We recently published a photo from a shoot with a top photographer who is working under the pseudonym, Jay Graham. Within a matter of hours it made Fetlife’s Kinky & Popular and currently has well over 2,000 Love It’s! If you love it too, please give it your vote on Fetlife. It got a Like from Kazami Ranki on Facebook and a “Wow” from Osada Steve, when he saw it. Although, many people seem to have assumed that it was Nina in the photo, it is actually Gorgone, our new BOUND team member, tied by Nina. The adulation says it all, it is a stunning piece of work. However, this image is only a hint of what’s to come. Jay has some amazing surreal ideas for post-production. We have seen a couple of roughs so far and the series promise to be completely different from any bondage photos you have seen so far. So far, we have both spent a day tying MaYa Homerton, Nina’s model, and another with Gorgone. With each shoot, we get more inspired so we might be working with other models as well. The plan is for an exhibition but I am not sure how long the creative process will take, so have no idea when that might be.

Nina has only been tying since the start of the year under my tuition which it goes to show how some natural talent combined with diligent study can produce some spectacular results. When I say diligent, I’m talking about things like watching videos of top riggers 20 or 30 times and analysing each move, studying my Sugiura Norio photo books until every page fell out and relentless practice. I think study of a wide range of nawashi’s styles in Sugiura’s photos has helped her develop an eye for the Japanese aesthetic and attending classes by Kinoko and Kazami has given her solid technique. What stands out from this photo, from a rope perspective, is the originality of the tie, the intelligent was she created the suspension and the beauty of the pose, even down to the detail of the arc of the rope following the curve of her foot in the futo-momo. It is so refreshing to see some originality as too many of us re-cycle a few ubiquitous ties from the Osada/Kinoko schools, including me.

The post Whole lotta love appeared first on ESINEM.

I have never heard much said about using the multiple contact points that rope affords. Although I have long employed this idea, I have recently started to solidify it into my theory. I am not saying all the ideas are new by any means but I have never seen the principles consolidated into a single theory. I include many elements in my teaching as I believe, although to use it fully one needs very good dexterity and rope control, it should be learned at the very start. Making students aware at an early stage makes it natural to tie in that manner. This is so much easier than breaking established habits at a later stage when many ties become more technical and thus require more concentration. The method can be applied with a single length of rope so doesn’t require complicated ties to achieve the fullest results. The use of ’3-point contact’ enhances the sensation and control that you impart, extending the richness of the language of rope as a tool of communication. I will be exploring this in my next tutorial DVD set. Of course, many rope handing techniques are designed to facilitate the act of tying, so why make life hard for yourself by not learning them at the outset?

The 3-point contact theory divides the rope into three distinct parts. I will describe them below:

We will shoot some video or photos to clarify this later.

Clear intent is the secret of communication. If you don’t know what you want to say, how can you say it? You will be incoherent. The more effectively you use language, grammar, vocabulary, structure and expressiveness, the better your communication. So it is with rope. I hope this concept expands your repertoire of communication. If it doesn’t you already know more than me or you are doing it wrong.

The post The theory of 3-point rope contact appeared first on ESINEM.

Until tonight, there was a fascinating thread running on Fetlife’s Kinbaku Group discussing the wrist tie in the TK and specifically Marai Masato’s technique but for some reason, it was closed for further discussion. I say “for some reason” as the stated reason doesn’t seem to justify closing the thread. It appears to be a rather curious response to alleged “advertising” and “off topic” comments by my good self. I don’t claim to be guilt free in the past on this charge but I have tried to stay on topic and references have been relevant and requested. Sure there is a commercial interest. This happens to be my day job. Unfortunately, the things I need for my life are not given away for free and I expect the complainers want paying for their day job. Funny, eh? They should be working for free like they expect me to do. Shame on them! If there is anyone who wishes to sponsor me, please get in touch. Sadly, the offers so far have only been emails from generous individuals with fanciful names from darkest Africa asking to process many millions of dollars via my bank account for a large commission… I think not.

Anyway, if certain words were against their rules, why not just delete the offending sections and not a lot of free advice about how to achieve dominance in a wrist tie, for example? At the most delete the post but leave the thread open. It might be closed justifiably to terminate aggressive argument but it is still better to deal with individuals, not the thread. If the discussion has nothing further to gained and has become circular, it should be closed. This discussion had only touched on a couple of nawashi and only Marai Masato in partial depth. Oddly, there were those who could have contributed significantly due to being Japanese speakers who could translate the key parts of the audio or text. It was like getting blood from a stone. I was told to “Go fish” for information. For a non-Japanese speaker, it is very hard to fish productively or with any certainty. Al that leads to is theories and I have plenty of those. This is what I hoped to gain from these questions but all I got was what felt like evasiveness. It was a case of being told to figure it out myself or that it was impossible for the answer to have meaning without understanding the tutorial in its entirety and the context in which a tie was being tied, even down to the historical and cultural background. I’m sure that would be no disadvantage but I’m sure understanding his words would be helpful. I doubt he was just talking for his own amusement.

