Breath Play
» Safety
I absolutely will never do breath-play. It is the number one cause of death in BDSM play.
Yes, I know people do it safely: but it is beyond my tolerance of risk. Even without fatality there’s too much danger of brain damage: I’m meat, not a vegetable.
An ABC News article cites:
A Canadian college professor spent three days in a coma over the weekend after losing consciousness in a New York sex club where he was left alone with a dog collar around his neck and a leather hood over his face, according to a report in the New York Post.
And a report that reminds me of the accidental suicide of underground cartoonist Vaughn Bode:
Last October, a medical examiner determined that the Rev. Gary Aldridge, a 51-year-old Baptist minister from Alabama, died from accidental asphyxiation while pleasuring himself. He was found wearing two wet suits, a face mask, diving gloves, slippers, rubberized underwear, two ties, five belts and eleven straps, according to the medical examiner’s report.
In April 2006, British national Adrian Exley suffocated to death in the closet of a Rhode Island man whom he had met online. Exley was wrapped tightly in heavy plastic and bound with duct tape, and a leather hood was over his head.
And there’ve been cases where an experienced professional dominatrix was in the room.
Man Spends Three Days in a Coma After Kinky Sex - but Unsafe Play Can Result in Death
Comments
I love breath play, the risk is worth the high!
Posted by: Yendorsgirl | December 31, 2008 2:17 AM
I can’t seem to find a “man” that can get the courage up to actually CHOKE me out!!!! Where cani find one of those?
Posted by: Sinner | September 14, 2010 7:22 PM
Over 8 million people [1] participate in judo, a martial art with a long history (over 100 years), and all of these people are choked and apply chokes on a regular basis with a near perfect safety record[2]. The average fitness level of judo players may be higher than the general population but people of all fitness levels participate in judo and other grappling arts (like Brazilian jiu-jitsu or BJJ, catch wrestling, submission wrestling and mixed martial arts). Many people begin classes as a way of getting in shape and losing weight after years of living a sedentary lifestyle, and yet there is not one recorded death directly linked to a single or repeated application of judo chokes. For a very conservative estimate we can say that only 1% of judo players are relatively “out of shape”, we can continue a conservative estimate of the number of times they are choked in a week, lets say 5 times. That makes 20,800,000 choking incidents in one year among an out of shape population with ZERO deaths and few if any injuries of any serious note. So obviously if you want to learn how to choke people effectively and safely judo, BJJ, catch wrestling, submission wrestling and MMA (mixed martial arts) classes can be highly valuable.
The question often arises about potential long term negative effects; much of what is espoused at BDSM classes and in online essays is purely speculative. The fact is speculation is not necessary, there have been several clinical studies of brain function during the application of judo chokes [3] [4], and none have shown any indication of potential brain damage. In addition to that there has been a study entitled “Long-term effects of boxing and judo choking on brain function” published in the Italian Journal of Neurological Science where boxers and judo player were studied for any evidence of functional brain damage. The researchers concluded “…”while professional boxers may show brain functional impairment in comparison to normal subjects, judoka do not.”[4].
There is a known condition called dementia pugilistic, or boxers dementia. This diagnosis evolved because of the number of boxers who demonstrated neurological impairment during their career or in retirement. There is a massive population of people participating in martial arts who regularly apply chokes, and apply them full force in competition (to the point of unconsciousness). If repeated choking led to brain damage, the medical community would have noticed and created a diagnosis similar to dementia pugilistic, but they have not. Why? Because there simply are NOT hundreds or thousands of judo players who are showing any kind of neurological impairment.
There are over 150 choking techniques in Brazilian jiu-jitsu alone. They do smothering style techniques, utilizing it as a method of reducing the cardiovascular endurance of those they are competing against. They utilize the martial arts uniform (gi) collar as a ligature to close the arteries or seal the windpipe of their opponents. They use their legs and arms to apply chokes. In short they apply a very wide variety of techniques, and yet maintain a level of safety that allows these styles to be some of the most popular forms of martial arts in the world.
Just about any urban area has multiple judo and/or BJJ schools to choose from. For the breath play enthusiast this is wonderful situation. For the price of one or two kink events a person can pay for 3 months or more of high quality hands on training in the application of chokes. For a fetish oft maligned as incredibly dangerous and life threatening, why wouldn’t educators encourage those with a breath play fetish to avail themselves of such a resource? So with that in mind here are my two must do recommendations for ANYONE considering BDSM breath play and concerned with the potential safety issues.
1: Go to your physician and discuss your individual heath risks in regard to choking and being choked. It is always best to be honest and clear with your health care providers, but you can always take the communication step by step. You can tell your physician that you intend on taking Brazilian jiu-jitsu or judo classes where they apply chokes on a regular basis and ask if there is anything in your personal health history which would make that practice MORE dangerous than the average person. After discussing your personal risk factors you will be able to make a more informed choice about whether this activity is within your acceptable risk range.
2: Go take 3 months worth of Brazilian jiu-jitsu or judo classes from a local school which regularly engages in tournaments. I highly suggest a competitive school, (hopefully one whose students regularly win such tournaments), because it ensures a certain level of competence. Tell the instructor that you are very interested in chokes, how to apply them and how to defend against them. When in class always pair up with the highest belt/most experienced student when practicing chokes.
3: Play with a partner who has also taken classes in a grappling art such as judo, BJJ, submission wrestling etc, hopefully with you at the same school.
[1] Goodman F, The ultimate book of martial arts, 2001 (pg 132) [2] Koiwai EK, Deaths allegedly caused by the use of “choke holds” (shime-waza) J Forensic Sci. 1987 Mar;32(2):419-32. [3] Rau R, Raschka C, Brunner K, Banzer W, Spectral analysis of electroencephalography changes after choking in judo (juji-jime) Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998 Sep;30(9):1356-6 [4] Rodriguez G, Francione S, Gardella M, Marenco S, Nobili F, Novellone G, Reggiani E, Rosadini G., Judo and choking: EEG and regional cerebral blood flow findings. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 1991 Dec;31(4):605-10. [5] Rodriguez G, Vitali P, Nobili F. Long-term effects of boxing and judo-choking techniques on brain function. Ital J Neurol Sci. 1998 Dec;19(6):367-72.
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Posted by: voron | March 30, 2011 1:57 AM