Lee Harrington - Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé

Notice

Personal responsibility is a basic tenet of adult activity. Like any adult activity, rope bondage inherently contains risk of both physical and emotional injury. Any information or safety guidelines provided in this book are solely suggestions on ways to help reduce those inherent risks. By deciding to engage in any adult activity, including those detailed in this book, you are taking on physical and emotional responsibility for your own actions, and agree to hold harmless all individuals associated with the creation, publication and sale of this book.

2014 - Revised Edition - Mystic Productions Press

2006, 2007 - First and Second Editions - Lee Bridgett Harrington and Circle23 Photography

All rights reserved. With the exception of brief excerpts for reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, artist or their estates.

All text and rope work by Lee Harrington

www.PassionAndSoul.com

All photography by RiggerJay

www.RiggerJay.com

Book cover and layout design by Rob River

www.RobRiver.com

ISBN 978-0-9778727-2-5

Ebooks: MOBI ISBN 978-0-9778727-0-1

ePub ISBN 978-0-9778727-1-8

PDF ISBN 978-0-9778727-8-7

Previously printed in First Edition as ISBN 0-9778727-0-X and Second Edition as ISBN 978-0-6151-4490-0

Dedicated to our forebearers
who had the courage to
adventure into their passions.

Shall we give it a try?

To begin, we could discuss the origins of rope bondage in the history of feudal Japan and the way it transformed through the ages by way of the theatre into what we know today as Shibari, Kinbaku, or simply put Japanese Rope Bondage. We could discuss the differences between classical Shibari and Western Shibari, the school of rope bondage into which this book might fall.

But thats probably not why you bought this book.

You want to tie someone up. You want to be tied up. You want to slip this book into someones hands with a wink and say, Shall we give it a try? You want to feel the sensation of rope slipping through your fingers as your lover gasps beneath your bindings. You want to be that bound lover hoping you can stay in rope just a little longer while your partner has their way with you.

Thats why you bought this book. Be honest. There is just something about rope bondage that gets peoples imaginations going but when most people look at Japanese-style rope bondage, they are intimidated by the intricacy. They think it takes years of training in far-off dojos to learn even the basics of this mysterious art.

That is a myth.

True, to become a master of any craft you need to dedicate years of study, often under the tutelage of other artisans, and practice regularly. However, to do what most people want to do it only takes a book like this one.

By the end of this book, Ill have taught you enough rope skills that with practice and a patient partner youll be able to bind someone down to a bed, tie wrist to wrist and ankle to ankle, pull breasts into tight bundles of joy or pain, put your lover into an hogtie or ball-tie, create your own strap-on harness, weave a rope corset and more.

So pick up this book. Shake off your fears of looking silly the first time you tie someone up, get some rope, and you too can learn Japanese rope bondage and erotic macram.

This book is not meant for your bookshelf, to gather dust and only be pulled out for titillation value (though feel free to be titillated!). Shibari You Can Use was designed to live in your bedroom, or in a bag of rope and be played with. Pull it out for inspiration before a big date, or blindfold your lover and with this book lying next to them, get rope on them for the first time. Make notes or sketches in the margins if you like, or bookmark your favorite pages!

Have fun, and make this book yours.

Every person I have ever met who does rope bondage as a Rigger/Artist/Top (the person who does the tying) or as a Submissive/Bottom/Model (the person being tied) has a slightly different reason for doing bondage.

A few of those reasons include:

• Restraint
• Meditation
• Inability to escape
• Trance
• Art
• Novelty
• Fetish for rope
• A partners desire
• Sensuality
• Being silly/playful
• Trust
• Power exchange
• Ritual
• Masturbation
• Consensual torment
• Struggling
• Sex
• Sensation
• Sadism/Masochism
• Exhibitionism/Voyeurism
• Part of role-playing

Youre not into pain? You can still enjoy bondage. You want to do bondage because you think its pretty? Fantastic. Is rope bondage a part of your sex life but you dont consider yourself kinky? So be it! Being authentic is sexy!

What if you want to experience intense sensations? What if you want to use bondage as part of your spiritual life or to show off your skills in public?

Then do it. Everyone has the right to play with rope!

A Basic Chest Harness were used to create this simple yet effective tie.

Some folks desire to be tied up because they want to experience intense sensation and pain. Others are interested in doing bondage because its pretty and they enjoy sensuality. These two folks, if they want to play together, need to negotiate their interests. In fact, its a great idea for everyone to negotiate!

Find out what your partner is into. Find out what he is not into. Find out if she has limits you need to discuss (some folks dont do sex and bondage, some dont do gags, some dont like to have a submissive role, some want to tie themselves up while you watch this is a chance to talk about it). Even if their desires are not identical to yours, that is okay. Both partners can take turns having their desires met, or combine their passions into a single scene. Seeing your partner glow can also lead to you feeling your own joy, even if their specific desires are not what you are into.

There are lots of ways to negotiate: tantalizing notes back and forth over email before getting together, formal questionnaires, cuddling up and whispering naughty ideas to each other, or sharing images found online. Find and follow your own personal style for negotiation while remembering that the bulk of communication is non-verbal. Listen to what your partner is sharing beyond their words.

Negotiation is not a one-time opportunity to learn about your partners passions. Each time after you play, you both have the opportunity to debrief with one another about what you enjoyed and what you realized you are not interested in. Continuing the conversation around interest and desire helps the next time be even better.