Marai Masato wrist tie

Nina made an interesting comment as an experienced model and a rigger of surprising ability for one so new to the art. She constantly impresses me with her insights and inspires my research. Here’s her thoughts:

If the model doesn’t possess good upper arm strength, like her, she prefers to allow her arms to slide inwards with her palms flat against her torso to relieve the pressure of the wraps. She then prevents further movement by pushing her elbows and arms back, bracing against her torso, so her arms form an X parallel to the floor if she is upright.

Here’s a translation kindly provided by Mack, Reina’s partner: Wrap the rest of the rope around the wrists and tie off. Any left over rope length can be adjusted by wrapping around the wrist. The knot you can do above the wrist ; smaller is more beautiful. And if the lady is lying down it doesn’t get in the way. The Chest rope and Wrist rope; Y-shape is better than T-shape. To finish off it’s better to put the ends between the rope and hide it.”

Some models don’t know how much pressure to release and can end up with arms pressed well in and the wraps losing tension. There is also a good chance that the wrists will drop into an X and tighten the wrist tie. Moving elbows in an attempt to prevent such inward movement, she reports, can result in excessive uncomfortable pressure on the thumbs and make changing position of the arms hard. Models with better upper arm strength are more able to resist this force might find locking their fists into the crook of the opposite elbow helpful or, even lock with their thumbs. La Gorgone finds the latter works for her but she has upper arm strength and very flexible shoulders which means she must make an effort to stop her shoulder blades meeting! Not all people work the same, so ties need to be chosen with care and adapted to the individual.

Interestingly, he didn’t pay a lot of attention to his wrap heights or spacing as we can see here, both height and spacing are quite uneven. Who knows? Maybe it was an off day or just one of those Sod’s Law things that happens on video? Maybe we are too pedantic? Maybe he is saying don’t make them uneven like this or wrap height may vary between these parameters. Unfortunately, I can’t understand Japanese and don’t have a translation bar the odd comment. I can only apply what I am told by those who are said to know or can extrapolate from that.

The fact that the two loops seem to fall neatly either side of the stem does look like they are both supposed to be part of a pair. The result is very symmetrical and the friction on the TK wrap mirror each other exactly which I do not believe is coincidence. Given the quantity of rope to consume, I doubt he’d use it up in this way if it was merely a question of getting rid of it. Why not continue the functionality of the tie? I believe that is what he is doing here. If he didn’t make the second wrist loop, how would the first (half)  friction function? IMHO, it would be wholly inadequate. The finishing of the second binding consolidates the friction and the stem. Consider the result if he had run out of rope before making the second wrist loop and closing it all! The top wrap would not be isolated and thus the TK would thus lack good integrity.

Anyway, I couldn’t resist re-opening a new thread with the opening post below.

I am saddened that an interesting and informative thread has been closed with this comment:

*Moderator’s note:

This thread is closed.

I have repeatedly asked Esinem not to post off-topic links and not to advertise himself in this group. He continues to ignore these requests. His posts above which contain the off-topic links and advertisements will be deleted according to group rules.

Thank you for understanding.*

In my defence:

I replied to Sankara who asked how I created an effect with “a single rope and a wrist tie” and appeared to want me to establish the provenance of my knowledge. In support of this I listed my teachers, all top Japanese nawashi. This question was very much on topic as some the moderators themselves raised the intent of a tie and the scenario as being vital factors in discussing it. In fact, it was implied that the technical details were irrelevant without such context!

I disagreed saying that my question was not dissimilar to asking if the 3rd rope of the OS 3-RTK was functional. Yes, it is. It provides rigidity. Is the macrame after step 27 functional? No. It is to tidily consume the rest of the rope. I think my question regarding Marai’s intent is the same and can easily be answered. I’m puzzled as to why it is being made so complicated?

As requested by the mods, I specifically did not place direct hyperlinks to my site (even making note of this in my post) although I referred to it and my DVD as resources, since these were part of the proof I offered and many of the articles are free. I then placed a link, deliberately not to my site and with no advertising for me in deference to the mods’ request, to a Vimeo video showing the techniques I used. I offered to explain things I had learned from my teachers more fully on the thread for everyone’s benefit in an effort to respond to his frustration that such information was not freely shared and to the requests from the mods that I post more information direct on the forum.

I then went on to give quite a detailed explanation of how Osada Steve taught control. Again, it is a shame they have chosen to deprive you of that information. I have found it very central to my style.

When somebody asks me to answer a question I do my best to help and don’t just say go figure it out yourself.

I think I have made all reasonable efforts to comply and that this thread closure is draconian. It would have been quite sufficient to remove the link that at a stretch could be regarded as “advertising” or “off-topic”. I wonder why you have been deprived of the opportunity to learn something? It seems somewhat contrary to the stated objective of this group…and even more so if this new opportunity is denied us.

If the mods have any belief in free speech, I assume that a few of you will be able to share your thoughts in this new ad free. If on the other hand, I am being censored, won’t hear much from me here but you can be damn sure you will elsewhere

In under an hour, this reply was posted:

KinbakuGroupBot: 5 minutes ago
Hello Esinem,

Defense noted.

You continue to link to off-topic content after I have repeatedly told you such content is off-topic for this group. The focus of this group is on one subject and one subject alone: discussion of SM and bondage in Japan. Your links to your own personal essays on what you think about bondage are nice. but they are off-topic here. Referring people to your DVD is self-advertising, and it is off-topic here.

