:: Edgeliving: Master Jim and slave marsha ::

:: Sunday, March 12, 2006 ::

Whips and Chains: Necessary, But Not Sufficient

I am wondering where you began your M/s, D/s, leather or SM journey? I think many of us in the M/s community today began with a primary focus on BDSM. My first tentative steps involved compiling a bag of equipment. I took great pride in going through the contents of that bag with willing bottoms, watching with great joy their interest, surprise and even shock at some of the items therein.

As did many others, I began to hone my SM skills first with paddles, floggers, clamps and cuffs. Later, I moved on to needles, scalpels and staple guns. Somewhere along the way, I developed a curiosity about D/s and then M/s. As time went on, I realized to my surprise that my interest in M/s was becoming my primary focus. That is not to say that SM was not important, but only that it had become a part of a much larger, more complex whole.

As I have recounted here before, my first discussions about M/s were with slave marsha. There was no one else to talk with. The few leather events that existed at the time at best might have one panel discussion on M/s. In fact, one of the first of these panels that I attended was made up entirely of members not currently in M/s relationships and at least two of the panel members stated they no longer had any interest in M/s!

Today, those of us who live as Masters and slaves have a growing community open to us. There are numerous events that focus on Mastery and slavery, and many of those that do not focus on it nevertheless offer a significant number of seminars on M/s topics. As a result, we now have gone far beyond "M/s 101" and are discussing the deeper issues that surround living as a Master and a slave. As an example, at South Plains Leatherfest-International Master/slave Weekend 2006, I and slave marsha offered a seminar entitled "If You Meet the Master on the Road, Kill Him!" This was a new seminar that focused on the philosophical underpinnings of a M/s relationship -- and even though we included some practical elements on structuring and maintaining a M/s relationship, it was much more theoretical than our usual offerings and I was not sure how the audience would respond to it. Much to my surprise, the seminar was well received.

So where does that leave us? As an M/s community are we now at a point where we should move M/s out of the dungeon and into the rarefied area of Aristotelian discourse? Where the only pain that is experienced is the headache we get from trying to understand each other's discussions?

I hope that those of you who have listened to myself and slave marsha speak or who have read the posts on this blog already know the answer. And the answer is -- no. There is no question that I enjoy discussing the abstract issues surrounding M/s with my fellow travelers. But I also need to discuss the practical aspects of ownership, obedience, discipline and punishment. I have always believed that it is important to understand why we are walking this path, but it is exceedingly important that we understand the different ways of how to walk it.

I plan to continue talking about and presenting on the philosophical aspects of Mastery and slavery. In fact, I may even do more of that than I have in the past. However, my pledge to you is that I and slave marsha will always incorporate practical concerns in our discussions. We will not tell you how to do things, but we will share with you what we have done and listen to your experiences.

In the final analysis, I believe it is accurate to say that while whips and chains may be necessary, but not sufficient, it is equally true that philosophical understanding is absolutely essential, but not enough.

In leather,
Master Jim

:: 2:53 PM [+] ::
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Comments:

i have some thoughts....do we talk more when things lose the newness?
do we do more because we are learning? when we find the slave that best fits or the Master, do we then, after a rush at the beginning, lose sight of the doing that gave us a rush in the beginning? Or perhaps, for those doing D/s for the long term there are phases, yet no guide to make us realize what the next step is?
To all this i dont know the answer, however i do believe those that teach need to continue if only as research for themselves, and to try to get feedback!

# posted by  Anonymous : 12:13 PM

 

I actually never got started in the bdsm scene. In fact with an exception of SM and MS not much about the bdsm side of things interest me. I am not into the whole bondage and whips and chains type of thing.

I actually started my blog because of that fact. I started teaching about M/s and D/s and various lifestyles contained within. Really first I learned of gor, then I learned of M/s, then I learned of bdsm.

Seems I am backwords in this area huh?

Oh by the way, you've been listed under "lifestyle blogs"

# posted by  Anonymous : 10:48 PM

 

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