Spanking Class

We're in the city, at spanking class, watching a young pro domme --let's call her Starfire--instruct on the art of spanking.
Her model is her slave, a tall, young transsexual with cute little breasts (think two small apples), long, limber legs, and tiny pink lace panties under a miniscule schoolgirl shirt(let's call her Candy).
"One of my favorite holds is to put your partner over your knees, but take your inner leg and cross it over your body, pinning him or her down," Starfire says. "You can then grab your partner around the shoulders, or if you're into SM, by the scruff of the neck (she demonstrates).
"And then you can vary your strokes, touching the flesh as it reddens up, managing the rhythm to suit the occasion--and your mood."
Starfire puts Candy through her paces, and we learn all the spanking positions:

• OTK (over the knee)
• OTK with cross leg hold
• Standing (two positions)
• Lying down (three positions)

We then learn about positions of the hands, where to hit on the ass, spanking other body parts (genitals, breasts), and so on.

At the end of the class, there's a Q&A.

I ask about how spankers can minimize and avoid brusing and marks and I am incredibly amused when the whole room erupts into a discussion of the homeopathic medicine Arnica.

"I take Arnica internally all the time," says one beefy guy with a submissive's collar and a heavy set girl friend.

"Rub Arnica on the bruises," councils another woman, who later accosts me to offer relationship counseling.

Naive as I am, the idea that the BDSM community has its own set of herbal and homeopathic remedies to address marks, bruises, cuts, falls, etc. is as surprising as it is practical...And of course, I am rushing off to pick some up today.