You may discuss yourself in any of the dozens of rope groups on Fetlife where such discussion is on-topic, so no one is deprived of anything you have to say. But posts in this group must be on-topic for this group.

I have had this conversation again and again with you, and I believe that you understand both the concept of this group and what is acceptable content in posts here. You are welcome to continue posting, but please avoid off-topic content or such posts will continue to be removed.

Sorry, this discussion has been fermée.
Fermée is french for toast. We are multi-cultural like that.

Interestingly, I see no right of reply was given. So much for free speech and a right to fair trial by ones peers! It might have been better for them to deal with the poster who posed the allegedly off-topic question? The really interesting question is why the draconian step of closing the tread? Why be so evasive in exploring the possibility that this second wrist wrap was functional, especially since some of the mods had translated the material in question and had apparently had great insights from their study? If I’m wrong and it’s not primarily functional, why doesn’t Marai choose to lose the rope around the wrists and not elsewhere. Is it just stylistic or is there some advantage to be gained? I suspect there is whether intended or not. It would be useful to test and explore this.

Feel free to reopen the debate here via the comments.

The post Takate-kote wrist ties appeared first on ESINEM.

I have just heard that I have won some places in the Bondage Awards. Although it is seen by many as just a popularity contest rather than any great gauge of merit, I am honoured to have some recognition. Granted some categories had barely any entries, so getting Runner Up or Honourable Mention probably means there were so few applicants that it was inevitable.  Of course, since many of the nominees were American, I assume the demographic of the nominators was also US. You can see this by the lack of world-class Japanese nawashi in the nominations.  I was, however, pleased to see many western shibari riggers being listed.  It is good to see the Awards turning from representing  just western bondage to recognising shibari and I’m proud to be a part of it. There were a lot of worthy nominees that were conspicuous by their absence. I’m sure wider participation would make the Awards more representative of world opinion and that’s up to all of us.

I find the categories somewhat confusing and would like to see them clarified. Most Authentic Bondage, for example. Isn’t all bondage authentic? Surely, this needs to relate to a style, e.g. Most Authentic Japanese Bondage? Although, I can see this opening the old “What is shibari?” can of worms. What defines ‘authentic’ western or fusion bondage for that matter? What’s the difference between Best Company and Store? At least a definition of what fits might guide voters. For example, I see the Hitachi Magic Wand won Best Gear category in a previous year. No doubt one of the ‘most bang for your buck’ toy out there and loved by millions but it has sod all to do with bondage per se. Surely, only bondage products should be allowed? Frames, suspension rings and given that rope isn’t the only bondage, steel or leather restraints, that sort of stuff.

I also find the voting process a little strange. According to a description of previous years methods, it does not appear to be a simple tally as, after the initial count, the judges “place their votes, they will be weighted again the votes the public placed to decide the winners in each category”. We aren’t told how much weight the judges vote carry. I assume it must be more than one vote or the judging would be somewhat pointless. I am also unsure why they allow not only a vote every day but for nominees to vote for themselves.

“The public voting stage of the Bondage Awards is now officially over. Over the next week I will be compiling all of the votes (over 40,000!). A top 20 list will be compiled for each category and given to the judges. Once they place their votes, they will be weighted again the votes the public placed to decide the winners in each category. I expect this process to take two weeks. I know many of you are excited to see the results, so thank you in advance for being patient.

Regarding the judging, we have around 40 judges representing almost every category. They are models, riggers, webmaster/mistresses, photographers and business owners from the bondage industry and around the world. With such a large cross-section of people I know we will get fair and accurate results.”

Anyway, this isn’t sour grapes as I can’t complain about my awards. Although, I suspect there might be some curious results. I haven’t seen the whole list yet and all I had by email was my results. It will be telling if Yukimura and Kinoko aren’t at the top of the pile in their categories as there are no nominees worthy of beating them.

Here were my results:

Bondage How To
Most Authentic Bondage
Rope Bondage, Bondage Gear & Water Bondage
Bondage Pay-site, Movie, Suspension & Store

I am also grateful for the large percentage of my site’s traffic that has been a direct result of the Bondage Awards.

The post 2012 Bondage Awards results appeared first on ESINEM.

It seems all the back room stuff has been completed and the time has come to switch over to the new server. I have just changed over the name servers, so unless I have screwed that up, you should see an improvement in reliability and speed within the next 24 hours or so. From what I can gather from the error reports on the old server, it seems that my large number of US visitors are the cause of the problems. You guys from across The Pond seem to account for around half my traffic!

Not that I’m grumbling, I am always keen to evangelise shibari as done in Japan to countries that still worship false prophets in this area. When people cease to post replies to “How do I learn shibari?” that contain advice to study Two Knotty Boys tutorials, I will feel my job is largely done. This in not to say TKB don’t do excellent work. I admire what they have achieved, an unique style that is recognised throughout the world but is not what I call shibari by any stretch of the imagination, nor what my vision is about. They have also taught sound and safe techniques well, as far as I know, and introduced many to a type of rope work that has made a lot of people happy. You can’t argue with that. It’s just that I like to call a spade a spade and not a shovel. I will never critcise you for your choice of implement or what you chose to do with rope so long as it’s RACK. Just make sure you are not Risk Un-Aware.

