We just started the month of March and it felt like a good time to look back and highlight some of the stuff that happened in the past year that I’m super thankful for.
Shall we? 😀
We got to welcome 3 international practitioners (who held skillsharing events)!
Thanks to Manila Rope, local practitioners were able to meet and learn from three of our friends who visited the Philippines and shared their take on Kinbaku.
Winter Nawa is one of the pioneers that helped make the Philippine rope community what it is today. She founded the Manila Rope group, the home of Peer Rope and Hitchin’ Bitches Philippines, and was kind enough during their visit to guide a small, intimate group through one of the most iconic ties in Shibari—the takate kote (TK).
ItsPlay is more than just a rope practitioner—they’re a researcher and educator on kink, Kinbaku, and gender whose lens when discussing bondage covered not only the interaction between two players but the ripples of their dynamics on society as a whole. They ran a skillsharing event on connective rope which I heard great reviews about. I was sad to have missed their event but I’ll definitely be attending their next one for sure.
Aguacate’s (AGKT) generosity and patience was remarkable to me, and his style of rope bondage was a hit with the local community. He ran two skillsharing events: a gote clinic and an introduction to sadomasochistic bondage that drew from its historical practice as torture with practical ways to apply the ties safely.
While it’s true that all three have studied under big names in Kinbaku, they still possess a degree of humility, openness, and inquisitive passion for the art that I hope to keep as well (and hopefully others would too).
I super appreciated having you all over and I’m excited for when we can welcome you back for more rope-y awesomeness in the future. 🙂
We visited DLSU to talk about Japanese Rope Bondage
Talk about awesome!
I was honored to be invited by the Samahan ng mga Lasalyanong Pilosopo to talk about Shibari for DLSU’s Lasallian Enrichment Alternative Program (LEAP).
Entitled “LEAP2K17: Honor in Constraints”, we dove into Shibari’s roots as a martial art, the culture that shaped its practices, the crucial line separating Shibari from abuse, and how a misunderstood practice like Japanese rope bondage can actually be a path to becoming better, kinder, and more compassionate human beings.
A tremendous thank you to Gianne, Glenn, and all of DLSU Pilosopo for making it happen! 🙂 I had an amazing time with you (and our after-class lunch group!)
We teamed up with Sean Regala & TEAM Mag for “FEDERASYON”
That day was my first time seeing a “Rampa Werkshop” in action!
TEAM Magazine held a fundraising event for their next print issue featuring a fun-filled “whole day of gay” called Federasyon and invited Sean and I to be the final act of the night, guiding the audience gently into the world of Shibari and BDSM.
Sean partnered with model Gino to demonstrate his style of rope bondage while I facilitated the Q&A for the curious and kinkily inclined.
Special thanks to Paolo, Phil, Beatrice, and Erika for being such great sports during the planning stages!
Side-bonus! I managed to score a copy of this awesome Shibari-themed print by Tokwa Penaflorida prior to it too! 😀
We ordered Asanawa from Japan and the softness was I-N-S-A-N-E
When we used to treat rope bought here in Manila, they needed some (really) tough love to soften enough for bondage. It was a labor of love and felt like an accepted part of the process.
But when the spools Toni ordered for us arrived from Japan and I finally got around to cutting my first batch of dyed-red natural fiber rope—I almost went crazy over how soft they were before any treatment. I was spoiiiileddd!
Now, soft rope doesn’t always mean superior rope though. It all boils down to which kind you prefer and why. 🙂
We posted rope fashion pictures every day for an entire month
One of our friends raised a friendly challenge, asking us to post pictures of rope+clothes for a whole month.
And we did! Because damn, was that a great idea! 😀
Pentagram harnesses, rope bikinis, rope corsets—ahh!
Folks from the local community posted rope fashion pictures of friends, classmates, and co-workers wearing Shibari-inspired designs—taking pictures from the privacy of our own homes or out on the streets like QC’s own Maginhawa (seriously, haha).
I’d like to give a shoutout to the nice lady with her little girl who was cool enough to inquire about the patterns we were making with a curious mind and an open heart. I hope more people approach us with warmth similar to yours. 🙂
You can hop onto my Instagram to see the rest of the pictures!
We visited Hong Kong to study Shibari!
That’s riiiight! Your friendly neighborhood rope nerds flew out of the country to attend Kinky Hong Kong’s first ever Rope Retreat with the one and only Kristina Marlen!
Just a bunch of friends after hours.
I could tell you more about how I fanboyed so hard (but managed to look passably respectable) but there’s so much to share that it’s better to give it its own blog post.
Stay tuned, folks! 🙂 It’s here!
We finally have six (6) new bondage events for all you rope lovers looking to learn more!
We’ve held so many iterations of our Intro to Shibari event and finally, I got around to designing a more structured way to share what I know about rope—which is through Shibari.ph’s very own Rope Study Group.
The Rope Study Group is for rope practitioners who want to take their studies further.
It’ll play host to a series of skillsharing events led by myself to share what I know about various topics based on how I understand them: things like rope handling, communicating messages through rope, and working with the body during floorwork.
Does that interest you? Check out the Rope Study Group to see what else is in store!
And last but not least…
What I’m most thankful for though, is that you’re with us on this journey. 🙂
We’ve hit over 1,000 likes on Facebook—which is a big milestone for sure—and we couldn’t have done it without your support, patronage, and much appreciated feedback for the various rope jams and introductory events we’ve held throughout 2017.
From the bottom of my heart: thank you for your support, you guys!
If there’s any way we can make things better for you, don’t hesitate to drop us a line on Facebook or via email at [email protected].
I reply to each and every email. 🙂
Cheers!
Dee
