Floggers Properties, Types, and Technique
The widest implement category—what determines the sensation a flogger produces, and what the Striker must understand before selecting and using one
“A flogger is not a flogger. The word covers a range of instruments with almost nothing in common except multiple falls and a handle. Know which one you are holding.”
What Determines Flogger Sensation
The sensation a flogger produces is determined by several interacting properties, all of which vary independently and all of which the Striker must understand to select and use floggers appropriately.
Material: the primary driver of sensation quality.
Heavy leather produces predominantly thud—deep, penetrating impact that engages the underlying muscle mass rather than concentrating at the skin surface.
Suede produces lighter, more wrapping sensation that distributes across a broader contact area.
Rubber produces intense sting despite its relatively light weight: the density of the material concentrates kinetic energy at the tips in ways that are disproportionate to what the implement looks like.
Cord and rope floggers produce primarily sting.
Fur and soft fabric floggers produce sensation without significant impact.
The word “flogger” covers all of these; the word itself tells you almost nothing about what the implement will do.
Weight: heavier floggers deliver more force at equivalent velocity and produce more thud relative to sting. Lighter floggers at high velocity produce more sting relative to thud. The same implement can produce very different sensations at different velocities and different wrist mechanics.
Fall length and number: longer falls accumulate more kinetic energy through the arc of the throw and reach a higher velocity at the tip.
More falls distribute the contact across a broader surface area.
Shorter falls are more controllable and precise.
Fewer, heavier falls concentrate force more than many lighter falls.
Tip characteristics: the tip of each fall is where the highest-velocity contact occurs and where the most intense sensation is created.
Tips that are cut square produce more sting than tips that are rounded or tapered.
Heavy, dense tips on otherwise light falls can produce surprisingly intense sensations.
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Flogger Technique
The basic flogger throw uses a figure-eight or pendulum motion with the wrist as the primary driver.
The arm guides the arc; the wrist controls the release point and the angle of contact.
The goal is for the falls to contact the target in a controlled pattern with the tips landing within the intended zone—not wrapping around the edges of the target onto unintended areas.
Wrapping is the most common and most consequential flogger technique error.
It occurs when the throw is too horizontal, the distance too close, or the force too great for the implement and distance combination—causing the tips to travel past the intended target and land on the side or edge of the body.
Wrapped tips deliver highly concentrated force to unintended and often vulnerable areas.
The solution is not to use less force. It is to adjust the angle of throw and the distance until consistent target coverage is achieved.
Distance from the Receiver significantly affects both safety and sensation.
Too close, and the falls do not have room to develop velocity; the contact is primarily thud from the body of the falls rather than impact from the tips.
Too far, and control decreases and wrapping risk increases.
The correct distance varies by implement, Receiver body position, and the sensation quality being sought.
Develop a feel for it through practice on targets before developing it on people.