The post New server going live! appeared first on ESINEM.

Sorry about the wait but I think you will agree it’s worth it when you see the new uploads. I finally found my photos from Toubaku of a very memorable show by Naka Akira, who is something of an idol to those who know his work.

There is also some great work by Nina Russ with MaYa Homerton, her main model. In this series, Nina ties her naked in a highly available position based on a tie she saw in one of Sugiura’s collections. I can tell you that some of the ties in the book are deceptively hard both  to reproduce and to endure. Credit to Nina and MaYa, who are an exceptional team.

The post Galllery updates: Exclusive Naka Akira show at Toubaku & MaYa exposed appeared first on ESINEM.

Las máscaras de Bob Basset | Blog de Planeta BDSM.

Nothing to do with bondage but very cool and bizarre!  Here’s a rough translation:

“Bob Basset is an established artist, originating from the Ukraine, working with materials such as plastic, PVC leather to create a large number of masks. At first glance, Basset masks reference to  BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, and Sadism and Masochism) culture, but also successfully address the steam-punk aesthetic, under which his works  are cataloged in numerous websites. Although steam punk began as a sub genre, its popularity was such that it immediately began to generate aesthetic ideas worldwide referencing steam-based technology. Moreover, another influence that is associated to the work of Ukrainian artist is the literary work of HP Lovecraft, at which he hints in some of his pieces.”

So, whether it’s steam-punk, Lovecraft or Dr. John A. Zoidberg that is your fetish, there’s a Basset mask for you.

The post Bob Basset’s masks appeared first on ESINEM.

As you can see this, it means the migration to the new server is complete. Hopefully, they have set everything up right and this will the end of a worsening nightmare. The past few weeks the old server was clogging up each night and there were various cock-ups due to miscommunications that made the upgrade less than seamless. The past 24 hours have been horrendous with email outages and various people reporting it inaccessible. Consequently, I’ve spent half the day doing battle with tech support after seeing an error message around 8am this morning. That might not seem early to you 9-5′s but my day ended at 4am this morning.

Let me know what difference you experience in performance by using the comments option. Your feedback will help me decide if further measures are required. Everything seems a lot faster my end but anything would compared to some response times I experienced over the past weeks.

I’m no computer expert but, really, how hard is it to comprehend “Yes, I have already changed the name server”? or answer direct questions like “When are you doing the change-over? What do I need to do my end?”.  Anyway, hopefully, I can stop banging my head on my keyboard and get back to business. There’s that back-log of editing and uploads to get around to…

The Bad News

I have just been told some of the original video galleries don’t work. I now realise this is a result of changing the plug-in I was using to JWPlayer from a rather obscure one.

The Good News

It seems that all I need to do is to make some fairly straightforward coding changes to the affected videos and all should be good. I am taking a look right now and it should be sorted soon.

On the positive side, all the newer videos are unaffected and my first user comment is “Wooow! Uploads supersonically fast!!”

The post Esinem site on the new server at last! appeared first on ESINEM.

Well, I knew it was too good to be true. We have some teething problems with the upgrade. The video galleries are currently giving a Page Not Found 404 error due to a change of plugin. Don’t fret, they are still there. It is just that the right link is no longer being called. I have discovered how to solve the problem but it means a far bit of work. Before I do it the hard way, I am seeing if there is a quicker and easier solution. If I don’t find one very soon, I will re-install the old plugin until the modifications are complete. Thus, the only loss of service should only be a day or so while I wait for a reply from the plugin’s authors.

This is what went wrong. As part of the process of streamlining the site for the server upgrade, I uninstalled UUGallery, the plugin that was being used for photo and video galleries. Whilst it had a lot of unique features that are useful for a conventional porn site, it was not as full-featured as more mainstream plugins. It also deactivated the visual editor, which I find fairly helpful. with my limited technical ability. After uninstalling, I checked the galleries and saw that the photo galleries still worked so assumed all was fine. If I had stopped and thought, I might have realised that displaying a photo is one thing but a video another. Doh! Demonstrably, a simple link is not good enough for videos. UUG does something clever in between. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

The post Video galleries glitch appeared first on ESINEM.

We have long been in collective awe of tutorials, particularly anything coming out of Japan, but there is a tendency to be uncritical of people’s work in general. It is simply not the done thing to express anything but adulation, even for the most dubious rope work posted in Joe Public’s online profile, never mind the work of  the great and famous. Why is it we can critically examine the Bible or the work of any expert, yet if we critique a rigger, a fatwah ensues?

My concern is that we accept too much without due consideration when we should be able to examine the work critically as we do with any art, even that of great classical artists etc.. We should become educated enough to see when one of the exalted is tying exceptionally well or has made a mistake. They are human and not infallible. They have ‘off days’ and days where they are truly at one with rope and partner. They are just like the rest of us. It’s simply that their ‘on days’ might produce far better results and their ‘off days’ are less off and frequent.  If we understand what makes one thing right and another wrong,  we can spot our own mistakes. When we know which is which, we know which to emulate. Thus, we progress.

