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ORIGINAL: litleone8620

i don't think any dominant or submissive, no matter how experienced they are, stops learning from their partners.

very true litleone... and in my opinion, a very healthy attitude

tali

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ORIGINAL: litleone8620

Why is it rarer for a Dominant to be trained? Is it because they have that dominant trait and think they don't need it? I find myself more attracted to Doms who admit they need training in something special, whether it's bondage or single tails.

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ORIGINAL: Padriag

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ORIGINAL: marieToo

Padriag:

You mentioned alot about the training of the slaves/subs.  But who trains the doms/masters?    If anyone needs training I think it would be the Doms even moreso.   Would they go to mentors as young doms ?  And if you're new, how would they pick a teacher or trainer that knows what theyre doing?

Unfortunately, many don't or can't.  There are a number of reasons for this, I'll try to explain.

First, many don't or can't simply because there is a great deal less community support for this than there is the training of submissives.  Take into consideration the amount of opposition you see towards training submissives and then multiply that to get an idea how resistant to the idea of training dominants many are.

That's not to say there is no support for it.  There isn't much in the heterosexual community, but among the Leathermen its was something of a tradition.  How much of a tradition and when it became so is debateable, but at some point the practice seems to have become fairly wide spread.  (And no I'm not an expert on the history of the Leathermen community).  But this at least provides one example.

There are some groups, some of which are pansexual or heterosexual, which also provide training to new dominants.  Most of the ones I have encountered were private groups that did not accept new dominants as members very often, which makes them of limited help to the wider community.

There are some individuals who will provide mentoring but this too is rare, rarer in my opinion than those willing to genuinely mentor a submissive.  I personally think this is in part due to dominant egos.  Many new dominants feel somewhat insecure and quickly develop a bravado as a cover... that same bravado prevents them from openly seeking out training, instruction or other forms of information that would help then.  This is because they often feel, and with justification, that doing so openly would make them seem weak.  The fact that that is justified because, in fact, there are many submissives that would view such a dominant as being weak, or at least incompetent, doesn't help any.

So that leaves many individual dominants on their own to privately seek whatever education or information they can.  Most learn through a long process of trial and error.  Many are handicapped further by simply not knowing what information to look for.  For example, in my own case I came to this lifestyle with a background in psychology (gee, like you couldn't guess ) and drew on that knowledge to guide me in learning to be a better dominant.  I did a LOT of reading and research using resources both within and outside the lifestyle.  I was fortunate in that regard, many are not.

There's one last thing I've seen that contributes to the problem.  Although there is considerably less literature on dominance than there is submission, what does exist has a very limited audience.  Many dominants are so individualistic that even if their ego isn't getting in the way, they still reject the methodology of another over personal differences of style.  Dominants are prone to be, at times, blindly individualistic to the point of handicapping themselves.  The result is that sometimes dominants reject information that could otherwise be helpful for superficial reasons, throwing the baby out with the bath water as it were.  Most also can't agree on anything that might be applied to them as a group.  For example, codes of conduct or ethics.  Even Goreans, who are more prone to "close ranks" often can't agree on exactly what a Gorean code of conduct should be, other than to espouse honor, and respect and integrity as if these words alone were an explanation.  Like most dominants, when you start trying to define that honor or integrity, they are just as prone to fall into arguments over the details.  BTW, this isn't to pick Goreans, just using them as a well known example. 

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ORIGINAL: Focus50

Nope, not necessary at all.
 
When you think about what it is a sub seeks within D/s, the simplified answer is that she seeks to serve a Dom/me both worthy of her service and of fulfilling her sub needs, too! 
 
Therefore, training for a sub is to learn how to meet their Dom/me's needs but only that particular Dom/me knows what their own unique needs are; so they really can't be taught or trained by someone else.
 
That said, if most Doms are like me, they come with an inbuilt need to control another in a non abusive way anyway, plus I keep myself open to self improvement such as physical skills with ropes and floggers etc.  And it's always interesting picking up new ideas to operate the non-physical side of a D/s dynamic on the girl, too.
 
There are many other "skills" which most would like their Dom/me to have, too, such as generally being likeable, trustworthy, stable, honest etc.  And they work both ways....  I had a recent reminder of a self-rule of mine that I expect to teach my girl everything she needs to know about serving me but I don't expect to have to teach that same adult woman basic manners.  If a sub can't be bothered with even a brief reply to two polite emails I've sent her, I'll consider myself as having "dodged a bullet" when deleting her details and not bothering her again.... lol
 
Focus.

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ORIGINAL: litleone8620

Would any Master consider training a different a young dominant?

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ORIGINAL: litleone8620

I am a submissive in training. I've talked to several Dominants who have been trained by both another Dominant or a slave. I've never considered a Dominant might need training.

Is it necessary?

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ORIGINAL: slavejali
Well, I could put it this way. No man would be capable of dominating me without training...life skills training. They would also have to hold a Masters Degree in Knowledge of Self *grin*.

Seriously though, I dont know about "needed"..but training is always a good thing..learning and getting feedback from others is excellent. When it comes to some forms of play, I wouldnt feel safe with an unskilled (untrained) Master.

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ORIGINAL: litleone8620

Would any Master consider training a different a young dominant?

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ORIGINAL: litleone8620
Because dominants have that 'dominant' trait, are they less likely to ask for help when they need it?