Rope Podcast

Fox and Mya discuss a visit to a local fetishwear event on Rope and Latex that they attended a few months ago (when there were no COVID cases in Thailand!). They attended as kinksters who are new to latex, and share their experiences and stories from the night - as well as their learnings. In the episode they discuss: * Watching a performance of fetishwear and rope * The environment of a fetish and latex shop * The kit they take with them * Fox’s experience of tying someone in latex * Fox and Mya’s rope play at the event * Handling miscommunication in a noisy environment * Learnings and tips about playing in this kind of semi-public context

“So far I’ve not come across any condition that we couldn’t adjust things in a way that still made [rope] enjoyable for the other person.” Alexielle. Alexielle is a rope switch active in the UK scene. She has a 24/7 D/s relationship with her collared pet Little-Boy-Blue as his owner and Domme, though Alexielle and Little-Boy-Blue switch in rope regularly. Alexielle is the presenter, along with Little-Boy-Blue of the ‘Diverse Bodies in Rope’ class, and we wanted to catch up with her about what this means, and why it’s important for all of us, riggers and bottoms, to be more aware of this topic. Fox and Mya discuss with Alexielle: ◦ What it means to tie diverse bodies ◦ Practical ideas on how she adapts her style and tying to diverse bodies ◦ Myths about diverse bodies ◦ The range of health conditions she has come across and how she manages these in rope ◦ Tips on how to discuss health conditions with your rope partner ◦ Neurodiversity and how you can adapt rope to suit this ◦ How she and her partner maintain their power exchange when they switch in rope

After a short update on Mya’s health, Mya and Fox talk about escape games with rope. Often a more playful type of rope, the duo discuss: * Examples of rope bondage escape games you can play * Variations in your games and where you can find inspiration * Safety and risk * Who might enjoy this type of rope play * What you can learn from this sort of rope play * How Fox and Mya use it in their rope

Sometimes, you need simple rope to get the job done. In this episode, Fox and Mya discuss the type of tying that isn’t necessarily focused all about the tying itself, but is used restrain someone quickly for another purpose - often sex! Here bondage is a tool, and they talk in this episode about how you might want to use it. They discuss: * When you would and wouldn’t use this type of rope bondage * What rope adds to this type of activity * Specific risk factors to consider * What tops might need to manage when tying * Learnings for bottoms around this type of tying * The types of ties you might include * Toys to use and things to tie to * And finally, some surprising rope and sex interactions!

“Once you master how to tie some thing, you will start tying some one.” @RiggerOdys Odys is a rigger/kinbaku artist and educator who discovered rope bondage six years ago. Initially inspired by the traditional Japanese style bondage of Akira Naka and Yukimura Haruki, he has studied with Naka for four years. In 2017 he created Kinbaku odyssey studio. He describes his style as sensually erotic semenawa. Fox and Mya discuss with Odys: ◦ His inspiration in Japanese bondage and what drew him to it ◦ Attending a Naka performance and the huge impact it had on Odys ◦ Erotic Semenawa and how hard it can be to define ◦ Where power exchange and control fits in rope bondage for him ◦ Sensuality versus sexuality in rope ◦ Rope and how he has developed his photography style ◦ How he connects with bottoms and builds trust both ways ◦ How he channels his own emotions into his rope and the shared experience with his partner

VioletRain is a Thai rope switch with an international background, who now lives in the States. A thoughtful and experienced rope-focused kinkster, she visited Thailand earlier this year and we had the pleasure to sit down with her and talk about rope. Through the discussion, listeners can hear abut how as a more experienced bottom but a newer rope top, she’s developing her skills. We also discuss with her: ◦ How an uninspiring single column as a first tie didn’t put her off a partial suspension for her second tie - which made all the difference ◦ How she started as a rope bottom and then grew as a top - and what has been even more powerful for her than classes ◦ A great tip on how to get the most from your classes ◦ The connection she makes between hiking and Rope! ◦ Her love of impact and whips and how she combines them with rope (Mya can attest to her gleeful sadism, see below!) ◦ Wha she’s attracted to as a bottom in rope versus what she’s attracted to as a top ◦ Her rope touristing and travels, her learnings and her experiences at Beach Bind ◦ Tips for listeners who want to rope tourist themselves Click the links below to listen now!

Fox and Mya discuss face rope - which is essentially - rope on the face! The podcast hosts are big fans of face rope, and use it in a variety of ways, and when the Rope Podcast Patreon community voted this episode as their next suggestion, Mya and Fox were excited. They discuss in the episode: * What it looks like and how you might do it * The kind of scenes face rope can contribute to * Safety and risks of the tie * Mya explains her feels about being in this kind of tie, and aspects she enjoys and dislikes * Scenes they’ve used it in * And as a bonus, find out how many times Fox has broken his nose :)

EbiMcKnotty is a rope lover based in Quebec City, Canada. She has been self-tying since 2006, and started modelling as a tied-up person in 2007. She started tying others and self-suspending in 2011 when she learned with the Ichinawa-Kai and Kazami Ranki in London. She travels all over the world to learn and share her discoveries with her community. Grounded in the Japanese style, her ropes have been described as experimental, sweet, sensual and sadistic; usually all at the same time. She got into rope before fetlife existed, and partly because of this has always been a great energiser, curator and creator of rope communities, as well as visiting communities all over the world. We wanted to talk to her about her personal journey, and how that has linked with the creation of the many rope events and rope learning experiences she has been a part of. Listen to hear about: ◦ Her rope journey, which started before fetlife existed ◦ The pitfalls of the idea that all tops should bottom ◦ What draws her to the idea of rope bondage ◦ How she ties with a range of bodies ◦ The pros and surprising cons of running rope events ◦ Knowing when to step down and how to stay psychologically healthy in the world of running rope events ◦ Rope as a hobby versus rope as a job ◦ Creating the amazing rope365.com website ◦ How her video game design career influenced her design of the site ◦ How YOU can use rope365.com to help you on your journey, whatever your level

Fox and Mya discuss the Teppou/Teppo or Rifle (possibly Musket!) tie, an asymmetrical tie with arms behind the back, one elbow pointing up(ish) one pointing down (ish). They discuss in the episode: * What it looks like * When you would and wouldn’t want to use it * Safety and risks of the tie * How it feels to be in this type of tie * Scenes they’ve used it in Click the links below to listen now!

Subay is a Shibari artist and founder of Kokoro Studio based in Hong Kong. She was first introduced to Shibari eight years ago and spent the first few years exploring and learning the different styles from several well-respected nawashi in Japan.  In 2014, she met and was deeply inspired by Yukimura Haruki, and from then on she dedicated herself to the study of the traditional Japanese style.  In 2015, Subay met Naka Akira and chose to focus her study on his style of semenawa.  She continues to explore her own style of semenawa which she describes as both feminine and inclusive. She teaches and performs internationally. Fox and Mya attended one of Subay’s classes on empathy and rope, and loved her focus on the feelings and emotions in rope, and in this interview explore these topics, along with: ◦ Some of the feelings Shibari brings out in Subay herself ◦ How a challenging experience with a Rigger led her to start tying herself ◦ Body image and stereotypes and generalisations in rope bondage ◦ What drew her to her teacher, @NakaAkira ◦ The signs she looks for to tell her more about the feelings of the person in her rope ◦ How she knows whether her students are ready to move onto the next class ◦ Some of the limits of our ability to explore emotions in rope ◦ How rope bottoms can express and communicate their emotions better ◦ Why rope tops need to be as vulnerable as rope bottoms ◦ Fascinating cultural differences in rope communities around the countries she has visited