Disciplines

dis·ci·pline /ˈdisəplən/
The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
– Oxford Dictionary

Sometimes you go for a play session. You tie someone up (or get tied up), you whip someone (or get whipped), or you push someone through some hard labor (or be forced to do some labor). You know, play. It lasts a few hours, everyone feels good, you clean up the play area and call it a day.

Then there's stuff like chastity. It only makes sense in the long term – it's pointless to be locked up for just a couple of hours. Life goes on while the discomfort builds up. You go to work with the cage on. You buy your groceries with the cage on. You meet up with your non-kinky friends with the cage on. It's there in the background, not getting in the way but also never really going away.

The same distinction exists for giving / following commands. Tell the slave to get on all fours and use him as a footrest, and it'll last probably an evening at most. Tell the slave to never speak unless spoken to, and it could last a long time. It becomes a rule of life the slave has to live by, always on his mind, always creating minor discomfort.

I call these "always on" commands, disciplines, and it's where my mind often wanders to when I think about service and obedience. Here are some disciplines I'd enjoy imposing on a slave.

Speech

I used "never speak unless spoken to" as an example earlier, but this particular rule doesn't really bring me joy. As a punishment, sure. As an always-on rule, it's a bit heavy-handed. But I do enjoy regulating a slave's speech, and here are some ideas I've found to be enjoyable:

• Always end a sentence in "John" when talking to me. (That's my name, by the way.)

"Yes, John. No, John. I don't know, John." Some masters like to be called "Sir" or "Master" in every sentence, but I find "John" to be more powerful. It sounds informal, like someone talking casually to a friend, when in fact it's a punishable offense to slip up, and this contrast between what it appears to be to an outsider and what it actually is is just oh-so-delicious. It doesn't sound out of place when spoken in public, which means there's no need to suspend the rule in the presence of others; but, there's always the chance that someone might catch on and cock an eyebrow, so you gotta be a little bit mindful who's within your earshot.

• Only use words of one syllable.

You might be stunned to find out how much you can still say even when speech is kept down to just words of one sound. It takes a bit to get used to, but you learn fast which words are fine to use and which you can't say. You pick up on ways to talk in place of what you aren't able to say, and at times you slip up and say a word like "able".

It's a fun party game to play with friends, but it takes some serious effort to do it nonstop. Yet, even though it might appear difficult at first, it takes just a few days of practice to become reasonably fluent. I think I'll also enjoy figuring out how to talk around a particularly difficult word together with the slave.

• No "um"s and "uh"s.

A slave must speak clearly without filler words. To do so, the slave must be in the habit of constantly rehearsing speech in his head, which makes this an always-on discipline.

Movements

I can't allow a slave to freely roam about, can I? Rules like "slave should always walk three paces behind the master" are fun, but I've enjoyed exploring some more interesting ideas:

• Never sit down without explicit permission.

Whether at home or out in a park, the slave must never sit down on his own in my presence. He can stand, he can kneel, he can crawl, he can lie on his belly, but his butt must not support his bodyweight until I give permission.

To make it more interesting, the slave is also forbidden from asking for permission to sit. If I forget to give permission, then the slave will just have to stand or kneel or be on his belly. Permission expires when his butt no longer supports his weight, no matter how briefly. If we're sitting on the couch watching TV and the slave gets up to get a cup of water, when he comes back, he no longer has permission to sit until I permit it again.

We'll agree on a list of signals that are equivalent to the permission to sit. Tapping the seat, pointing to the seat, a head nod in the direction of the seat could all constitute permission, so the process doesn't become annoying.

I've toyed with the idea of also not letting the slave's heels support his weight, so if he has to walk upright, he must do so on tiptoes. I'm not sure if it's realistic to enforce this long-term.

• Always carry an object within reach.

I read about this on the Internet years ago, and I often find myself thinking back to it. It was a person recounting his experience in the military, and his commander required everyone in the unit to carry a specific object with them wherever they went. He was allowed to put the object down, but at any time, the commander could issue a challenge, and he'd have to be able to pick up the object without moving his feet (or maybe he could move one foot but not both).

