How to Tie with Style

I am currently perusing the socials and observing the great masters of rope all across the world, yes the internet is a powerful tool. I can’t help but notice that everyone is tying very much in the same way. Basic principles and techniques echo across continents due to several gifted teachers traveling around the world and sharing their expertise.

Of course, rope knowledge comes to us from several distinct lineages of approach and aesthetics, some more therapeutic or intense to be sure. Given the anatomy of the body, and the requirements for safe and sane suspension, there are definitely going to be similarities no matter what.

Still…..

It seems to me then, that since the foundations are becoming more widely accessible that there is a gap, a void in the scene. That missing ingredient can only be one thing, STYLE, mama! Where is the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. It takes all four to be CUNT, you best believe!

Similarly, a problem arises from the same body type being represented by the masters, petite white and asian girls. This leaves out male intimacy and tends to trend Fat-phobic, or downright racist. I wanna see beautiful black men tied up by beautiful black women.

Kasumi Hourai is a great example of a female rope top with outstanding skill. She really is a beacon in the scene because of her artistry and taste, which I find to be unparalleled. Still….where are those dark skin tones? Where are the beads, and prints, and energy of the global south? Shibari is Japanese, but rope is universal…

I think about myself and my own style. Recently, I have not had much of an appetite for bondage. I am more interested in free-flowing movement, dance, and charcoal on paper. I want to use less rope, but with more impact and dynamism. I am focused on attaching pencil to a rope pendulum and creating spheres of movement, representing them as flesh, as portraits, as observational meditation. Yes maybe that’s it, style starts with silence and observation and stillness. We should always question the WHY. WHY are we tying? What is the intent? Isn’t it obvious that the goal of rope is to one day stop using bondage as a tool? Eventually, we must transcend our compulsions, obsessions, and whirlpools of fascination. But until then,

LET US RELISH THE MICRO-SENSUALITIES OF OUR FRAGILE BODIES!