In this first tutorial ‘No bar to shibari: Part I’ about tying the less abled, Cabi will share how he has worked with his partner, Kimokawaii, to overcome the challenges presented by a recent stroke. It affected one side of her body creating a range of other issues, e.g. increased pain, breathing difficulties, lack of movement etc. Whilst you might not encounter all these symptoms in the course of your tying, many of the solutions apply to individual issues or can be used in other situations. So, you will learn how to make a tie fit a person, rather that trying to make the person fit the tie. Not even pro models can achieve every position, so it’s the rigger’s job to work within their capabilities to achieve the best result. It is no different working with the average person and it is far easier to adapt your tying than to train a contortionist, especially if there are physical limitations.
Cabi will teach you two suspension capable ties. The first is an innovative reverse gote. He has created this tie specifically to address shoulder problems, whether this be a simple lack of movement range that make a hands-behind gote impractical or, as in Kimokawaii’s case, the risk of one shoulder dislocating due to muscle degeneration.
The second tie will be more familiar as it is based on what has pretty much become the standard 2-TK (derived from Akechi’s) combined with upper thigh support This is perfect for those who cannot achieve the parallel or higher arm positions this tie usually requires since it does not rely on the wrist tie for stability. SInce it is independent, it can be set to zero load unlike the standard version. The construction also allows the loading on torso wraps to be adjusted to reduce the pressure on the chest, which makes breathing in more vertically oriented suspensions much easier. This will be much appreciated by rope partners who seek a bit of extra comfort, whether or not they have any medical problems.
During the tutorial, you’ll pick up a lot of tips and learn practical solutions which show our ingredients based approach to teaching in action. This will help develop your problem solving abilities by showing how the ingredients work and how they can be combined creatively
We hope this will inspire those who feel they have to be the epitome of health and physique to enjoy rope and encourage riggers to confront the challenges presented by different abilities. This couple certainly demonstrate that being less abled should be a bar to shibari. All you need is a little creativity and a ‘can do’ attitude.