I could be misremembering, but I think the author said this rule was in effect for months which thoroughly rewired his mind, and even after he'd left the military, years later, he'd still have dreams where he suddenly realizes he doesn't have his object with him and panics, only to wake up and remember he's not bound by this rule anymore.

I've found this story to be incredibly arousing.

• No small movements.

Scratching an itch, wiping away sweat, shifting weight while sitting, rocking the body while standing. You know, the kind of gestures we make hundreds of times a day, maybe even subconsciously, to make ourselves a little bit more comfortable. Not allowed for the slave. Sit properly and stay still. Stand properly and stay still. If something itches, let it. If sweat is about to roll into the eye, let it.

Dress code

There are people who have fetishes for certain types of clothing. Some like rubber or latex or leather; some like diving gears or motorcycle gears; some like formal wear, as in a suit and tie.

While I don't have a fetish for any specific type of clothing, I do like the idea of a dress code because it fits right into the theme of disciplines. For the same reason I prefer "John" to "Sir", I find myself drawn to the suit and tie. It flies under the radar, and you can wear a suit and tie almost anywhere without being (outrageously) out of place, which means the rule can be "always on" and not limited to play sessions. Yet, if someone notices that you're always wearing a suit and tie, they might have some questions and you'll need to be prepared to answer them.

The rule is simple: always wear a suit and a tie. As soon as the slave's out of the morning shower, put on the suit, and keep it on until it's time to go to bed. As punishment, maybe he's required to sleep in the suit as well. This is required seven days a week, even for weekends and holidays.

Here's something about myself: I hate wearing a suit. I find it uncomfortable, and I only put one on when I absolutely have to. For the same reason, I enjoy the idea of forcing the slave to wear one constantly. It's almost light bondage, to be honest. I mean, what is a tie if not a noose with a leash?

It'll be extra uncomfortable to keep a suit on in the summer, because it gets hot. That's no excuse to not wear a suit. In fact, button up the shirt all the way to the top, and make the tie extra tight; this could even turn into a bit of a breathplay. Do this for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week and there'll be some true suffering.

Appendix: rules for one-syllable-words-only speech

I really like this idea, so I thought I'd develop it into a full set of rules.

• A word is defined as the string of letters in between two spaces when written down.
  • For example, "shouldn't" is a single two-syllable word (therefore forbidden); "should not" is two one-syllable words (therefore allowed).
• Hyphenated phrases are allowed, as long as each component word is allowed.
  • For example, "back-and-forth" is allowed.
• Initialisms are allowed. Acronyms are only allowed if it's pronounced as a one-syllable word.
  • For example, "USA" is allowed. "NASA" is forbidden. "GIF" is allowed.
• All numbers, both cardinal (1, 2, 3) and ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd), are allowed.
  • Using an allowed word in a different sense is also allowed.
  • For example, "the second time" is allowed, and so are "a few seconds" and "I second this".
• Family names are allowed, if the person being referred to is relevant to the conversation.
  • For our purposes, "family name" is the name that would be written on the back of the jersey if the person in question were an Association Football player.
  • All other names, such as given names, are only allowed if they're one syllable long. However, using common abbreviations is allowed. For example, "Michael" is forbidden, but the slave is allowed to call this person "Mike" even if they don't go by "Mike".
• A multi-syllable word is allowed if a printed form of the word (on a menu, in a magazine, on a billboard, etc.) is clearly visible to both the master and the slave.
  • The word becomes forbidden again once it's no longer visible.
  • The slave is allowed to use a sighted word in a different sense. For example, saying "chicken out" is allowed if the word "chicken" is printed on the menu.
  • Handwritten words don't qualify, but words printed in a handwritten font do.
• If the master mentions a multi-syllable word, the slave is allowed to repeat it.
  • This permission resets for every master-slave back-and-forth. The slave is only allowed to repeat the words the master used in the current back-and-forth.
• The slave is not allowed to spell out a word he can't talk around.
  • However, this only incurs half the punishment for a slip-up.
• Words in other languages are allowed, as long as the master understands the language and the word is one syllable long.
• When in doubt whether a word is one syllable long, consult a dictionary. If the word is not listed in the dictionary, it's forbidden.
• These rules apply to text conversations too. Words in the text conversation itself don't qualify for the "sighted" exception.