Recently, a masked super-hero has emerged on Fetlife, TheAngryNawashi, with the mission, it appears of busting a few myths, reclaiming the Japanese interpretation of shibari and making us think. He is not afraid to speak out and make criticism of a number of well-known riggers and reference sources. He has directed his attention at both western educators and some in Japan. Whilst I can’t support the level of disrespect he shows to some, I feel we have long needed somebody to cure us of the Emperor’s New Clothes Syndrome which prevents anyone daring to critique the idols or even their own peers. By sweeping away chaff, he is exposing more wheat for us to consume.

I see him like visits to the dentist. Not always pleasant, often painful, but ultimately beneficial. The medicine required to cure Emperor’s New Clothes Syndrome is bitter. If we end up viewing our own work and that of the ‘idols’ more critically, all to the good. We might then follow better examples so improving our art. I believe that there are a number of lesser deity and not being able to differentiate serves to cloud our view. In the west, producing a tutorial or setting oneself up as an educator does not make the author a rope god. We seem to forget that Japan is not exempt from this either. Various skill levels exist. Take a look at SM Sniper or the like, you will see incompetent rope work along aside that of the true gods.

I think TheAngryNawashi has done us a great service by daring to mention that he cannot see the Emperor’s New Clothes. It gives others insight that not all that glitters is gold and the courage to say so. He says of himself:

“I am your friends, lovers, families, and partners. You already know us. These truths we speak have already been exchanged in our shared experiences.

This mask is but a shadow cast by those which you are already intimately familiar with.

TheAngryNawashi can only show you that which you already knew in your heart.

TheAngryNawashi tries to teach many things that cannot be taught.

You must learn.

Listen more, talk less, tie always.

TheAngryNawashi is watching over you.”
We will enter a new era once we develop critical faculties. In doing so, it is worth remembering that the the following do not guarantee good shibari:

a) Being Japanese

b) Calling yourself by a Japanese name

c) Calling yourself nawashi/sensei/kinbakushi something or other. Combining more than one of these titles almost guarantees the opposite.

d) Adding a hanko or kanji to your web site

e) Taking nice pictures. How many times have I gone “Wow!” then looked closer and said “Oh dear…”?

f) Being well known

g) Having a cool web site

i) Umpteen years of experience

j) Creating tutorials or being a BDSM educator

k) Experience as a sailor, mountaineer, scout, rope rescue, arborist etc.

l) Tuition directly by the gods of shibari

m) Ownership of genuine asanawa purchased in Japan

n) Official nawashi shades

o) Japanese clothing

p) Being able to do a couple of well-rehearsed show routines.

q) Speaking/reading Japanese

l) Watching videos or reading books, Japanese or otherwise

m) Having Japanese ancestory or partner

o) Erh, that’s it for now

The post TheAngryNawashi & Emperor’s New Clothes appeared first on ESINEM.

A tribute to some of the artists that have performed at BOUND, Europe’s first regular Japanese bondage night, at The Flying Dutchman London. In addition to shows by international performers, the event combines education, live art and, of course, socialising. It is, in essence, LFAJRB in microcosm. Performers have included DrPhil (FR), Boris Mosafir (RU), WykD_Dave (UK), Nawakiri Shin (TW), RIccardo Wildties (IT), Andrea Ropes (IT), Nawashi Murakawa (UK), Nina Russ (EU), Esinem (UK) and many more.

Music by Chemicalbonds

The post BOUND: Shibari show video appeared first on ESINEM.

I was introduced to the idea of muga some years ago by Osada Steve and reminded by that controversial, but I believe wise, character TheAngryNawashi to study muga-mushin. I plan to heed that advice. Whilst I have only a hazy understanding of the actual terms, the concept is not unfamiliar. I have experienced it in other situations, such as off-road motorcycling when one realises that it is more a question of letting ‘The Force be with you’ than fighting the pull of the mud and ruts. I have long said that muscle memory frees the conscious mind but, when this happens, there appears to be an unconscious process that also takes place. One finds ones actions evolving. One example is how I recently looked down to discover that my fingers had found a slightly different, more efficient way.

I asked TheAngryNawashi if my habit of not rehearsing shows was a step in the right direction. I’m somewhat relieved that the answer was in the affirmative as I have always believed that kinbaku comes from the heart and not from a carefully choreographed show honed to perfection over months. For me, kinbaku is what happens in the moment not as a result of the same routine regurgitated. Of course, I am not suggesting radical and dynamic ’circus bondage’ doesn’t benefit from some practice!

The post Muga-mushin: Let The Force be with you! appeared first on ESINEM.

Lol! It seems that I have been banned from Fetlife’s Kinbaku group for asking moderators, DM_6 and Faviola_Llervu, some direct questions after they claimed the rather curious wrap placement in the photo below was acceptable. I quote Faviola_Llervu ”The example is fine for the DVD’s stated goal of demonstrating ties” and the exchange between DM_6 and myself:

Me: “My question was “Is this example is very poor and not to be emulated. Am I wrong?”"

