Comments

1
Groupon.

There are classes on bondage. You can take them. I think there's a youtube channel called RopeSluts or something similar with instructional stuff as well.
2
Babeland also hosts some very accessible beginning shibari classes.
3
Coming out of the shibari scene in Seattle and Vancouver, I can confirm that Monk's comments were on target, and I second the recommendation to start your learning journey with Max at bondagelessons.com. Max is thoughtful, highly safety-oriented, and a damn good educator - for beginners and experienced folks alike.

I have tied with dozens of people over the years, and my experiences with him - both in and out of educational settings - have reliably been top of the line.
4
That Whitney Houston quip did not age well.
5
Wow, has it been 13 years since this letter was first published? By now, he’s could be an expert rigger, and she, quite the rope bunny.

Today, I would suggest getting on FetLife. There are rope enthusiasts in every big city. Many host group classes or tutor novices one-on-one. You can also find out about workshops, taught by serious masters of the art. There are also practice groups that meet regularly, and of course you can meet people at parties who will be happy to discuss suspensions. Then there are the big events, like Shibaricon, which is entirely dedicated to Shibari.
6
Years after this post, the fact remains that Max at www.BondageLessons.com is still the premiere rope educator in Seattle. Frankly, he has expanded beyond rope and teaches a wide variety of BDSM related workshops, for novices as well as advanced kinksters. I have taken a number of his workshops with my partner over the years, and we never come away disappointed. And if you're just starting out, his "All The Demos" events are a great way to be introduced to the lifestyle, the BDSM community and lots of techniques! Happy rope tying and all that fun stuff!
7
Yup, another recommendation for bondagelessons.com and Max in the Seattle area, and FetLife as a method of connection. 13 years ago it was hard to find good instruction. Today it's easy.
8
Blast from the past. Love it. 13 years ago I wasn't even aware of the community. While I didn't read this piece back then, I hit every one of the recommendations so spot on Dan. I am th eproud owner of many lengths of Monk's rope and can say that Max has provided a wonderful, welcoming introduction to kink and the community. I've attended many of the "All the Demos" and it's a great way to get introduced (or even a taste of) many different types of kinks.
9
Max / www.bondagelessons.com is a great recommendation for beginning your experiences with rope or any BDSM topic, really. I have attended several of his workshops and several customized private lessons with partners. He is such a wealth of information and teaches it all with humor and patience. I love Monk’s products as well.
10
@4 I got a chuckle.
11
Lee Harrington has two books, "Shibari You Can Use" which are very accessible to a beginner. Good luck and have fun!!
12
I have a high quality kit of Twisted Monk's rope that has never let me down, so to speak. For friendly and expert lessons in rope ties, I highly recommend workshops and private lessons with Max. There are a lot of good teachers in the area. Max is the best.
13
Now I wish I lived in Seattle. Does Max ever hold classes in San Francisco?
14
I have been attending Max's classes and workshops for a year now as well as occasionally booking him for private instruction to learn some specific skills, both "hard" and "soft". I highly recommend that anybody interested in kink or BDSM - bondage in particular - check him out. He is an effective teacher. His style is relaxed. Wit and humor are always elements of his instruction, making for a completely non-threatening and actively welcoming environment for newbies.

One thing you will find is that no matter what he is teaching, there is a constant attention to ethics and consent underlying the material: sometimes explicit, sometimes subtle, but always present. Even if there is no particular "hard skill" you are looking to master, Max's classes are a great place to get an informed view of kink and BDSM.

Interested but not sure where to start? Take one of his monthly "All The Demos" workshops and prepare to be both educated and entertained.
15
The rope world is a different place than it was 13 years ago. What I like to call "rope technology" has dramatically improved to the point where it's relatively sophisticated and mature.

At the time Shibaricon was the only rope convention in town but now there's Ropecraft, Bondage Expo (Dallas, Denver), Bound in Boston, and most regional kink conferences have a rope track.

Depending how a person learns, there are tons of tutorials on youtube for videos and sites like mine (www.monkeyfetish.com) that have still picture tutorials.

13 years ago, it was a bit tough to find resources. Today... the only excuse for not finding this stuff first would be because they never learned about Google! :)
16
Midori travels around to do lessons and intensives, maybe She will be coming to a city near you!
17
@13/nocute: If you’re in San Francisco, you already have a lot of good options for learning, including The Rope Circle, which is a school dedicated to teaching rope bondage. There is also groups like the Bay Area Rope Club, the Bay Area Rope Rendezvous Group, Rope Bite North Bay, and Rope Bite San Francisco.
18
Monkey @15: Yes, it was actually rather quaint to see a good example of the sort of letters Dan used to get before people could just Google everything. He's made reference to not getting letters like these anymore because people can find those answers themselves quite easily.
19
Max at bondage lessons is a predator who’s been banned by every rope and kink organization from teaching. 2 groups published letters about his abuse.

There are great bondage instructors in Seattle. He’s just abusive.
20
If one wants to find bondage lessons they should check out the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture classes, like this one: https://thefspc.org/event/bondage-for-be…

Max has been banned for good reason. There are many serious allegations against him and yet he continues on teaching, out of his private venue since no one else will have him.
21
@19 & @20: I couldn't find anything online about this allegations, and I was wondering if you could add a link or more information about this.
23
Thanks for the memories Dan, talk about a blast from the past!
A lot has changed since we contributed to this article 13 years ago.
Numerous new instructional books have been published on the subject, we carry a curated selection at https://www.twistedmonk.com/collections/…
Additionally, there are many fine how to videos online now. See ours at https://www.youtube.com/user/twistedmonk…
As for instructors, we no longer endorse Max or Bondagelessons.com.
For a listing of instructors we do support and endorse, please check out our resources page at https://www.twistedmonk.com/pages/want-t…
24
Max picked me out of the herd in his class and arranged a private date. Then he violated my limits and ignored my sexual boundaries. He's not safe.
25
I was a bit surprised not to see a little warning about physical safety when tying someone up. The way the LW described it ("she wants me to do that incredibly complicated rope bondage. I've looked at some pictures [...] but I can't make it happen") sounded like he could be trying some dangerous stuff (e.g. suspensions) without any basic knowledge, and thus possibly unaware of the risks involved.

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