June 6, 2006

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Just Some Views... by Tatu

Disclaimer: This newsletter is just a collection of my ramblings. It is not intended to be authoritative in any way. Just reflections of my personal explorations. If anyone finds it interesting or helpful for me that is a plus. I don't know it all and stay far away from the elitists who think they do. I am no Master of anything, just a student on a journey who loves to explore life, art, relationships and hopefully will one day learn to at least be the Master my own soul and the loving leader of another self empowered one who wishes to walk along side me.

Well, I'm back after about 2 weeks of a roping fun time, which is why I am a bit late with this offering.

Shibaricon III - May 26-29, 2006 - A Reflection...

It started out with a Wednesday flight to Chicago for Shibaricon III.

Anderson Japanese Gardens

On Thursday my rope soulmate, shevah and I had organized a pre-Shibaricon group outing to the Anderson Japanese Gardens. They were absolutely splendid.  They far exceeded my expectations. Japanese Gardens have to be experienced. One cannot just simply walk through them. Characteristically they do not have that western engineered look, but even though they are well planned, they look as though they just wonderfully happened in nature.  A beautiful way to begin the weekend.

I have posted a gallery of some of the images from our visit there. Check out these links. The first one is a mini movie, so turn on your sound.

Waterfall:  http://ds-arts.com/gardens/AJG/MOV07003_MPG

Gallery of Stills:    Anderson Japanese Gardens - Rockford, Illinois

We had some 25 or 30 enjoy this trip up to Rockford with us. MIchael Keller and Francene from Erotic Hemp (www.erotichemp.com) rented a van at their own expense to help shuttle convention attendees.  Although he could not make the trip, Master Z generously loaned us his SUV to help with carrying people.  Dear friends Sir Keith and his lovely phaedra who were not able to attend Shibaricon this year, were able to drive in for our garden adventure. Always wonderful to share their harmonious energies. We ended the day at a local restaurant near the event hotel where even more people who had been arriving throughout the day joined us for a meal and fellowship. It was a great start to our rope adventure. Everyone was well behaved and I found no one suspended from the trees (smile) although there was much talk of it. We couldn't help but imagine beautiful rope in a setting like this.

I have to say that one of my fondest memories will be of James / aka Lqqout and his lovely "Jen" who literally danced her way through the gardens like a little fairy. She truly felt the beauty of the gardens and heard the music of mother nature. I have to say she made me tear up more than once as I observed her light as we made our way around the gardens. She and James are a lovely couple. It was just as much fun however watching James follow her ballet along the walkways of green and rushing water to the tune of crickets and birds as he captured images of his loving partner. At one point she hugged me and I told her she was "Hotaru" which means "firefly" in Japanese, full of life, light, and energy.  

I've said it many times, but it bears repeating. Shibaricon  is our annual rope family homecoming. It was good to be home.

We had a great line up of presenters with 6 tracks for 4 amazing days, a total of 64 2-hour workshops. There was something for everyone.

The Way of Rope

 It was a joy again to share my "The Way of Rope" (aka "Nawa-do") class with shevah as my co-presenter. As you know I enjoy incorporating Japanese culture as well as ritual into scening with the energy a rope scene produces.  It is a class that always seems to end with a great deal of emotion for participants as they sense the love and harmony of the "Nawaikido" styled rope scene.  Thank you kateygirl, Ellie and Keiki for sharing the energy and making the aftercare a very powerful moment for all.

BTW Keiki is pronounced "kay-kee" not "kee-kee".  :)

Japanese Chest Harnesses

I also did a workshop on "Japanese Chest Harnesses" which included teaching the classic "ushiro takate-kote" or behind the back box arm tie, the "ushiro tasuki" a diagonal variation and the "hon kikkou", my favorite creating the six sided tortoise shell design. Assisting me for this class was a lovely lady from Canada by the name of Willow. I met her probably 8 months ago when she contacted me after visiting my Ds Arts website.  We would chat online from time to time. When the subject of conventions came up, she shared she had never been to one, so I told her, if there was one convention to go to that I would recommend, then she should plan go to Shibaricon.  I told her how different it is from every other event I have ever been to, especially if you are into rope.  With great sacrifice, she found a way to be with us for the weekend and she was even a more wonderful soul in person than I imagined. She is no stranger to our rope family now, as she found lots of new friends and experienced some terrific play.  Thank you, Willow, for your assistance with this class.  As a reminder, to those who took this particular class, there are 2 or the 3 forms that I taught  located in the tutorials section at the website.  