DM_6: “The short answer is yes”

With such blind defence of a placement that was obviously a mistake by the maestro, I felt I had to challenge it and qualify it. I am always prepared to be proved wrong. The worst that can happen is that I can learn. The questions that got me banned were:

a) Is the left lower wrap in a potentially risky position?

b) Is it aesthetic?

c) Would you teach this tie with such a degree of asymmetry?

d) Would you approve a tie with this degree of asymmetry done by a student of yours?

I maintain the wrap placement on the left is both poor and ugly (see front view photo below). The lower left wrap appears to be in the danger area for many people. IMHO, both wraps should have equal gaps and be placed at the same height. I maintain this is as critical as correct tension. For most people, I assert the closer wraps on the right are better placed. Butt-kicking would be involved if one of my students had produced this on anything other than a first try and Osada-san would have kicked mine if I had done so. He would check the rope marks and if they were not on top of each other after several TK sessions he would grumble.

The first time they gave me a whole load of waffle (see below) but dodged the question, as they did in another thread when I asked DM_6 to explain what deeper purpose he claimed for Marai’s wrist tie beyond support and how he managed to get downwards pressure on his TK’s wrist tie. Bizarrely, in response, the verbose and anonymous GroupBot posted an entirely irrelevant and lengthy warning about off topic posts and advertising. The posts were assessing a Japanese tie in a Japanese tutorial by a Japanese nawashi…erh, how much more on topic is it possible to be in the so-called Kinbaku Group?? None of my products or services were even hinted at! It seems that if they can’t answer a question, they close the thread and/or ban you. Cleary my sin is challenging them on practical matters and asking awkward questions that require more than academic knowledge to answer. I know quite a few others who are no longer in the group, having jumped or been pushed, due to this behaviour.

Their defence, for what appears to be a regrettable blooper in an otherwise excellent tutorial, was saying everyone is individual (so individual that it takes that sort of asymmetry to demonstrate it?), it depends on context (umm, it’s a tutorial!), the intent (to teach the tie properly?) and it is not meant to be a blue-print (no, but something approximating to an examplary tie might be good!). They claimed that the 100% differential in gap was “minutae” which to me is indicative of their level of practical knowledge. The Emperor’s New Clothes syndrome and, it appears, having learned most of what they know from books and videos with little or no first-hand tuition from Japanese sensei means that they are unable to see this is a very poor example. That said, I would never wish to denigrate the massive contributions they have made with their translations of Japanese material. They make an excellent academic research team. If they had a more open attitude, much could be contributed to the community by combining this with the experience of those with more practical experience and the benfit of in-depth 1-2-1 teaching by the sensei themselves. There is only so much that can be learned from translating video and written tutorials compared with many hours hands-on guidance by the masters themselves. Of course, one can always gleen additional information from tutorials and performance videos, however basic, regardless of skill, if one is observant and applies what ome knows.

I’m not knocking Marai Masato. There’s some genius stuff in the tutorial and I love his style. I merely wished to point out that if one does not have an experienced and critical eye, it is possible to get the wrong impresion or pick up bad habits by slavishly following every example. Being Japanese does not make them infallible uber-sensei :-) Just like western tutorials, they are a mixed bag made by human beings who, however great, make mistakes and have off-days. Then, there is the inevitability of Sod’s Law when one needs to produce a perfect example and the fact that the blooper won’t be noticed until it is too late…cameras? Don’tcha luv ‘em?!

Thus, I propose open and honest critiques, rather than nobody mentioning the emperor’s nudity. In this way, the less experienced will know what is best practice and will have nuances they might not otherwise appreciate explained, e.g. the cunning way Marai carefully stretches the skin up under the top wrap and provides lift and stretch with the lower wrap to fine tune an instant breast lift. Watch the TK tutorial in ‘How to Bind’ and you will see what I mean

This is my original post:

What can we learn from tutorials?

by Esinem 2 days ago

After some study of Marai Masato’s ’How to bind’, I question how much of use can be learned from studying such material without a highly critical eye? Such tutorials are inevitably very superficial, since the complexities of ties like the tk are dismissed in minutes and there appear to be some very poor examples, unless I misunderstand due to a lack of Japanese. Please tell me Marai is telling us this tk is a pig’s ear on one side but good on the other here (grab from final bit of 1st tk) or there is some rational explanation?! IMHO, this example is very poor and not to be emulated. Am I wrong?

I do not wish to throw the baby out with the bath water, there is much to learned but we need to know if errors exist.

What tutorials do people recommend that show excellence throughout?

Responses (23 of 23)

No comments have been left yet. Be the first one to leave a comment.

nawajunkie: 2 days ago | report

Video tutorials, like the ones that Arisue Go made in Kinbaku - mind and techniques II would be my suggestions, but I still prefer live educations like the one offered at Osada ryu dojo’s

Faviola_Llervu: 2 days ago | report

Lots can be learned from such videos without a highly critical eye.

These kinds of basic how-to videos (or books) are guides to show the process of tying, with details given in approximations with the understanding that the viewer/reader will be using their own judgement when applying it to their own partners.

Also, the images aren’t blueprints. It’s understood that differences in partner’s shape, size, abilities, limitations and preferences will change the tying, so the the viewer is not expected to make their own tying look exactly like the video image. So basic instruction will remain useful whether or not a video lives up to someone’s idealized perfect placement or not.

