As you will know from an earlier post, I have been exploring ways of achieving deeper connection in shibari with Frank aka Bandit650, a tango teacher, and two students. Very recently, I was approached by another tango fanatic, Semreh, who lived in Argentina for 6 years immersed at a pro and grass-roots level. We had a long and extremely interesting conversation a few days ago. Not only did we find many parallels but we also seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet in many regards, e.g. teaching ingredients more than recipes. We are certainly building a very exciting team for this project.
His experience in the barrios with locals, who learned from their friends or family, revealed an unparalleled degree of passion which has become his focus ever since. Elsewhere, he had always felt there was something missing from the connection, a barrier that was rarely penetrated. In this environment, he felt he had finally discovered a place where these barriers to intimacy were lowered and the level of connection he sought could be achieved. As a fairly recent entrant into the rope scene, he has also observed that this barrier to connection seems to be common there and believes it can be overcome with the experience he has gained.
We plan to work together to transfer some of the skills to shibari that he has learned through tango and his study of psychology. I am convinced that this will take connection to a new level. Whilst we agree, connection cannot be guaranteed, one can improve ones chances with the right exercises, techniques and informed observation. A great deal is about being perceptive and aware but this requires one to know what to look for, and that can be taught. For example, when I showed him the preview of Frank’s tutorial, I was amazed by the way he noticed how Bliss reacted every time Frank moved into her intimate zone. Like clockwork, each occasion he moved across that boundary she lowered her gaze. You could map the extent of the zone by her reactions. In the tutorials,we plan, we will go further into how you can play with these zones.
As Bliss has returned home down under for a month, we have rustled up some volunteers as we are keen to get on with this project. I believe the new approaches which we will develop could be quite transformative to the way we work towards connection and teaching connective rope. It’s going to be be another first for ShibariClasses and a major advancement on ‘tying people, not parcels’.