Dun Got Me A Head Fulla Learn'n

Well we made it back in one piece from San Francisco. I just love that town! I’m already planning my next trip there, as well as a possible trip to NYC to work with some very cool folks I met at Midori’s Rope Dojo, but more on that when it develops. In fact I must say that I met loads of very cool people and saw tons of very familiar looking hemp in toy bags. I found myself asking random folks, “nice blue rope you have there…. Did… I make that?”

Oh and I did get to flirt a bit too with a very delightful lovely… more on that at another time.

I suppose I should talk about the dojo and what I learned while there. One would think that an intensive rope workshop, taught by THE grand dame of rope would be an event not to be missed. Well you are right. She is a fantastic teacher and really a hoot to be around. On the technical level I must say that I really did not learn much in the way of new ties and knots. Sure there were some cool tricks and shortcuts to be learned, but overall I consider myself to be a very competent rigger so most of the technical stuff was review.

However, the part that really engaged my mind was the mental and psychological aspects of being a good rope top. I’d like to refer to this as “the theater of bondage”. She spent probably more time working on getting us, the students, out of our cookie cutter, “seen it in a bondage photo” mindset and really looking at rope play differently. It is far too easy to fall into a formulaic pattern when doing rope bondage, her goal was to shake that loose and start thinking more dynamically and creatively. There is more to binding a person than just the act of applying rope to skin.

Yes, bondage (and all SM play really) is a form of theater. Like theater, there are a wide variety of emotions and responses you can draw from the performance. Do you want to laugh or cry? Are you looking for a transitive, Zen like rope experience where the top binds you and decorates you like a work of art? Or is the goal a sudden and fierce take down where you are forced to your knees and quickly bound tight? Fear? Surprise? Immobilization? What is it that makes you turned on and how can the top create that with rope?

Why do you think they call it a “scene” anyways?


We will talk more about this again. Till then, sleep calls.