To paraphrase from the intro to Marai’s advanced book/DVD: This model isn’t your partner. This book is intended as a guide. Use discretion.

Third, the purpose of a basic video (as in the case of this Marai video) is to help even beginners learn basics so that they can get started tying to have fun doing SM play. So I think to successfully use videos like these, all one needs is to pay attention to the video’s advice/guidance, to follow the steps and practice with consideration for one’s partner.

My recommendation is try a video and see if you find it useful. And if you don’t like it (for whatever reason), then try a different one.

Esinem: 1 day ago | report

Of course, we all appreciate that much is individual. However, I believe this is an illustration that we should not emulate slavishly or too literally and accept everyone makes mistakes. However, I learned a lot about breast enhancement with rope from this tutorial.

Esinem: 1 day ago | report

My question was “Is this example is very poor and not to be emulated. Am I wrong?”

D6_M: 1 day ago | report

@esinem The short answer is yes, But there’s some qualifications to that: Much of that depends on your ability to build break down what you’re seeing in the video. You use for example:

The wrist wraps on the Marai video being for support of arms. I could see why one who knows the OS TK3 well would see it that way. I have watched Mark DV8 tie that very well and could see how one could interrupt it. However, when you’re able to read and understand what’s being said, you realize it’s not case, but if you don’t have that information it’s entirely possible to think that. No one is entirely wrong, no one entirely right, its a matter of perspective and what you can do with your partner.

Faviola_Llervu: 1 day ago | report

The example is fine for the DVD’s stated goal of demonstrating ties so that even first-time tiers can complete them.

For an advanced tier, or for someone already invested in detailed learning in order to progress to a high level, then this video probably won’t satisfy, but there’s no reason to expect it would. And there’s no reason to take an image stripped of context and assume errors just because it doesn’t match someone’s all-purpose correct ideal. That just ends up running everyone around in circles.

And just to repeat that the images aren’t meant to be an blueprint of what a viewer is meant to emulate, Marai even writes in the description for this video series, “Of course the woman and the person tying are different, so faithful reproduction is impossible.”

D6_M: 1 day ago | report

I think a newbie would be better served by Arisue Go’s DVD and Book in English on Jagoya.com. Marai I have only suggested to riggers with some advanced skill like Lotus Lilly and Mataleo. It’s always better to get personalized instruction as you can do alternative steps. But not everyone has that advantage and that hopefully will change.

Esinem: 1 day ago | report

I am curious as to why you believe the wrap positions are acceptable and should be emulated? I can’t think of any reason, situation or person where such obvious and ugly asymmetry might be justified excluding avoiding some injury but it seems odd to select a unlikely exception to demonsrate to newbies

You seem to imply I am drawing all the wrong conclusions about this and the support function of the wrist tie. Please substantiate your assertions so we can all be wiser.

Esinem: 1 day ago | report

PS I wasn’t asking about level of tutorial but about exemplary practice

Faviola_Llervu: 1 day ago | report

I never said they should be emulated.

I’ve replied twice that the images in basic instruction materials are not meant to be copied precisely. They simply are guides to help a reader/viewer through the steps of tying. Therefore obsessing over minutiae in rope placement in such a guide makes no sense.

You seem to imply I am drawing all the wrong conclusions about this and the support function of the wrist tie. Please substantiate your assertions so we can all be wiser.

I’ve been providing quotes across a few threads by makers of how-to guides which tell readers/viewers how to use the material and what to expect from it and various comments and advice, yet you keep posting as if nothing is being said about it.

PS I wasn’t asking about level of tutorial but about exemplary practice

Intended audience, level of instruction and stated purpose of work are directly relevant to evaluating a how-to book/video/article.

If you don’t like the look of the tying in a video, then that’s your opinion and that’s fine. Don’t use it and don’t recommend it. However, there’s no benefit in starting yet another discussion in this group (third in two weeks) just to keep beating your hobbyhorse bemoaning the inadequacies of everyone else’s instruction.

It’s nice to see exemplary practice, and it’s good to encourage people to share videos/books they like. But there’s more to many how-to materials than just in-depth analysis of the mechanical placement of rope. You’ve been open about the possibility of misunderstanding due to lack of Japanese. I suggest you use that and reserve judgement until you know what the maker of a how-to book/video/etc. is trying to communicate to you through that work.

Lord_Ramirez: 1 day ago | report

Also by seeing Murai, Go, Mai, even Hayami, training videos one gets a more rounded approach to what it means to do kinbaku in a very Japanese way because you are getting Japanese source material. In essence you take from them each different approach, and then examine both points that are common, and those that diverge. Then in the end you take what works best for you, which then forms your path in kinbaku.

Faviola_Llervu:

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Wishing everyone seasonal greeting and beatings! There’s no peace for the wicked as chez Esinem as you’ll see by the many gallery additions of the past couple of days including a festive themed and a DiD video with Jewell Marceau, plus Boris Mosafir with Aliya and Andrea Ropes & Valentina at BOUND. Anyway, time to get back to banqueting, boozing, candy stick licking and falling into a stupor on the sofa.

