Benjamin Langholz and LyLy Tran Shibari/Kinbaku Intensive ~ Cape Town

Benjamin and LyLy are back to present a weekend-long Shibari/Kinbaku workshop in our fine city.

Kinbaku is the art of Japanese rope bondage. It is an incredible way to connect and communicate with your partner, cultivate an intense atmosphere, and play with seduction. In this introduction to Kinbaku suspension class we will introduce techniques for heightening your partners pleasure through the use of partial as well as full suspension. Please note that the Friday and Saturday Classes are a pre-requisite for the Sunday Class.

This is a technical rope workshop - we will incorporate this technical knowledge into play and pleasure. While switching is encouraged generally, for the purposes of this workshop we request that you stick to your roles as rope top or rope bottom for consistency.

Friday 10 May: TK workshop

19:00 - 23:00

4 hours with a short break

This workshop will focus mainly on perfecting our TKs. We will learn it in phases and build up to tying the full 3TK. Time permitting, we will also give a demo and some ideas on how to use it for floor play.

Saturday 11 May: Partial suspensions

12:00 - 17:30

5 hours with 30 min break

1. Upline Safety and management
2. Body Maneuvering using a single upline
3. Standing partial suspensions with both feet on the ground, one leg up at different heights in different positions
4. Futomomo partial suspensions: we will teach a partial where the hip is off the ground elevated by a futomomo, leaving the hips exposed with a body twist.
5. Fun elements for partials: Waist ropes, hair ropes, and foot + toe torture.
6. To finish, we will then give a demo of how to combine some of these elements in a progressive partial suspension and people can experiment for themselves with my guidance available with the elements for the remainder of the time.

Sunday 12 May: Full suspensions

12:00 - 17:30

5 hours with 30 min break

1. Safety
2. TK check to make sure everyone's TK is safe and suspendable
3. Running man suspension
4. Learn hip harness for suspension
5. Face down horizontal (gyaku ebi)
6. Vertical suspension with knees out
7. Time permitting, we will teach a side suspension and single leg suspension.

Scholarships

There are limited partial scholarships available for RopeyThings community members - preference will be given to those who have attended this year's range of TK workshops by @_desire_lines and @vroeteldier. Get in touch with us at [email protected] for more information and to apply before the 15th of April.

Requirements

Friday: 3-4 jute/hemp ropes of 6mm diameter, 7-8m in length; safety shears

Saturday: 5-6 jute/hemp ropes; safety shears; suspension ring or 3x carabiners

Sunday: 8-10 jute ropes (locally produced hemp less suitable for full suspension); safety shears; suspension ring or 3x carabiners

Limited suspension rings and carabiners will be available to loan - let us know beforehand if you would like to borrow some. Hemp rope is available from @_desire_lines, jute rope can be sourced from sudojute (https://sudojute.myshopify.com/) or from Ben on the weekend (email him for ordering details - [email protected]).

RopeyThings code of conduct:

1. CONSENT - ask before touching, ask where rope can and can't be laid, where hands can and can't be placed. Communicate consent verbally in the space.

2. SAFETY - communicate before, during and after tying, ask about each other's current physical/mental/emotional state. Discuss tying within your risk profile. At all times work within the guidelines of SSC/RACK/PRICK.

3. COMMUNICATION - between tops and bottoms, but also with the event organiser. If anything non-consensual or unsafe occurs, let us know and we will act.

4. ANONYMITY - some peeps don't want to be photographed/recorded. Obtain express consent (noting people that may be in the background) beforehand. Respect this and delete pics if asked. Don't out people who attend RopeyThings events - if you see someone you know, and they want to be anonymous in the space, respect each other and be discreet.

5. KEEP IT PG13 - please don't treat this class as foreplay. It is an intimate artform, but this is not a sexual space. That being said - free the nip but keep the crotch area covered.

6. SUBSTANCES - NO drugs permitted, as it puts the user, everyone attending as well as the organisers at risk of prosecution.

7. ROAR - Right of admission reserved.