See  http://www.ds-arts.com/RopeArt/tutorials.html  

Sex Shibari Style

Then finally, I shared a presentation I entitled, "Sex Shibari Style" at which I illustrated some simple techniques to facilitate sexual pleasuring activity with rope. Among the forms we looked at was the "Komon Sarashi" which is an original invention of Japanese Bondage Master Randa Mai. This one is also in the Ds ARts website tutorial. Joining me for this class along with Willow was the beautiful "English Tart", who developed in this class a whole new lifestyle genre' called "T.I.T." which stands for  "Tarts In Training". It was one of those classes that great humor and laughter just possessed us all.

(Image to right of The English Tart used by permission and is 2257 compliant. See:  www.theenglishtart.com )

Click on Image to Enlarge >>>>

*There was one other volunteer and I do apologize;  I can see her in my mind's eye, but cannot recall her name right now in this aging mind. So, again I apologize. If you are reading this please contact me by email and I'll do a quick revision of this article.. wink..

The Pillow Book

(Click to enlarge image below)

Then there was a most beautiful scene Saturday night with shevah as my "pillow book". It started off as a joke when other presneters posted on ARA about autographing their books. Many of you have seen me paint some kanji on her as an opening scene ritual, but this is actually something I did with her on a cold winter night a year or so ago in front of warm fire on soft rug.  It is something she still fantacizes about.  Thank you Bob and Val and Keiki and Barbie for your assistance in making this fantasy come true for her. Being erotically touched by a brush and being turned into a living work of art is a wonderful sensual and visual pleasure for her and the room full of onlookers on that evening. 

The idea came from the Japanese language movie (English subtitiles), "The Pillow Book" (1996) in which a woman has a fetish for having kanji (Japanese / Chinese characters) written all over her body. She would choose her lovers by how beautiful their kanji was on her body. As a result sometimes she would have passionate lovemaking with her artist, and sometimes she would throw them out.  By that standard I'm sure I would have been kicked out, and a kind Asian gentleman who's name I do not exactly how to say or spell, but was something like "Sunami" joined us for this scene and he did some of the most beautiful work on shevah's body . Thank you Sir, whoever you are. It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for sharing your art with us.

 (PIllow Book Image above used by permission: www.vplacephotography.com )

I had some fabulous scenes with shevah, Willow, Lady Gold, The English Tart and Katiekat. Just wish I had time to do more.

Jaye, baby girl.... we'll have a special scene at Kinky Kollege in the fall, ok? Thank again for the candle, it will light my space at night and the scene we create when our paths cross again.  

Lady Gold looked so elegant in her kimono bondage but she seemed to not care as she flew in a freeform floor bondage that I did with her. Taipan stated in class the next day that he appreciated all the foreplay, as he had an amazing time when she got back to the room... smile.

Congrats to sweet "anais" from my hometown on her first inversion... wow.. you go girl...

I was also very pleased to introduce my sweet friend Keiki / aka Domina Demanda to our Shibaricon family. I saw a lot of kimonos being elegantly worn during the weekend. A lovely site and I hope to see many more in years to come.

Who is Den Daddy Tatu?

