{"id":464,"date":"2019-10-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lovenselife.com\/uncategorized\/shibari-for-beginners"},"modified":"2019-10-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T00:00:00","slug":"shibari-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lovense.com\/sex-blog\/kink-bdsm\/shibari-for-beginners","title":{"rendered":"Simple Guide: Shibari for Beginners \u2013 Things You Might Knot Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I started my Shibari journey a couple of years ago but only got into it seriously in the past year. Even after all the seminars, workshops, and practice at the club, I would still consider myself only an upper-beginner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is important to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not here to teach you HOW to do it. I\u2019m here to share my experiences and tips that might not always be obvious or spoken when you start out \u2013 some things that are vital<\/strong> if you are curious about getting into the practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LEARN THE BASICS OF SAFETY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If your first class doesn\u2019t include a detailed lecture or video (or whatever) on safety, that\u2019s not a good sign. Rope play is considered EDGE PLAY \u2013 meaning it can be dangerous if not handled responsibly <\/strong>and with adequate education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety includes things like nerve damage, types of rope, rope wrapping, cleaning\/care, anatomy, aftercare, circulation, and vital communication before and after tying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FIND A GROUP<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joining a rope club is great because you\u2019ll be surrounded by all sorts of people from different levels \u2013 including people with lots of experience. Go, sit and watch for your first time. Or, if they offer beginner classes, join one. You\u2019ll be surprised how much you can learn in 1-2 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FIND A MENTOR<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s even better if you can find someone to take you under their wing and watch your progress carefully. They are hard to find (usually busy with job, life, etc.). But if you can, hang on to them and cherish them as your most precious resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, it\u2019s also important to watch other<\/em> people. Look at different styles, feelings, connections.<\/strong> You can learn so much by simply observing \u2013 after all, the traditional mindset of Shibari is that it takes THREE participants (the one who ties, the model, and the one who observes and appreciates).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SIDE NOTE:<\/strong><\/span> Just because someone ties doesn\u2019t mean they are good or safe at it. Take your time to get to know the rope community and find who is good\/safe \u2013 trust me, news travels fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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IT\u2019S NOT JUST ABOUT KNOTS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yes, you\u2019ll be learning \u201cforms\u201d like harnesses and single column ties etc. However, it\u2019s not just about learning which knot is good in which situation. There\u2019s \u201ctension<\/strong>\u201d (how tight the ropes are on the body). Knots need to be tight and \u201ccompact<\/strong>\u201d. Ropes that are even will hurt less than ropes that are twisted or crossed over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might all sound easy, but from personal experience, it takes time and practice to get these down pat \u2013 so you or your model is safe and comfortable (yes, you can have sadistic tying, but that doesn\u2019t mean you ignore safety).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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START SMALL<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don\u2019t go out and buy a tone of supplies right off the bat. You can get by with 5 \u201clengths\u201d of “treated” rope and do plenty of fun stuff while you\u2019re leaning. It\u2019s only really when you get into suspension (if you want to) that you need to invest in more items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FLOOR BEFORE SUSPENSION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Floor work means your model is always on the ground and not tied to any suspension points.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t think that \u201cgetting into suspension\u201d is the epitome of the craft (it is beautiful yes, but that\u2019s a long-term end goal). You can do MANY sexy, erotic, painful, beautiful things just with someone on the floor. You\u2019ll also be using this time to practice tension, compacting, and knots that will be useful for advanced stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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USE VIDEOS \u2026 WITH CARE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I use videos a lot \u2013 but mostly because my memory is crap. By all means, use them to help you remember the form and structure (how to put the ropes on the model), but you WILL need a living body eventually to give you feedback. <\/strong>I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve used my chair as a substitute, but after a while, it became frustrating because I couldn\u2019t move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FIND A ROPE PARTNER<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tying new people is inevitable, but if you can find someone who will spend time with you because they also want to learn, that\u2019s great! New people require \u201cintroduction communications\u201d, but when you tie someone often you can get past the basics and go deeper. You\u2019ll still have to communicate, but you\u2019ll be building your knowledge base of them instead of starting from scratch each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

USEFUL<\/strong> <\/span>\u2013 Did you know that most of your power comes from your core\/abdominal muscles<\/strong>, not the arms. Also, breathing in compromising positions should come from the stomach, not the upper section. And, even riggers get tired. It\u2019s a very energy consuming interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TRY BOTH<\/em> SIDES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You may not like the idea of being tied (I\u2019m totally a rope top). BUT<\/strong>, in my (and many people\u2019s) opinion, a good rigger should also know what it\u2019s like to be tied up \u2013 to know how the pressure, pain, and pleasure feels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone thinks the rope tops deserve the praise, but rope bottoms deserve tremendous amounts of respect and admiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been doing self-suspension for only a month now (at the time of this article) and, wow, I\u2019m learning so much. I can take that experience and use it on my partners. This way, we both have wonderful experiences.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE<\/strong> <\/span>\u2013 you might think that having something off-center is no big deal, but when you\u2019re suspended by it, you can FEEL the imbalance, and that discomfort of weight distribution (even by a little) can make or break the experience. Also, I learned how important equal tension is across all my ropes because I made one too tight while the other was too loose \u2013 so when I pulled myself up, I had ONE point digging into my body instead of two… and wow did it hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shibari is\/can be a life-long journey. You never stop learning\u2026ever. Even if you\u2019re a \u201cmaster\u201d and have tied hundreds of thousands of times, there is always something more to learn \u2013 another style, form, method of performance, the interaction between model and rigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll always, and always should be, practicing what you\u2019ve learned. <\/strong>Or, like anything, we start to forget and get rusty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also, if you want more useful articles, you might like these\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n