Rope Podcast

fox and Mya were thrilled and honoured when Graydancer, whose Rope Podcast (Ropecast) has so far episodes spanning 14 years, accepted their invitation to guest on their younger Rope Podcast. Sadly Mya was sick (so sick!) with Covid on the date of the interview, but fox carried off their questions on his own. Graydancer got into rope bondage back at the turn of the millenium, when rope was 10 cents a foot. He started a podcast about bondage in 2005, and taught, performed, and organized events around rope until 2019, traveling throughout North America and Europe. In 2007 he organized the first of over 100 rope open-spaces (aka “GRUE”), and in 2016 with the help of friends put on the first “ROPECRAFT” event. He also worked to improve consent practices throughout the community. He is firmly bi-kinky as he loves polished leather just as much as tight rope. Currently he has retired from teaching and organizing kink, enjoying drawing pinups, lettering dirty words, and cigars, boots, and chocolate. • Where to find the biggest dildo you’ve ever seen • When and how his rope bondage practice started • Learning through reverse engineering • Western style bondage and starting out with nylon rope • How he got into rope performance • Why he’s called Graydancer • The many creative disciplines that contribute to his rope style • Why he loves rope • All about connection :) • His rope practice these days • Why he stepped back from rope publicly • The impact of Covid on his rope plans and rope relationships • Moving the needle on rope bondage and consent NB Easter egg from Mya - the tie involved in Grey’s first public tie, a dragonfly arm binder and a chest harness, was also part of fox and Mya’s first public rope (which was their first rope together)!

In this second episode with the wonderful HuaHua the podcast hosts go deeper into exploring what the Chinese rope scene is like. Hear all about: ◦ The rope scene in China versus HuaHua’s experiences in other parts of the world ◦ The political, cultural and social context and how it influences Chinese Shibari ◦ How she uses Shibari in performance art ◦ Handling the police interrupting her scenes ◦ Tying with Kinoko ◦ The challenges of taking photos of rope in China ◦ Private life versus public life in rope ◦ Censorship and its impact on events and education ◦ Leaving China to go back to Europe ◦ And more! HuaHua (she/her) is an artist, Shibari practitioner and teacher from the UK, currently based in Shanghai, She is the founder of Borderline Shibari, a platform dedicated to creating a mindful and conscious Shibari community. She believes that rope bondage is a process of exploring authenticity. To her, bondage creates a connection between interior and exterior, between the elevated and the underground. In addition to her Shibari work, her art work also includes, nude photography, physical theatre, installations and private sessions. Her work often derives from her BDSM practice, just as her Shibari teaching involves techniques transferred from other practices. HuaHua's Shibari teaching style is more centered around intention, expression and the emotional process of rope. NB: HuaHua’s connection broke up a few times during the interview, apologies for any missing content.

HuaHua (she/her) is an artist, Shibari practitioner and teacher from the UK, currently based in Shanghai, She is the founder of Borderline Shibari, a platform dedicated to creating a mindful and conscious Shibari community. She believes that rope bondage is a process of exploring authenticity. To her, bondage creates a connection between interior and exterior, between the elevated and the underground. In addition to her Shibari work, her art work also includes, nude photography, physical theatre, installations and private sessions. Her work often derives from her BDSM practice, just as her Shibari teaching involves techniques transferred from other practices. HuaHua's Shibari teaching style is more centered around intention, expression and the emotional process of rope. The podcast hosts love hearing about rope in Asia (as they’re based in Thailand themselves), and were excited to hear more about the large, and growing, Chinese scene, including: ◦ Common Chinese fantasies about rope bondage ◦ Her journey through BDSM and performance art into rope ◦ How her interest in rope developed into a career ◦ The different roles and aspects of Shibari she enjoys ◦ Revealing others and their emotions through intense rope play ◦ How she uses Semenawa as a top ◦ Degradation and humiliation as a bottom ◦ The Chinese BDSM scene and visibility of Shibari ◦ What makes Chinese bondage unique ◦ The Five Flowers tie ◦ Elements of the Chinese rope scene ◦ And as ever, so much more! NB: HuaHua’s connection broke up a few times during the interview, apologies for any missing content.

Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the ability of your body to regulate the level of sugar in your blood is compromised. In this episode, listener absinthe-minded asks for any advice or safety precautions to mitigate risks from one partner in rope bondage having diabetes. Fox and Mya explore some of the potential issues that might come up and make suggestions about how you might work with this condition to have a great rope life. They discuss: • Why this episode might be relevant to you even if you don’t have diabetes, or tie with someone with diabetes • How to talk to medical professionals about rope (even if you don’t want to talk about rope) • Tips on including it in your negotiation • Some of the impact of diabetes on the body, and how to mitigate those issues • Handling some of the emotions that can come up around rope when you have a chronic health condition • Places to find more kinky research, as well as kinky researchers. NB: fox and Mya aren’t medical professionals, and always recommend talking to a qualified medical practitioner about any health condition and risks as much as is safe for you. We really welcome comments from listeners on instagram and fetlife if they have further links or resources that might be useful for others with diabetes who want to get the most from rope, in the safest way possible.