I have a new name!!!  When doing some aftercare with the colorful Katiekat, I suddenly became  "Den Daddy".  Now I am not one for titles. I would never demand or expect someone to refer to me in some honorific manner. It is against my Eastern based D/s philosophy to expect such, as demanding any sort of honorific designation would be considered haughty and egotistical. I have a couple that choose to call me Sensei, one that calls me "Teacher", several call me "Sir".. a few call me "asshole".... lol.  The Tart calls me "Mr.Bond-age" in that  sexy English accent (I am convinced she has a Sean Connery fetish) and of course to me she is "Pussy Galore" (in my best Sean Connery voice)....    but I kinda like the ring of "Den Daddy" for some reason.  The older I get the more I feel like I have been given that role of watching over a few of the young ones to help them feel safe while they are learning and exploring.

Katiekat (image to right) was a special energy for me this weekend. After my Sex Shibari Style class, Jim Duval came up to me and introduced this adorable young lady with a china doll haircut, almond eyes, and pouty lips..... and nicely done ink.... yes I have a tattoo fetish for nicely done ink on a lady.  I had already noticed her aura Friday nite at dinner and little known to me on Saturday, shevah had had lunch with her. Hey wait a minute it just dawned on me, did you guys plan this?????   LOL   Regardless, Katikat is a white light of playful energy. She wanted to know if I could do her in my ropes, but I was booked up to my eyeballs and could not make a commitment. On Sunday evening one of my play dates didn't make as she was enjoying Mark DV8's wonderful rope energy for several hours. So after my scene with "pussy galore", I turned around and there was Katiekat. So she ended up experiencing a beautiful "orgasmic" suspension and I experienced the pleasure of taking her on that journey.

(Image above right of Katikat used by permission)

Special Thanks and Acknowledements

A special thanks goes out to my dear old friend Max who I have known since we co-presented at Living in Leather 1999 and did a triple suspension at a Fetish Factory Party that weekend.

At Shibaricon, he did a beautiful horizontal to an inverted to horizontal suspension then lowered shevah in one movement to the floor where he gently laid her into a waiting blanket , wrapped her up and gave her beautiful aftercare. Wow.  Thanks also to a new friend Ellie the Nomad for giving shevah such wonderful scene Sunday evening. It was a joy to watch your skills and energy at work.

Mark DV8 a pleasure to meet and chat with you some. MRK always a joy, even more so to meet you lady.  Remember what I said bro... lol....  

Somewhere in the middle of this was a Rope Rodeo sponsored by Twisted Monk (www.twistedmonk.com) and lots creative craziness and who else at the center of it when I walked in but the "Partners in Twine". You guys are awesome!

I can't end without saying something about Mick and Dee. Those two inspire me so much with their creative roping fun. Thank you for just being you.

Anyway thank you everyone for a great event. Especially Mortis, Diana, Ms Fox,  Dov, Gray and all the many volunteers... you are all super and I am honored to be numbered among you..... oh, and Ms Fox.... thank you for those seductive eyes...... I want you in my ropes doll...  someday    wink  ;) ... someday.

Special thanks to Valerie Place for being there at key moments with your camera and to my south Florida brother, Lochai...  Love both you guys... Who won the contest between Locahi and Janet?

One more image from the gardens. Shibaricon attendee, "Jake" did a little editing on one of my images to give it a nice Japanese Kimono Girl energy... Thanks Jake.... Enjoy.  

Click on the image below to see the enlargement.
Images (c) Tatu 2006

Orlando Bash X - June 2-4

Right after Shibaricon, I moved on to the Orlando Bash X for the next weekend.  I have had the privilege of sharing in my home state I believe 4 times in the past for this event. It is a shorter 2 day event with classes only 45 minutes compared to the Shibaricon 2 hours for each class, but as we all know rope takes alot more time than many other activities in BDSM. So I had to do the "Cliff Notes" version of my classes, but it all went very well. This event features two all you can eat buffet dinners and each year raises a lot of money through auction for NCSF.  I believe they raised about $6000 this year.

For this journey I was accompanied by a lovely lady from my home area of south Florida by the name of "Heather" who would be my demo model for my classes.  She is relatively new to the lifestyle and had never been to an event like this before and was very nervous  and concerned that she would somehow embarrass me by acting or speaking the wrong way. I assured her to just bring her "common courtesy" , her big smile, happy energy; and she would be fine. I told her not to worry about others protocols, as they have nothing to do with her. She did fine and was a lovely assistant for my 2 classes. She didn't know how to describe herself, but I think she now knows she is at least a certifiable "rope slut"....  and she loves the single tail. Thank you Johnny Paddler for making love to her with your whips. It was beautiful to watch my dear friend take her on a wonderful journey of pain and pleasure.

