Bastinado
Written by TPOK Archivist on August 12, 2017
Impact play involving beating the soles of the feet with an implement such as a cane, switch or whip.
Bastinado is a practice in the BDSM community where the soles of one’s feet are subjected to whipping and beating, typically using a crop, whip, or cane. The receiver’s feet are tied up and exposed. It is a form of foot fetish which traces its roots to Middle Eastern and far Eastern torture practices.
bastinado
noun bas·ti·na·do \ˌbas-tə-ˈnā-(ˌ)dō, -ˈnä-\
Definition of bastinado
plural bastinadoes or bastinades
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a blow with a stick or cudgel
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a: a beating especially with a stick
b: a punishment consisting of beating the soles of the feet with a stick
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stick, cudgel
Foot whipping or bastinado is a method of corporal punishment which consists of hitting the bare soles of a person’s feet.
The receiving person is required to be barefoot. The uncovered soles of the feet need to be placed in an exposed position. The beating is typically performed with an object in the type of a cane or switch. The strokes are usually aimed at the arches of the feet and repeated a certain number of times.
Bastinado is also referred to as foot (bottom) caning or sole caning, depending on the instrument in use. The particular Middle East method is called falaka or falanga, derived from the Greek term phalanx. The German term is Bastonade, deriving from the Italian noun bastonata (stroke with the use of a stick). In former times it was also referred to as Sohlenstreich (corr. striking the soles). The Chinese term is da jiao xin.
Bastinado: The act of whipping the sub’s feet, usually the sub would be tied up to restrict movement as the torture is being inflicted; part of impact play.