So you tie-up girls with ropes… What is that for?

It’s a little bit like a dance. The person in the ropes let go body and mind. The person tying improvise and lead the body dancing in the ropes. Aware and guessing where the body wants to go. In a body language that is similar to Contact-Improvisation dance. Each time it is different and creative.

Being moved in the dynamic of Japanese ropes and feeling the pressure of the ropes is waking up the body and freeing up the mind. Being tied up, there is no wrong or right way to move. The psychoanalyst Otto Rank explain that the person being bound is recovering the intra-uterine state of immobility and floating. (of inside our mother’s belly) The ‘Ego’ and ‘super-ego’ eventually sometimes let go. Rope bondage is the most diverting and jazzy form of meditation.

Franceasca, an American blogger, used my photo to illustrate her interesting view of Shibari: franceasca.tumblr.com/post/110689264490/when-the-japanese-mend-broken-objects-they

Many people dance in clubs for the fun of moving, but some like to dance in an artistic and connecting way, like in tango, swing, or other partner dances: Creating something new every time they dance. In the way i like to practice it, Japanese bondage is also becoming a dance, mouvements of the bodies while tying-up, mouvement of the person in the ropes driven by the ropes, non-verbal connection like in partner dances.

During the session, the rigger feels how the person in the ropes react and act in harmony with her, thus paradoxically following her way while he tie her up. I started to learn bondage with a dancer, Felix, a worldwide inspiring rigger and dancer. I will try to show more this ‘dance’ aspect in my future shots. I’m also a dancer and Japanese ropes are just another way to dance. Sometimes you’re just pissed off of not being able to lead your partner so you just tie her up..

Is it painful?

It is not. Through each body react differently to the ropes and enjoy them with different intensities, soft or challenging, people usually say that I’m a rather smooth rigger. I like to person I tie to have time in my ropes. But in case it become really challenging, ropes can be put off in seconds. (There are no real knots in Japanese bondage technique, only easy frictions) In the worst case, ropes aren’t more painful than a slightly painful massage.

It is erotic?

All depends on the mood of the participants. Japanese Bondage can take the form of a relaxing bodywork with thin clothes on, without any erotic mood. Even without a sensual relation with the rigger, the sensations of ropes are great. The rope session can also have a little erotic charge, or become a play between the rigger and the person in the ropes.

Why do you enjoy tying-up people?

Each time, it surprises me how a woman so differently and beautifully let go. It’s very mysterious to me how a person will react in the ropes. So are the rope forms in which i will be able to stretch her. It’s hard to understand what’s going on when I tie up a woman. I’m still trying to figure this out.

Do you mostly tie up women?

Mostly but I also tie up male friends sometimes. On my blog are two tango dancers friends wearing my ropes in their dance. (Note: In rope jams and workshops, a lot of women are tying up women or men)

Have you ever got tied up?

Of course, and also this is the basic of learning: Try it on yourself often.

Where does the rope sessions usually take place?

Either in private, at public bondage jams, or play-parties.

What is a « Bondage Jam »?

It’s a place where people come to practice Japanese bondage in a quiet and friendly atmosphere with a pot of tee around. They come with or without a partner and meet people there. Half of the persons being bound keep soft clothes on or pantyhose, but when they want to feel more the ropes on their skin, they also go in underwear or naked. The place often provide numerous hanging points for rope suspensions. The first bondage jam in Europe was created in Berlin by an ex-dancer of Pina Bausch, Felix Ruckert, and was happening weekly at the very beautiful Schwelle7 Berliner dance center. In Paris, I co-founded the first bondage jam in France in 2013 and I co-manage now another irregular jam in a beautiful loft (I’m in Paris few times a year). My friend Nicolas Yoroi have opened a venue in Bruxelles where i would like to go soon. Public bondage jams are now happening in every corner of Europe.

Are people allowed to get erotic or a bit sexual at those Bondage Jams? Isn’t it embarrasing for the other people in the room who just want to enjoy rope in a non-erotic way?

