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Dear all, As we all know, kinbaku is a risky practice that can lead to serious injury. While I find that there are some great resources that focus on nerve placement and areas prone to nerve injury in kinbaku, I feel that there are limited resources for practically assessing blood flow restriction. How much occlusion is within safe limits and for how long? How do we discern if the occlusion is arterial or venous? What are the implications of either, and how long can we leave someone tied in a position where there is visible discoloration. Why do some people tend to discolor a lot faster than others? I am currently working with a trained medical practitioner in this area to come up with some practical evaluation techniques and more detailed information starting with a focus on the vascular system. As part of this project, we are also looking for some reference photos of any bind you have done or been tied in, where there is visible discoloration or occlusion. (*please only offer images that you have permission to use and give permission to use) Please feel to also comment with: ・Any questions you have, ・Any resources you know of which focus on this area. I thought that I would also share this interactive 3-D diagram for reference. https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/shoulder-nerves-vessels#1 https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/anterior-tibial-artery#1

For people doing self-suspension, would you have any advice or tips on how to handle yourself elegantly in the different positions created by ropes? I find it quite hard in a show to have a dynamic natural flow, but also to propose a visual diversity of patterns. Thank you all very much !

This is a question that many people ask me, and one which I have asked myself during my journey in Kinbaku. Understanding what people mean by style and, then learning to distinguish these is an endless journey. To start I would like to share a couple of comments from people in a thread on this topic which I came across on Fetlife in the “Kinbaku Group” “ I think this difference is often lost in rope culture (In the west). People focus on the ties to determine "Style" or "School". When that is only the smallest measure, or beginning step to understanding a style. Understanding why, or the end goal of those techniques, will give you the ability to do self expression in that particular style. Take it another way, Many skilled painters could reproduce the Mona Lisa. However that does not mean they have mastered DaVinci's Style. Often they are only reproducing a copy of what they have seen. Understanding his approach to portraits, How and where color is to be used, even how to capture expression would be far more valuable to mastering his Style of painting. Too often riggers will attempt simply mastering the tie, rather than the approach to tying and its goals or purposes, hence they miss the mark on capturing style" . - @Lord_Ramirez (Fetlife) “ I think the key to a style is the thought process of the originator, and what they want to get out of a session… …Yukimura has very specific goals that he wants to get out of a session, and he has adapted the basics on one way, whereas Naka has very different goals and has adapted the basics in another way that make sense to what they want to achieve. ” (—Renegade—) Fetlife I feel that these comments answer the question “what constitutes a style” quite well and that differing styles in kinbaku are borne from the approach and the motivations and intent of the person tying. It’s impossible to truly understand all the differing styles. Finding one or even two that resonates with you, and then spending the time to learn the thinking, mindset and approach behind this style is the key to deepening your own kinbaku, I think. The below explanations are not exhaustive and are based on my observation only. The aim is to give a very broad overview to demonstrate how I would distinguish differences between some of the more well-known kinbaku-shi, rather than a comprehensive insight into their style; which is something that only they could do themselves. I have not learned from these kinbaku-shi and therefore can only give a watered-down version based on my own limited understanding. Please feel free to add, critique or discuss or question. Differing perspectives are welcome (and the purpose of these forums). Ichi-nawa-kai style : Dynamic suspensions with minimal ropes. I feel this style tends to celebrate the figure of the model by focusing on accentuating various parts of the body in differing poses. Pleasure is reaped through “sense of beauty” felt by both the person being tied and the person tying. While each rope may serve a purpose/function and include elements of ‘seme,’ which are also part of the pleasure or enjoyment there is more of a focus on the visual aspects than in other styles. Another key characteristic is that each part of the body is tied in isolation to the rest of the bind (ie. The chest harness, hip harness, legs are tied separately and often not connected) For example the hip harness is separate to the chest. The legs, while sometimes tied into the hip harness, are also often tied using a simple column tie which is then hoisted into suspension. For this reason there is often more focused uneven pressure on the body, depending on the position. By uneven pressure, I mean that while the ropes on the body are carefully and evenly tensioned, when in suspension the weight tends to be concentrated on one area such as the chest (when in horizontal poses), the hips (when in inversion) or the legs (when in inversion by one or two legs). The load is shifted throughout. This style is orientated to allow fast and dynamic transitioning and to easily change where the load is on the body. Tying in this style is quite fast due to the fact that each part is is tied in isolation and has less lock-offs and less rope that other styles. This means that each pose is less sustainable for long periods of time (static suspension); requiring multiple transitions. Style of “Seme”: Imagine of “seme” as targeting something and then honing in on that target, gradually constraining and inducing it to a state of surrender. As the point of pressure and level of constraint is constantly being changed, I feel that this style will hone in on target A, then change and hone in on target B, and then C and so forth. Overall it is less focused than Kitagawa (explained below) who will have one target only and will focus on that gradually increasing the pressure and the level of constraint and the level of stimulation; coming closer and closer to his partner’s limits. Kitagawa-san: Kitagawa-san is less known in the West due to the fact that he does not perform or promote himself openly. His style is concentrated on ‘seme’ and how each rope functions to intensify the experience of his partner. Characteristically he does not transition his partner when in suspension (or on the floor), but rather will focus on one static position which he will gradually intensify. He does not isolate the binds on the body, but rather connects all ropes to create a constraining yet extremely solid encompassing bind across the entire body. While he typically only uses one suspension line, the precise tensioning and placement of all ropes on the body allow for a more even and sustainable distribution of the load when in suspension and on the floor. (this explanation does not near give justice to the depth of knowledge and underlying concepts of Kitagawa’s Kinbaku and style. I hope it offers some “food for thought” when it comes to discerning differences in style in kinbaku). https://salonk2.com