At the Bash I taught on scene rituals and energy, and did a basic Japanese Chest harness class. "Heather" modeled as well as a dear friend "star" and new south Floridian, "lovelee". Thanks as well to "keiki" and "holly" for feeling the energy and bringing your good positive love and energy into the class.

Always good to see my homies, Master Oakman and slave diamond and many, many more. It was a joy to meet so many people who already knew me via the website or other places who were anxious to share with me something of their rope journey.  

The Bash wisely had a loud dungeon where the corporal people mostly played, a quiet dungeon where the bondage and sensual people played and a messy dungeon for those wax and medical scenes in a controlled and closely monitored space.

Good to see old friends and make new ones. Rap and purp, always a joy to be with you. Dr. Warren, Libby, riobabe, and lovelee .... love you guys...  and Keiki you fetish geisha you... always full of sweet happy energy. Now we just have to keep you off those 8" platform shoes....  

To Nico and bunny, dear old friends who used to live in my south Florida neighborhood, thank you for managing a great event and taking it to the next level.

I got this sexy little bear
(on the left) during the raffle...
 see I am a "Den Daddy"

I'm getting a whole family
of bears to keep up with.
hee hee...

This female leather bear
joins my boy bondage
bear.. (on right)

Guess I am going to have to
keep an eye on those two
now.

Shibaricon 2007 - A Special Announcement

June 5, 2006

Mortis has announced that he has decided to remain in the lifestyle and will in fact remain at the helm and produce Shibaricon 2007. We look forward to another wonderful year. I will continue to give he and his team 110% support for the future.

Tatu

Upcoming Rope Related Events:

Tes Fest  (Edison, NJ)
June 30 - July 3, 2006
http://www.tesfest.org
This year featuring 13 bondage workshops
This 35th Anniversary event is expected to draw over 1000 attendees.

Transforming Rope (Austin, Texas)
A New Approach to Connecting
August 5-6, 2006

Transforming Rope  (Austin, Texas)
A New Approach to Connecting
August 5-6 2006
A new local event.
For Info contact: senorjaime@austin.rr.com or japrope@yahoo.com.

Fetish Con   (Tampa Florida)
August  10-13, 2006
http://fetishcon.com
This is a trade show for adult oriented models, photographers and producers.
There are a few workshops, no "play" nights, but local fetish clubs put on big parties each evening. Last year there were over 1000 attendees.

Austin Ropecraft Symposium
Sept 1 - 3, 2006
Austin, Texas
http://www.ropecraft.info

A local rope event now in it's second year.
16 Bondage related workshops & 2 Play Nights
Last year this event was attended by about 75 people

Kinky Kollege (Chicago, IL)
October 13 - 15, 2006
http://www.KinkyKollege.com
Tatu will be presenting my "Nawa Dojo"
and coordinating the entire bondage track for this event.
This event will draw about 400 attendees.

Shibaricon IV
May 25-28, 2007
An International event in it's 4th year featuring an amazing
64 Workshops and 3 Play Party Nights
This event  historically has been attended by about 250-300 attendees each year.

A Comparative History of Japanese Erotic Rope and Hojo-jutsu

by Tatu

May 2006

Shibari, first known as Kinbaku is a contemporary erotic art form developed in Japan since the late 1800's which uses rope for restraint. Hojo-jutsu is an ancient martial art use of rope for the purpose of capturing and transporting prisoners.

Historically we see rope first being used for erotic purposes in Japan at about the same time as Hojo-Jutsu was outlawed in the late 1800's. Inspired by the historic martial art form and thus sharing some similarities to hojo-jutsu, Shibari or Kinbaku came to be very different artfoms not only in terms of purpose but also in technique.

