I love summer, and all it brings with it, especially sailing, camping and other activities involving complex arrangements of ropes. Yes, darlings, I’m talking bondage. Ohh, bondage. Indeed.

Now, I’m sure many of you dear readers are familiar with the pleasant sensations of light restraint—the silky scarf around your (or your lover’s) wrists, the tantalizing teasing that can come (pun intended) from gratification delayed—just a bit. Now, given all the ready availability of rope in summertime, you know, you’re never at a loss for toys, even when you’re out on the briny blue with your bonny sailor lad. And if you’re shy about displaying your toys, why what could be more innocent-looking than a sun-bleached coil of rope?

Now, kiddies, if you’re going to play this game, you need to play by the rules. Ringo says, and that’s all there is to it. No sense in letting some fun get out of hand and into the realm of truly dangerous. So to make sure any aspiring knotty boys and girls know what they’re getting into, I talked to the lovely Jim and Jennifer of Vancouver’s Libido Events. J&J put on rope bondage workshops like the one they held recently at Bleeding Rose. Here’s what we discussed:

Moi: What are the origins of rope bondage? Does it come from a particular cultural tradition?

Jim: The rope bondage you see on the internet comes from two places and has sort of merged as the communication in pornography and how to information has crossed the Pacific. Western rope bondage really starts with the damsels in distress in the old silent movies. Almost every cliffhanger had a tied up woman in it. This worked its way into pornography and spawned a large print industry in the ’50s and ’60s depicting people tied up.

In Japan, the Kabuki theater was making a parody of prisoners that were seen bound by the police. This migrated into painted porn and then into photography and video. Many people try to make a connection between Japanese rope bondage and certain martial arts in medieval Japan. The reality is the only connection is the parody of some of these arts in the theatre. Now with the communication of the internet, the two styles are merging fast into one as people take parts of each and use them.

Moi: If someone was just getting started/curious, what would you suggest to them to begin with?

Jennifer: Choose wisely whom you trust your physical body to. Attend lots of workshops where you get to participate and ask questions about anything you need to.

Jim: A long talk with their partner. There are a lot of different end results you can strive for with bondage. Making sure that how you want things to turn out and how your partner expects things to turn out are in agreement. A friend at another workshop said recently that the trust part of bondage is like the wet part of the ocean. None of this works if you are not communicating well and trusting your partners.

Moi: In your opinion, what is the most pleasurable aspect of this practice?

Jennifer: The most pleasurable aspect of it from my bound body’s perspective is that the bondage has the ability to center me. When I’m bound it keeps my attention focused and allows me to be still.

Jim: For me, as the person tying people up, there is the elegance of creating a shape, twist or distortion to a human body that does not occur without the aid of bondage and gravity. There is also the feeling I get when I see my play partner settle into the sensations I have created and “get” whatever effect it is I’m trying to inflict on them.

Moi: How can you ensure safe, sane, consensual fun with this practice?

Jennifer: You ensure your safety by knowing whom you’re playing with, negotiating your rope play prior to being in bondage, and knowing what the experience is going to look like. Lay out your limits to one another and accept one another’s and agree to honor them. You should discuss honestly each of your skill level with bondage. Don’t take risks. Accept that a bondage experience that was really great for one of you, might not be so great for the other. Regardless of whether or not you are having rope put on you or if you are putting rope on someone, you should educate first on safe bondage.

Jim: Take as many workshops as you can from as many different teachers. There is no substitute for hands-on learning. Simply reading on the internet will not do. Go slow and communicate along the way. Treat the whole endeavour as a path you are in partnership to create. And remember that images you see on the internet were made with professional bondage models who stretch and work out for their job, and the poses only had to last for a shutter click (1/60th of a second).

Moi: Describe for me one of your most delicious memories of rope bondage at its best.

Jim: Suspending Jennifer face down and then lying beneath her as she settled into the bondage and restriction. Then slowly gently batting her about as she hung there like a huge cat toy. We were very far along on opposite ends of a great continuum of sensation but at the same time really connected.

Moi: Were you ever a girl scout? If so, did you ever think you’d be putting your rope skills to this kind of use?

Jim: No, but I can fit into the extra husky uniform just barely. My hairy belly sticks out of the blouse in a bit of an obscene way. I really got my start at this as a cowboy tying up calves and as a sailor racing sailboats. [Ooooh, sailboats! Didn’t I tell you that’s a good place to get started?]

Moi: What else should I tell my readers?

Jennifer: Libido Events is a small production company setting out to promote sex education and other events celebrating alternative sexuality in our culture. We also deliver classes in cooperation with several groups, stores and organizations across B.C., with full information on our workshop line-up at www.LibidoEvents.com We have a mailing list that sends our announcement-only e-mails prior to each workshop. To join this list, send an e-mail with “Subscribe” in the subject line to list@libidoevents.com.

All right, then, darlings, repeat after me: “right over left, under and through. Left over right, under and . . . ooooh!”