Ohhhhh fun topic. I feel pretty intimidated by the knowledge I know is in this tribe, so I'll be brief. But I can say that sensation play has been in my life since before I knew what to call it. Now I have a name for the techniques. Hee hee hee It's my favorite opener. Wakes up the body, gets the heart pounding, blood flowing and says "let the games begin." For me it's communication without having to be verbal. If both parties are into it, sensation play can be very erotic. But I have found that if one is not it can be just boring.

I'd like to know more about how "sensation play" is described by experienced players. It seems to me to have so many levels, that it seems nearly impossible to be sure you're talking about the same things!

It's new to me as a term in a BDSM context, but as Ozzy mentioned, I think i've been a sensation slut for a long time! Sensation of the erotic, sensual kind that is - but then even those terms might mean different things to different people!

Sensation play....
That 'term' is a pretty broad based, wide sweeping form of play, because honestly almost all of 'what we do' is sensation play.

The moment one of the senses has been 'touched' 'engaged' you have now created a sensation.

Sensation can range from soft, sensual stimulation, to hard core corporal punishment forms of play.

What most people invision when they hear sensation play, is the type of play that does touch on a variety of the senses, but does not venture into the hard or heavy forms of corporal punishment play. Possibly lots of different sensations within one scene.

i.e. you can do tickle play, slowingly building to using the Whortenberg wheel which created 'pokey' types of sensation, to doing the 'tattoo caning', to violet wand/electrical play.

Sensations are visual, auditory, sensory, as well as scent and taste oriented. Remember the scenen in "9 1/2 Weeks" in front of the refrigerator.

So, sensation play is again...what you make of it, and what you consider sensation.

The one thing that sensation play tends not to be is the service oriented or certain types of D/s play, even though they can and do overlap if that is what you wish to make it.

Hope this helps...can answer anything else...hopefully. :o)

Regarding my own...

Fave to receive - whips, preferrably long whips, a
To give...knifeplay, cause that touches the mindfuck area too.

~icy~