There are those in the current world of Japanese Styled Rope Bondage who would contend that there are hard and fast rules that make Shibari authentic. These rules are based upon principles found in historic Hojo-Jutsu, such as:

(1) Tied with "asanawa" which is a natural fiber rope as opposed to any modern made nylon or artificial materials. In modern Japan, shibari practitioners use hemp or jute. However one of Japan's most respected rope artists Osada Eikichi, who died in 2001, used colored ropes in many images and videos that we can see today.

(2) Beautiful to look at.  True to the Japanese way of doing things, even the most sadistic practices have an artistic side to it.  Just as tying a prisoner for transport was expected to be done in a way that it was beautiful to look at, we find that is a major component to Kinbaku or Shibari.

(3) Some would add that Shibari does not use knots. In Dr. Richard Cleaver's translations of [Nawa Yumio (1964) Studies in Jitte and Torinawa (Tokyo: Yuzankaku Shuppan)] and [Nawa Yumio (1985) An Illustrated Encyclopedia for Historical Studies: Constables' Tools (Tokyo: Shinjinbutsu Orai-sha)] he reveals to us that knots were not used in Hojo-Jutsu in order to spare the prisoner the shame of technically being in bondage. So there are those who insist that Shibari would not involve any knots.

Don Angier Sensei's videos (1988) do not use knots, but wraps and often a final chain stitch to gather the balance of the rope to keep the prisoner under control. (Don Angier is the the sole and legitament inheritor of Yanagi ryu, a positon acknowledged by Sensei's Kondo Kaysuyuki, Okamoto Saigo and the late Takamura Yukiyoshi.)

Dr. Cleaver points out to us, there were some 150 schools of hojo-jutsu and secrecy was of the utmost, therefore variations in forms and techniques are expected- and we do find the practice of knots being used by some.

(4) Loosely based on the historic "Hojo-Jutsu" martial arts forms.

While Shibari grew from the rope traditions of Hojo-Jutsu, there are however a number of differences and in the end analysis, two entirely different art forms.

A few primary differences between Hojo-Jutsu and Shibari would include:

(a) Rope length: In Hojo-Jutsu again according to the translations of Nawa Yumio by Dr. Richard Cleaver, rope lengths varied greatly:

*Hon-Nawa (Main Rope) wound into a "Hojo Bundle"

13 fathoms = 78 feet

11 fathoms= 66 feet

9 fathoms= 54 feet

5 fathoms= 30 feet

*Hayanawa (fast rope for initial restraint)

2 and a half fathoms = 15 feet

In the latter half of the 20th century as the art of Shibari developed as an erotic performance art form, the typical length became about 7-8 meters which is about 23 to 26 feet. One must consider that the average Japanese Bondage model is very petite, making 7-8 meters not quite long enough to complete most traditional ties on an average western bondage bottom. A rope of about 9-10 meters would probably be more appropriate for most non - Japanese uses.

(b) Application of the rope: Ancient drawings of the various basic form in Hojo-Jutsu, the rope is applied in a single line from what we refer to as a "Hojo-Bundle". In contrast, most modern Shibari applications are usually done with a rope which has been folded in half.

(c) Safety. In Hojo-Jutsu safety was of concern, so as no permanent harm was caused. Historic sketches of the various ryu (forms) show ropes going around the front of the neck and around the arms in a cinching fashion under tension against the the opposing arms or the neck or the legs. Breathing would have been a challenge and loss of feeling and use in the arms would have been typical, hence the criminal would not be able to struggle against the ropes with strengths reduced. In modern Shibari, safety is of the utmost concern. Ropes would almost never be placed around the neck or in such a fashion as to intentionally impinge blood flow or causing nerve compression or axphixia.

(d) Forms. (Ryu) Modern Shibari has adopted a few historic positions such as the "ebi" or "prawn" position, but they are applied entirely differently. Many modern Shibari ties begin with what is referred to as a Ushiro Takate Kote or a behind the back box arm tie. Hojo-Jutsu often, but not always began with both arms behind the back, but the chest or torso applications we see in graphics available to us were somewhat different. Several Hojo-Jutsu forms  even involve the arms in front of the torso vs the basic behind the back box arm position.