Yes people do what they want. (in most Bondage Jams around Europe) No it’s not embarrassing. The purpose of bondage practices is to gather people together, and let them get inspired by each other, instead of having everyone hide at home. The purpose of a sex-positive environment is to emphasis that erotism and sex are not ashaming, but beautiful instead. They shouldn’t be hidden and shouldn’t be annoying for the other people in the room. People do their own thing and don’t care about the others, or either care if they are interested to watch. Some people unused to such environment could eventually feel unconfortable. They can acknowlegde and observe their own unconfort, and take some time with it. Bondage jams are rather quiet environments where people are expected to whisper when chatting around the people tying, to keep the focus on the non-verbal rope play. Small talk is actually much more annoying at jams than the casual sound of an erotic whisper.

But i’m shy to go alone at the jam, even to watch. I would feel like a spy.

I give you an idea: Bring a book. Hide behind the book. A lot of people actually join to enjoy a tea and the calm and creative ambiance, reading, or using their computer.

Do you define with the person in the ropes in advance how the ropes and the postures will be?

The body of the person in the ropes decides unconsciously most of it. If they want, participants can talk before precisely about how they feel like, but the rope playing art is also about spontaneity and improvisation. An improvised and creative way of playing rope bondage have emerged in Europe under the influence of Felix Ruckert, Contemporary dancer and creator of Berliner Schwelle7. (Former dancer of Pina Bausch’s Wuppertaler Tanztheater). With the experience of Contact Improvisation dance, we can be very sensitive and conscious in a rope session, leading to a more authentic play. Here is a detailed page I wrote about this: Post-modem dance influence in Japanese bondage

On your photos, sometimes 2 persons are tied up: Do you tie them alone? How does that work?

Yes sometimes I like to experiment with the energy of 2 person together, that i tie separately, or together. Through it is demanding to focus on 2 persons, it is fun and bring up a surprising connection between the two, not necessarily of an erotic nature. It adds an other density to the journey.

How often do you photograph your rope sessions?

It depends on the mood. The photos are not the point. It’s a playful game to enjoy, and, even if i enjoy editing the photos, I only see them as nice rememberings. The photo will never be nicer than the moment it witness.

You write that you are the photographer, but you are inside many pictures?

Yes, I often set up a camera, and film the session with a high shutter-speed, and then extract some video-frames as photos. (like all of the Lauriina-shot)

Are you doing that professionally or for fun ? Is it your principal activity ?

I do it for fun. My main focuses are dance and music. I dance/teach/organize events of rioplatense tango and Contact Improvisation post-modern dance, and I’m a researcher in musical harmony, inventing new musical instruments. So ropes are a fourth – but still intense – hobby.

Can I show up at the jam to have a tee and just look?

Of course. It’s a very welcoming atmosphere. Let’s have a tee together if i’m there.

How did you got into ropes?

At FIP Fetish party in Paris in 2011. I saw pictures on the net before but it was the first time i could watch the process of 2 great riggers beautifully tying up people, the ‘dance’ and the play. It was Nicolas and Antoine. In 2012 I started to learn it in Schwelle7, Berlin.

Some people view bondage/bdsm arts as degrading and regressive, after the decades of fights for women rights… I’m a bit confused… How can I contradict?

I strongly suggest that you take the time to read this short and really great article : “I Am A Feminist Submissive”, on ravishly.com.

The author describes very well how bondage/bdsm can actually be a step forward, and describes very well the strongly feminist mood in this community.

Here is a glimp: « (…) It takes strength to let go of decision-making and trust someone else. (…) My first BDSM experience (…) was an eye-opening night for me. The next morning, I found myself questioning my identity as a feminist. (…) I struggled with those questions for a while. I turned to friends, to literature, and to the BDSM community. (…) I discovered more people like me, who not only accepted, but rejoiced in their desires. (…) The more I learned and experienced, the more it made sense to me. (…) If I am tied up, there is no right way to move. (…) When my power is taken away, so are my responsibilities, and I am finally free to focus on myself and my pleasure. That feels pretty feminist to me! (…) The patriarchy imposes structures and roles onto women without their consent. Feminism reclaims that agency and allows us to choose for ourselves. Joining the BDSM community with intention falls solidly within that realm. (…) »

(updated february 2018)