RopuNawa first encountered Shibari and Kinbaku in 2008 at a performance in Australia with Arisue Go. This experience stayed with him, and he began his own journey with rope back in his home of Switzerland, first learning Osada Steve’s style with local teachers. Rather than stay with one style, however, he has been inspired by many, as he feels that there is not one way to tie - rather, the heart of his style lies in the needs of his model. Through the diversity within his approach, he can best respond to his partner’s needs and wants, focusing and appreciating the non-verbal connection that he creates with each tying partner. He currently teaches fulltime in his Studio in Basel (Switzerland), while travelling and teaching internationally with his muse @FreyaHellesdim. Fox has had an interest in Ropeunawa’s online classes for a while, and the podcast team were pleased to be able to talk to him about: ◦ His early inspirations from rope-related Manga and Hentai ◦ How he balances his desire to please his bottoms with his own needs and desires as a top ◦ The way in which becoming a full time rope teacher affected his feelings about rope ◦ Visiting Japan for rope connections and education ◦ Some of his thoughts on the Japanese rope scene ◦ The joys and challenges of travelling to different countries for rope ◦ How the Swiss rope scene tries to stay healthy ◦ Ways to create healthier rope communities from his experience ◦ Whether rope is s3x work for him or not ◦ The benefits of his adaptive rope style ◦ And as ever, so much more!

‘Intent’ in rope is mentioned a lot in rope circles, but can feel a bit ethereal and hard to pin down. The podcast hosts think it’s pretty important to be on the same page about your intent in rope when you go into a scene - but what, then, IS intent in rope? And why, exactly, is it important? In this episode, Fox and Mya try to make the topic more practical and explore: * A definition of intent in rope and its possible consequences * Practical implications of not being on the same page about intent * The 12 types of possible intent that we could think of (so far!) * Questions to ask to try and understand each others’ intent better * When/whether you ‘should’ always share your intent with your scene partner * Can you have more than one intent during a scene? * The importance of agreeing not to play if your intents are incompatible (and why) * Ways to get over different intents (assuming you have overlap in your ‘venn diagram of intent’) * When and how intent can vary even between the same two partners

In episode 127, the podcast hosts explored with queer and trans rope educators and performance artists Lief Bound and Icarus how they fell for rope, and each other. In this second part of the interview, they open up about: ◦ How the pair keep their inspiration alive in rope ◦ A great rope dinner party question ◦ Transitioning rope from a passion to a profession ◦ The ups and downs of making a living with rope ◦ Whether being paid for doing rope is s3x work or not ◦ Exploding myths about ‘the perfect rope bottom’ ◦ How Lief sets boundaries with rope clients ◦ Handling mental health challenges in rope ◦ Allowing their rope practice to shift and change Lief Bound and Icarus currently reside in Los Angeles, California. Lief Bound is a rope switch who found their love of rope nine years ago and believes that rope can be the most honest way that we can connect with each other. Icarus is a switchy pain enthusiast who started their rope bottoming exploration nine years ago and is most passionate about exploring intersectionality and positionality in consent. Their teaching styles bring the best of both worlds combining crucial perspectives of the top and the bottom. They value consent and safety in every topic they teach, bringing an inclusive and trauma-informed approach to learning rope bondage. Lief and Icarus are most passionate about using multi-media process art to share their vision with the world and push the boundaries of what defines rope.

Lief Bound and Icarus are queer and trans rope educators and performance artists currently residing in Los Angeles, California. Having enjoyed attending a number of their online classes, and their inclusive but practical style, fox and Mya were excited to explore a wide ranging set of topics with them. In this first episode with them, hear us discuss: ◦ Where Icky fell in love with rope - despite the fact there was no rope ◦ How the pair met each other and fell in rope-love ◦ Their passion for teaching and being educators and how they work together ◦ The delightful chaotic switchiness of their relationship and who does what when how ◦ How they create trauma-informed classrooms (and what that means) ◦ The types of rope they do together, along with other play ◦ Breaking down with exposure and then building your partner back up in rope ◦ Inspiration in rope Lief Bound is a rope switch who found their love of rope nine years ago and believes that rope can be the most honest way that we can connect with each other. Icarus is a switchy pain enthusiast who started their rope bottoming exploration nine years ago and is most passionate about exploring intersectionality and positionality in consent. Their teaching styles bring the best of both worlds combining crucial perspectives of the top and the bottom. They value consent and safety in every topic they teach, bringing an inclusive and trauma-informed approach to learning rope bondage.  Lief and Icarus are most passionate about using multi-media process art to share their vision with the world and push the boundaries of what defines rope.  Continue the aural journey in episode 128!

To music or not to music? Music can be a hot debate in rope bondage - when to use it, what to use - whether to use it at all! Mya and fox love music and often include in in their scenes. In this conversation, they talk about: * Where and when music can be used * When you might not want to use music * At what points during a scene you might change your soundtrack up * How different tops and bottoms might use music * The benefits or effects of music that we can draw on for scenes * Some of the challenges or downsides of using music * Music and ableism * Should you include music in your negotiations? * Pros and cons of lyrically themed playlists * Popular examples that *could* work * Fox and Mya’s seal of approval for the official soundtrack of rope bondage ;)

Renee is a Canadian photographer and digital artist, whose kink journey started in the late 90's. Shibari photography for her became a visual expression of shapes in defiance of gravity, a delicate display of sadomasochism. Working with talented riggers, bottoms and self tying artists, she aims to create strong, clean kink images that respect the community and the artists. Mya and fox are big fans of her striking and distinct imagery, and in this episode, you can hear them discuss a wide range of fascinating topics, including: ◦ Her start as a rope bottom and the motorbike accident that changed her relationship with pain ◦ How she became a photographer of rope and used her experiences to inform her photographs ◦ The kinds of images she loves to create ◦ How she decides what to shoot ◦ The ways she collaborates and the teams she has for photoshoots ◦ Safety measures she uses to mitigate the risk of her shots ◦ What she looks for in rope photos she falls in love with ◦ How she got into composites and digital painting ◦ She talks us through the before, during and after of her ‘Icarus shoot’ ◦ And more!