Where should I start learning shibari?

Regardless of your skill level, you might find the sheer number of shibari tutorials and courses leaves you spoiled for choice. So, where should you start? Well, this section is designed to guide you depending upon your goals and current level. We offer courses and tutorials for low monthly subscriptions or as a one-off purchase. All tutorials are available individually but the best deals are the bundles, e.g. 'Introducing shibari: Mega-bundle'.

Goals

To know how to get somewhere, it is essential to have some idea of your destination, else you are just wandering aimlessly. So, let's look at where you think want to go and why, as sometimes, it might not be the right place.

Firstly, I assume you are here to learn about shibari. Shibari means many things to many people, so I'd suggest taking a look at 'What is shibari?' and 'What I wish I'd known about learning when I started shibari'. It will give you a better idea about what we teach and whether that is what you wish to learn. In short, Nina and I use a simple method we have devised to teach shibari based heavily on the work of some of Japan's most respected masters. From my earliest exposure to shibari, I have always felt the real essence as being the effect it can have physically and emotionally, rather than just a beautiful means of restraint. Thus, this is at the core of what we teach from day one.

Japanese rope bondage is something you never really stop learning, so your goal will depend on how deep you want to go. Some of you might just want a few ties and techniques that can be quickly learned for a bit of bedroom bondage, while others might be prepared to put in the work and dedication to become very adept and even eventually go on to perform or teach. Indeed, many of you might already be well into that journey.

To help identify the skill level, all material is tagged as beginners, intermediate or advanced. You can narrow your search by using the Category drop-down menu on the Courses page. Some tutorials are tagged with multiple levels as almost everyone can benefit. You might already think you know a particular tie but we feel sure almost everyone will learn something new and valuable.



I'd advise under-estimating your skill level as we have more often noticed students over-estimating their rope skills, than under-estimating. One important thing that I have learned is 'You don't know what you don't know'. Since we have based our teaching on over 25 years combined experience and tuition from some of Japan's most acclaimed kinbaku masters, we will help you discover these secrets and provide a simple, logical way to learn.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that simply being able to reproduce a facsimile certain ties is enough. You might achieve restraint but it needs to be technically correct to be safe and tied with feeling to have the full effect. There's no need to get complicated as even the most simple rope-work can be made to feel amazing with the right techniques. Like sex, good technique and passion always beats just knowing 101 positions and nothing more. This why we firmly believe that the best way is to learn good technique from day one. Sadly, all too often this is something many teachers reserve for advanced classes, when it should be at the heart of everything you do and not something you have to wait years to learn.

Shibari for beginners

If you have absolutely no experience in shibari, in addition to the recommendations above, take a look at the free videos, especially 'Bondage Safety' and 'Negotiating Consent' for obvious reasons.

If you are wondering how to learn shibari, take a look at the 'Introducing shibari: Mega-bundle'. It's a very comprehensive structured course for only $18pm, not just a baffling selection of tutorials for ties. The mega-bundle offers two routes depending upon whether you just want to learn some ties you can use quickly for sex and play or prefer to study a more in-depth and connective approach. Whichever you choose, you will be guided from the very first steps and taught using a simple, logical methods which will develop your creativity.

Deepening your mastery of shibari

The temptation is to widen your repertoire with as many ties as possible. However, going deeper rather than wider can be far more rewarding. Depth will help you gain the understanding and confidence to be creative but also hone your technique to make every rope count. For your partner, the magic will always be in how you tie, not the tie itself. So much of that comes from knowing how to handle the rope, your partner, how to pick up and take advantage of cues. Quite simply, learning how to use your tools masterfully. However, if you are tying for a shoot or a show, the tie itself will play a big visual part but also capturing the emotion is what makes it special. The subtle aesthetics of the ties will be something you will also learn, with much of it being down to a few rules which make sense when you know them..

Whilst all our tutorials and courses are much more than step-by-step guides, some are designed to concentrate upon developing your understanding of how, where and why you should use the basic ingredients, rather than just how to follow a recipe. We believe in the old adage that if you give a man a fish, you will feed him for one day but teaching him how to fish can feed him for a lifetime. So it is with shibari. Building the right foundations and understanding them makes the whole subject simple and very logical. Even recommendations:

Widening your experience

It's very easy to get carried away with collecting ties. As I said above, there's more to tying than just creating pretty patterns. The engineering, aesthetics and, most significantly, how you make it feel are essential parts. In fact, we think the latter is what shibari is all about. To miss out on that would be a tragedy. It is better to master a few ties than fumble through a few dozen badly, so don't take on too much at once. Make sure you can tie the patterns well and also comprehend how and why they work before moving on. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Below, you'll find tutorials on the core ties and patterns, each with variants and a full explanation of how the basic 'ingredients' are used to build them:

Very quickly, you will see how the ingredients are repeated and can be swapped to different effect. You will realise that shibari is very much like a construction kit. At first, you might just build the models in the instructions but soon you will be inventing your own using the knowledge you have gained. You won't have to ask "How do you tie that?" again since it will usually become obvious.

Advanced shibari techniques and suspension

As I mentioned earlier, we generally tend to over-estimate our skills. I have done it myself, many times before I realised what I was doing. Bear this in mind, pay attention and build your skills carefully. When it comes to advanced subjects, like semenawa (to over-simplify, sadistic tying) and, especially, suspension, the stakes are much higher. It is easier to cause serious injury, or even death, through ignorance or simple lack of experience. When you are doing suspension, you are juggling a lot of balls so there's always a risk of a slip up.

If you plan to progress to suspension, mastering the base ties is an absolute prerequisite and a good comprehension of the risks and appropriate skills are vital. As the new 'Suspension: Mega-bundle' at only $25pm, a 12-part suspension course is structured and relies heavily on knowledge in previous sections, we strongly suggest working through it sequentially. Unless, you have strong basic skills, you should definitely not skip the first part which lays out the fundamentals. Anyway, we'd be surprised if you didn't learn something, regardless how long you have been suspending.

Ideally, our 'Suspension: Mega-bundle' course should be used as an adjunct to competent face to face tuition. However, the key word is 'competent'. Whilst there are some world class teachers, it is not always possible for everyone to access them or even know who they are. Bear in mind, a lot of people have jumped on the teaching band-wagon, not all have the experience or the teaching ability. Let the buyer beware! Do your research by asking people who can demonstrate their skills who is a competent teacher, rather than random on-line enquiries as everyone's an 'expert' on the internet ;-)

If you can't attend a class, try to have your skills checked by somebody who knows what they are doing. That said, we have given you the means to assess the safety of your own work. This is why we emphasise the 'whys' behind the ties.

We believe video tutorials have many advantage over live workshops. Our courses give you a whole month, more if you need it, not just a few hours, to absorb and practice the content. It is all to easy to get home from a workshop with an imperfect recollection and start practicing the wrong thing or have missed some vital point. With our tutorials, you can easily revise every last detail; re-playing or pausing as often as you like without holding up fellow students or feeling a fool.