my discretion. Now, if used to reduce, say, eight points, the other two are lost.

Any ideas?

Of course Masters can and should swap ideas for punishments and what they do as favourites. But let me re-iterate, all slaves are different and respond to stimuli in different ways. Don’t just reach for the lash. Be imaginative and ring the changes when you can. Keep the bois guessing, and they will appreciate it by becoming better at serving you.

M