(e) Intent. Perhaps the biggest difference and most obvious is the intent of the bondage. Hojo-jutsu was intended to not let the prisioner escape. Kinbaku or Shibari obviously have restraint as an objective, but it is done so in an erotic manner with the intent of a pleasurable outcome.

In summary, understand that these differences did not come about instantly but were a gradual transition over the last 120 or so years.

Bondage Master, Tatu will be in the following locations in the coming months:

**Note:  In addition to the following are two weekend Nawa Dojo's which will be announced shortly.

Shibari South Florida (Ft Lauderdale, FL)
http://www.ds-arts.com/SSF
June 17th

Fetish Con (Tampa Florida)
http://fetishcon.com
August  10-13, 2006
Hyatt Regency

Kinky Kollege (Chicago)
http://www.kinkykollege.com
October 13-15,2006

Continued Studies… by Tatu      .....Coming Soon

"A Comprehensive and Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Rope Art Styles"

(Image by Tatu)

What is Shibari South Florida / SILK ?

http://www.ds-arts/SSF

In 2000, I started something I called "Shibari South Florida".  We met in my home for a while and have met periodically since. Our numbers grew too large for my residence and so we have now ventured out into renting space for our workshop and social gatherings. Our next workshop will be Saturday, February 18, 2006 in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, followed by a social time we have named "S. I. L. K." which stands for:

"Sensuous Intimate Loving Kinbaku"

Or,  Sadistic Insane Lascivious Kink, depends on our mood that night...

And sometimes we even enjoy:  

Sensuous Uninhibited Sexy Hot Intimacy

If you live in South Florida, and are interested in rope, please contact us about future gatherings.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, June 24th.

D/s ARts & Shibari South Florida has teamed up with Sir Michael of Erotic Ropes in Chicago to provide a quality hemp rope product to the Florida Community. Tatu will have 30' & 15' lengths of 6mm finished hemp rope available at SSF and other South Florida events.

Hemp rope is the traditional material used in shibari; a Japanese form of rope bondage. It is becoming more and more popular among bondage enthusiasts. Hemp rope is strict yet soft, it holds knots tighter with less slippage and it doesn't stretch. Erotic ropes are created from grade Romanian twisted hemp. Twelve hours of work go into each piece of erotic rope. Each length of rope is washed and then dried. The rope is then oiled, boiled, dried and singed to remove stray fibers. This process is repeated three times by a most loving rope slut so we can offer you the finest quality twisted hemp for all your bondage perversions.

(Image by Tatu)

C.A.R.E.   D/s ARts is also hosting a page for the Cincinnati Area Rope Enthusiasts, which meets once a month for what they "Rope Rendezvous". They have been having their maximum for the space which is 25 and have had had to turn people away virtually every month. This event is led by Master David of Kentucky and subshevah.

See: http://www.ds-arts.com/shevah/CARE.html

subshevah... We are also hosting a page for lifestylist and educator, subshevah. See her essays and teaching schedule at:

http://www.ds-arts.com/shevah

Interesting News:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Investigators are reviewing surveillance tapes after someone attacked a sex shop preparing to open in Waldo, Fla., in what Alachua County officials are calling an act of domestic terrorism, television station WJXT reported.

Detectives said that someone over the weekend set up a homemade device that spewed a chemical throughout the building being readied to open as Cafe Risque, an adult-entertainment store.

For the rest of the story go to:    http://www.wmur.com/news/9297478/detail.html

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Comments?  Email me at:

NOTE:
(c)  2006  Tatu
S.I.L.K.
"Sensuous Intimate Loving Kinbaku", or
Sadistic Insane Lascivious Kink, and
Sensuous Uninhibited Sexy Hot Intimacy
are
a copyright logo used to describe the
Japanese or Eastern School of D/s.
All rights reserved. Tatu / Tatu Publications.