I am curious to know what kind of rope did everyone first use? What material? How thick was it? Length? Color? What did you try doing? How did that work out for you?
I started with common marina and home supply rope, mostly 3/8 inch twisted nylon, though also some 1/2 inch. I bought a lot of 50 foot bags, some I cut to a variety of shorter lengths, others I left as-is. It was all white.

I did harnesses, tied wrists and ankles, spread-eagle, etc. I also used rope attached to leather wrist or ankle restraints. As I progressed, I realized I enjoyed the process of tying and untying my partner more, so I actually prefer doing things slower.

I find 3/8 is too big, and it results in knots which are too bulky

If you could recommend a first rope using those same details, what would you tell someone new to the art?
I recommend synthetic rope, for being easier to clean, doesn’t call for as much treating or maintenance, is stronger, and is significantly less expensive. That said, if you are drawn to natural fiber for whatever reason – smell, appearance, authenticity, photography, even popularity in your local rope groups – I’d say just get what you like.

I suggest people buy a spool of 500 feet, braided nylon, either 1/4 or 5/16 inch. Cut off a few pieces, and then you can adapt the length you like working with.

Have fun! 🙂

Flogging is the absolute best stress reliever! When I am stressed, a flogging can reduce me to tears and even to a total break down into sobbing. When it’s over and Sir is holding me, I feel totally relaxed, all my muscles devoid of tension. When I’m not stressed, the world just disappears and I can just feel, just enjoy the sensations, just feel floaty too sometimes. It’s wonderful!
@CelestialSilence Good luck in finding a partner to deliver the flogging you need!

Once we found the right tool for the job (More like a dust brush instead of something like a cat toy on a stick), and now that I have the technique that my wife seems to enjoy quite a bit: I have found it to be a great way for me to decompress. Her reaction when I get it right is something I enjoy (as does she) quite a bit!

Any kind of session is good for stress as it creates a more immediate stress. Being flogged puts stress on you as in pain, possibly embarrassment (depending on the condition), discomfort. This stress overrides all other stresses going on. When this stress stops, and the endorphins are flowing, all other stresses go away as well.

This is why I love this. I do and teach meditation, and it is good for stress, and keeping stress away. But if one is stressed, it is hard to get down and meditate.

Flogging immediately takes your attention away from your problems by giving you new, immediate problems. Once it is over, the other problems while not going away permanently, weigh a lot less on you.

If you have friends in your local community, ask for volunteers. There could be some people who would be delighted to offer that service to you, and you’d get better feedback from a person than from a pillow.

You aren’t likely to injure someone with a flogger, at least not beyond the body’s ability to heal itself.

I slip a t-shirt onto a pillow and then slide one side of the shirt over a music stand so I can raise it to standing height. Of course, you’d need one of the more sturdy music stands to hold a pillow.

Other than the music stand, I’ve also just stacked a bunch of pillows on a chair next to a corner of a room until I could get the target pillow up to standing height. Look around and see if you have a piece of furniture (dresser, chess, table) that will allow you to place the pillow at the height you want. I thought the couch suggestion above could possibly work if the couch is against a wall, has a relatively flat back, and you prop the pillow up on the back of the couch against the wall. Maybe one or two pillows (or a box, some other suitable object) to raise the pillow up a bit more to standing height.

I have a aluminum chain flogger…purple chain with a leather suede handle. (Toymaker deceased). I have used it several times on some hard core masochists. The other use is putting in dry ice or the freezer, then dragging it over the body after its red and sore. Oh, and I surprise ’em with it.