The post Have a cool Yule appeared first on ESINEM.

Whilst trawling the net looking for information on some of the most revered nawashi, I came across a goldmine of personal interviews. These are fascinating as they go some way to explaining how they view their art, which can be very different to how some of us in the west perceive it.

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As you’ll know, I have said that one needs to be careful about what one takes from tutorials and photos of work by well-know names. You must take what you see in context, especially with some of the work by old style bakushi. Recently, somebody picked up on an example of a wrist tie in a Japanese tutorial and posted a link to the video with a comment that seemed to imply he didn’t know what he was doing. I can easily see why. The nawashi didn’t run the bight under the wraps. Almost all the teaching of shibari in the west is based on Kanna’s style which incorporates this additional safety measure and the most basic western bondage tutorials warn about secondary tightening, so it is quite reasonable to think omitting this step is wrong. So, is it wrong? Well, it depends on whether one knows the risks and can negate or manage them which, in turn, depends on experience. So, given this is a tutorial so we can reasonably define the ‘intent’ was to teach a standard form. After all, in other circumstances, that ‘intent’ might well be SM or an extreme pose for a photo and not the safest way. Thus we should ask what were the qualifications of the teacher in question? Was he an incompetent or somebody acting with clear intent?

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I will be offering 33% off the rates for Virtual Dojo personal shibari tuition to make up for the wait in getting this project going.

What can I say? I know it has been ages since I first mentioned this but,  due to some technological nightmares and a few other little interferences like LFAJRB, the Virtual Dojo project slipped somewhat. Anyway, now I have my broadband running at scorching speed, a reliable hard-wired LAN connection and all the right hardware installed, it should be all systems go.

Initially, I will only be offering individual tutoring customised to the students experience and requirements. If the feedback is sufficiently good, I will expand this to group classes and use my tutorial DVDs as the basis of an interactive course.

Tests have been very encouraging, even before the upgrades, so now the results should be even better assuming you have a half-way decent setup at your end. My only criticism is some after-imaging on fast movements. However, I think this is inevitable due to the need to reduce frame rates to a level that will not bog down most people’s systems. The trick is just to slow down some movements which makes it easier to follow anyway. I have no doubt that technology will improve rapidly and before long you will be able to enjoy me life-size at 60 frames per second in your living-room with the added advantage, not available in real life, of being able to turn me off!

To participate, you will need a reasonably up to date PC with a web cam and audio. Although WizIq is a very efficient platform designed for education, a fast and reliable Internet connection is essential for the best experience. Good lighting is also important for me to see clearly what you are doing. Tests would be performed before commencing tuition to confirm you are happy with the service provided.

The introductory rate is £30ph of teaching time. Setup and test time is not charged. I will be available from 11am-1am UK time by arrangement. Please use the Contact Form opposite.

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I have just had a heads-up from a member that there is a problem with paid memberships. It seems that my payment processor, Zombaio, has mistakenly suspended my service. It appears that the status of my site has has been reset to ‘pending approval’ at  their end. The site was approved months ago and is substantially the same, except it is on a new server and there’s a lot of new material now. I have no idea why it seems to need approval again, unless they think it is a new site due to the server upgrade. It is possible that a change of IP address might trigger the approval process again.

I have created a support ticket, so hopefully they can explain what has gone wrong and all will be resolved very shortly. The good news is that the new server seems to be giving much better page load speeds and some software upgrades have been carried out to improve the site.

Membership is growing steadily with an excellent retention rate. It is one thing getting sign ups but quite another keeping members. Too often new members are lured into site by an attractive ‘Tour’, only to discover that a book can’t be judged by its cover. It seems members here are liking the fact they are getting in-depth tutorial articles, pro tips, the latest news, plus some unique, top quality photos and video at a very low price.  If you like what you see, tell your friends, otherwise, tell me! Your feedback is always appreciated for ways to improve.

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It is always possible that the Gangham Style phenomenum has passed you by. If it has, clicking on this link might fill you will slack-jawed horror and fascination in equal measures. If you have been subjected to it, you will appreciate the video below made by Kinoko and his crew at his new club, KunKun.

Nina is keen to make a response but I’m not really into humiliation play

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I was wondering about an efficient way to move from a thigh tie, such as one might use in a side suspension, to an ankle hang. The result was an adjustable single column tie. It is designed to allow a thigh tie to be moved to the ankle without retying and also removed without untying. The benefits are greater speed and economy of movement without any extra effort or new knots to learn. It is beautifully simple and uses ‘standard shibari kit parts’, so ahders to traditional methods and aesthetics.

It has an added advantage in that it avoids the potential weak point of a single rope bight loop and is less liable to excessive wear, often called ‘burning the bight’, caused by the sawing action of the suspension line running through it as a ‘pulley’.

I’m not claiming uniqueness. I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if others have come to the same solution but I have yet to see it. Since posting this, it has been suggested that Bob Ropemarks might have done something similar; how similar I have yet to discover (Nina: Marvo the Memory Man showed Bob this at Ropefest!). I would be interested to hear about other solutions.

Here’s a short video demonstration that you can see if you are a full or free member:

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