Tarnished Halo

I’ve decided that the time is right for another book review. This time I’m going to review a book that has become and invaluable resource for my partner and I when learning to use rope. Even after a good chunk of time working with rope and moving on to more difficult ties, we still refer to this book on a frequent basis because it is simply that good. Douglas Kent’s Complete Shibari Volume 1: Land is one of the best books for those interested in learning to tie Japanese style rope that has ever been written.

Shibari is an old form of bandage that started in Japan as a way to restrain prisoners in an aesthetically pleasing form. It was sexualized when these ties began to be used to restrain women in positions that allowed their male guards to rape them easily. Shibari also goes by the name of Kinbaku. (If you’re in Japan and ask someone to show you Shibari, they will bring you a small box with a bow on it). Fairly recently in history, Shibari has become a large part of the kink community, not only for the sexual but for the artistic. Many people that tie in Shibari style call themselves “riggers”, but you will almost never hear me use that term because I believe that it doesn’t give enough credit. To me, those that tie Shibari are always going to be called “rope artists”. If you see some of the pictures of those that tie Shibari well, you will understand why I choose this name, but I digress from the topic at hand, so without further ado, my review.

Kent starts the book out with a disclaimer similar to what I am about to say to you. Rope bondage is dangerous. There are many aspects that need to be taken into account, such as circulation, nerves, respiration, and physical comfort. You also need to have the complete trust of the person that you are tying. Always have a pair of EMT safety shears within easy reach in case of an emergency. This does not mean in the bottom of a toy bag or desk drawer. I mean in your back pocket or right next to the bed. Some people choose to use knives in case they ever have to cut rope, but I don’t recommend it, as if you have gotten to the point where rope needs to be cut, you’re likely to be panicking and a knife in the hands of someone panicking is way too scary for me.

The next couple of pages in the book are dedicated to information about the author, often infused with humor and wit. He then goes on to describe how to use the book, as it’s unlikely to be in a format that anyone is highly familiar with. After this, he spends a huge amount of time explaining safety risks and how to lessen those risks. Do NOT, under any circumstances, skip this section. It is extremely well written and covers things that you wouldn’t even think of as a risk. A little further on, he explains the job of the rope bottom (or person that is being tied up). This is especially well written for those who have never been tied up before. Again at least have to bottom read it, but it’s better if both parties do. This pretty much ends his safety information for the book.

Next he goes on to discuss different types of rope and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Depending on what you’re doing, different ropes have different levels of efficacy. Kent does a great job explaining this and why most of the best artists use only natural fiber rope (usually hemp or jute). He also explains how to find the center of your rope. (This is important because in the Japanese style that rope is almost always doubled over.)

After the discussion of rope, he finally gets to information on actually tying people up, but doesn’t start right in with directions. He discusses how to construct some of the basic ties and how they can vary, along with different techniques for doing different things. This is one of my favorite things about the book. So many books only teach one way to do a tie. Not every way is going to be equally useful for everyone, so that he includes variations is great.

Now we’re ready to start tying. For those of you who don’t like to read, this book is right up your alley. It teaches almost entirely with pictures and symbols. There is a bit of a learning curve for understanding what Kent wants you to do for each step, but once you figure it out (and that comes pretty easily), it is by far one of the best ways to go about tying rope, especially when you are just starting out because you don’t have to read an entire paragraph before you can do a step. You just look at a picture, interpret the symbol (there is a nice legend in the book for that) that he’s using, tie, and move on to the next step.

This book is spectacular for people just starting out. He moves through the basic ties of shibari (of there there are considered to be three: the single column tie, the double column tie, and the chest harness, usually a takate kote or box tie). As he does this, he starts to discuss techniques that will be useful later, such as, extending rope and using up extra rope. This last section of the book contains very few words but many wonderful, full color, pictures that make learning easy and enjoyable.

One last cool feature of the book is that he sticks pictures of complex ties that show what true rope art can be. I find them highly motivational and we commonly use them as inspiration when we are trying to decide how to tie me up next.

All in all, this book is perfect for those people that are interested in Japanese style rope bondage. I really cannot recommend it enough. The combination of technical information about safety, the wit, and the stunning photographs that explain ties in a simple way, all make this one of the best books on Shibari out there. I really hope that everyone goes to pick up a copy. It can be ordered here.

One last note. There is a sequel to this book called Sky. Although this is another wonderful book, it deals with rope suspension and is not, in any way, for beginners. Rope bondage is dangerous, rope suspension is edge play and can (and sadly has) lead to death. Sky is a great resource for learning rope suspension, but should not be attempted without some live, hands-on instruction by someone who really knows what they’re doing. Safety has to be paramount when attempting suspension and there is so much more than a book can teach you. Suspension also should not be attempted until the person tying is highly proficient at tying on the ground. For many people, it takes months, if not years, of practice before they are ready to try suspension.

Enjoy, and play safe.

This entry was posted on January 8, 2012 at 10:25 am and is filed under Book Reviews, Kink, Safety with tags bondage, Book Reviews, rope, shibari. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.