The sjambok is a whip-like device that has, historically, been associated with South Africa. When considering someone to author a piece on the sjambok, All Things Spanking immediately thought of Mistress Baton who is a South African Disciplinarian based in Gauteng. She graciously accepted our invitation.
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Mistress Baston
Mistress Baton states that “BDSM, especially caning, is a passion of mine, not merely a pastime. It is one of my greatest purposes in life, to thrash as many eager bottoms as I can. I am a happy sadist. … strict, outspoken & dominant. A merciless, disciplinarian-type sadist and exhibitionist, who mostly plays fucking hard.” Please know, however, that Mistress Baton can adapt her style to accommodate limits. As in any BDSM play, communication is key to assure that all parties have a clear understanding of what will be done.
Mistress Baton does travel on occasion. She has announced an upcoming tour of the United Kingdom and may be touring Australia in the near future.
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The South African Sjambok
By Mistress Baton for All Things Spanking. 05 January 2018
An implement used often during impact play in my commercial dungeon, Strafkamer
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Photo of some of the sjamboks referred to below. Sjamboks are numbered as referred to in the article.
Sjambok #1 on photo:
Sjamboks are still widely used here and are sold almost everywhere…from the cities and small towns to rural townships, one may find a sidewalk hawker offering these exact sjamboks, every couple of miles. It is the sjambok that is typically used on offenders in so-called ‘kangaroo courts’ and in urban townships.
They’re made from plastic, and are thus very whippy towards the tip. During BDSM play I find it quite difficult to wield with accuracy indoors (my dungeon space is too narrow). It is much easier to use outside, especially if the recipient lies down on the ground for a vertical downswing stroke.
Other shapes of plastic sjamboks are readily available at large supermarkets or hardware stores (Sjambok #4). This kind is most often used for personal protection around the home or in the car; even to discipline large, thick-skinned dogs like the so-called Boerboel. I find it a very nice sjambok to use during CP play sessions: though it appears too thick, it is in fact hollow and very light, manufactured from a durable plastic, enabling ease of control in terms of severity, from light to very hard application.
Sjambok #3 is a heavy, rubber sjambok, similar to the standard issue, South African Police Force weapon, used for crowd control during times before CP was banned judicially in the mid-90s. The police sjamboks were shorter though, with a thicker, rigid tip.
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South African Police Force sjambok
Personally, it is unlikely that I will choose the police-style sjamboks for a BDSM play, due to safety concerns: these implements have been compared to bullets before, because it was as easy to drop a person to the ground unconscious, as it was to do the same with a bullet. They are prone to cause muscle bleeding, soft tissue damage and broken bones too easily.
I do not like and never use this specific sjambok of mine (# 3) during play sessions, due to its heavy, yet wobbly tip, impossible to control accurately.
Sjambok #4 is my hippo hide sjambok, custom made. Rhino hide sjamboks were also popular (rhino leather is similar to hippo leather, not stronger and tougher) until these animals became endangered, and it is now illegal to use them. Elephant hide sjamboks are very rare, but it is still legal to process and trade in them under special licensing.
Back to my beauty above. This particular one was not made in the traditional, African way. The manufacturer uses special soaking, treatment and varnishing methods, resulting in an almost resin-or amber-like appearance and ‘feel’. It is exceptionally heavy, and only after a year of weekly practice, my wrist became strong enough to not droop while wielding it, and before I could maneuver it with the same level of accuracy as the cane. These guys are difficult to obtain and pricey. They’re used mostly on farms to control large cattle and on game farms on large, wild animals. They’re also used in the veld to easily kill a snake, by striking its head off or breaking its spine, without having to get close to the danger.
The following paragraphs were written by Mr. Conrad Hodson, used with his permission, to explain traditional ways of making sjamboks around these parts.
The word “sjambok” seems to cover quite a variety of heavy impact toys. Originally a single piece of rawhide cut or stretched to shape, ISTR it’s just a generic word for “whip” in a lot of Bantu (sic) languages. The simplest form is rawhide carved out of a very thick hide, especially hippo, rhinoceros or elephant. Cut to shape and left to dry, this makes a cane-like instrument, that basically works like a heavy cane. Like rattan, it’s moderately flexible.
Traditional hide-curing in most of Africa has been an oil-curing process, as opposed to vegetable tanning as was done in Europe and its colonies. The piece of hide is oiled, worked by hand or by beating it with sticks, and left out in the sun. This is repeated–a good many times if supple “leather” is wanted. The oiled leather can also be stretched during this process, and a long strip can be tapered by doing a lot of stretching at one end, and little or none at the other. It’s possible to make an unbraided, crackable single-tail this way, and these are also called “sjambok” in many areas. They are even rarer in the States than the cane-like ones.
AFRICAN HIDE SJAMBOKS & BDSM
I wouldn’t recommend using hide sjamboks that were made in the traditional African fashion…hide sjamboks seldom break the skin, but it does happen and such wounds are prone to infection.
My hippo hide sjambok can be used safely, without fear of such infection, because a different method was used during manufacturing. As mentioned above, it seldom breaks the skin—even when wielded at maximum force. The bum should be closely inspected after every set though, to detect signs of muscle bleeding and dangerous bruising. Play should be stopped immediately if it does seem as if the swelling of the stroke bruises has a gravelly/grainy texture, creating the impression they’re clumped in bundles on top of one another.
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Judicial sjambok and caning session performed by Mistress Baton
For most hippo hide sjambok play recipients, the intensity of the pain and the unique sensation come as a surprise…the shape of the sjambok, similar to that of a cane, often creates an expectation that the intensity and sensation would be cane-like. However, instead it is ‘thuddy’; dull, very deep and much more painful.
When playing at hard/judicial severity, bruising and bruise coloring is instantaneous and the color here is a purplish-black.
The healing process is as dramatic as the initial bruising. Coloration of the bruises changes, resulting in very vivid and very deep marks, often spreading far beyond the original impact points.
African hide sjamboks can be used safely during BDSM play sessions, as long as impact occurs on the fleshiest body parts only (the buttocks) and as long as the Top keeps an informed eye on bruise/blooming progression.
Personally, I adore using African sjamboks, especially African hide sjamboks. They’re challenging and unique implements to wield, and for the bottoms, a unique challenge to endure; an intense pain to conquer.
In terms of the pain levels they cause, many consider them the most severe CP implement of them all.
The day will be split into two parts to cater to many interests although it is anticipated that most attendees will stay all day. The morning session will be 11:00 am – 1:00 pm and the main objective will be to punish wayward boys and those lacking in discipline. You may choose (negotiate) how you are dealt with and your desires will be agreed to 
Today we turn from our focus on spanking models to an emphasis on a quite qualified Disciplinarian. 
ATS: *Blushing* Why thank you, Miss Jennifer, and I with you.
MJ: Mitch, I love to spank because it can help people dealing with a wide range of issues. Certainly, when someone comes to me and we agree to a plan and then they fail to achieve a goal they are going to get it and I enjoy giving it to them because I know they will be better for it. But I don’t need a reason to spank because, for example, it is therapeutic and by definition there is a reason they are coming to me.
ATS: You are now producing very informative and entertaining podcasts. How did this project come about?
know is that I love to cook. So Korean food is my favorite because the food choices I generally eat and make involve fish, vegetables and fruits, but I also like Italian, French and Peruvian.
MJ: Honestly, I have been all over the world and I would go anywhere for anyone if they need the therapy. I have yet to go to NZ and Australia. Funny – Australia was once a prison colony so there must be a lot of bottoms that need a good whipping.
This week we focus on 