Here’s something for you to try at home. Pah! It might look really clever and dangerous but anyone who has a motorbike can do these stunts with a couple of hours practice and no formal tuition. Trust me 😉
How hard can it be? It all seems pretty straight forward, you just point your bike at a big hill, wind it open and do a bit of fancy stuff before you touch down. I plan to give it a go. It’s OK, I have ridden a pedal bike before. A mate of mine who once owned a motorcross bike, so he says, showed me some tricks and I have read a couple of articles on the internet. Anyway, there are also lot of instructional videos on YouTube that can help you get the hang of things and show you the correct attire.
I expect something like this will do the job. I found it on eBay for £100.
To use a favourite expression of Hebari’s, “What could possibly go wrong?”. OK, it sounds stupid and I must be mad, you say? What? You mean it requires years of experience, hours of training, peak physical fitness, lighting reactions and the right kit? Surely, not? After all, riggers all around the world are attempting to achieve equivalent feats without worrying about all that rubbish! Isn’t it OK to learn it off a friend of a friend who once had a lesson from somebody who might have been teaching shibari? Isn’t everything on the internet true and accurately presented? An over-weight couch-potato with a dubious medical history isn’t an ideal model? We have to find time to practice and train for hours? Some degree of natural skill and ability is required to emulate the masters of Japan? Get the picture?! Attempting pro-level shibari is not for everyone and like being a freestyle MX star, it takes effort and some degree of talent to reach those pinnacles in some degree of safety on a repeatable basis. The downside of getting it wrong is no less serious. At least with extreme MX, you are usually only risking your own neck, unlike shibari. I have no objection to Darwinian selection applying to the incorrigibly stupid but it is not fair to foist that on your play partner. Make sure your ego is not writing a cheque your ability is unable to honour!