Nerve Damage AKA Don’t ignore the tingles!

Once you're done with the negotiations, there are some things you should know before tying someone up. Of note, certain areas are more prone to nerve damage than others. Typically, it's around the elbows, knees, joints and especially the neck! No one just starting with rope should ever try a tie involving someone's neck. Period. So, if you’re going into rope bondage with grandiose ideas of intricate knots and contortionist positions for your rope bottom, then you should probably adjust your expectations. When you’re just starting out, you want to learn the basics and keep in mind that each person's body will have it's own capabilities

If you're the one being restrained, then it’s your responsibility to communicate to your partner if you're feeling tingling in your fingers, toes, or anywhere else for that matter. Tingling could be a sign that the rope is too tight or that you're in a bad position. A light tingle is fine for about 20 minutes, but ultimately you should be able to move and struggle against the rope. After all, that's part of the fun. You want the rope to be able to move around your skin fairly freely.

Safety First, 2nd and 3rd!

When tying someone up, tighter might seem better. But that's not true. You want to be able to slip about two fingers underneath the rope, so that the rope can be moved around on the skin. Even if you’ve made the rope loose enough, having safety scissors on hand is best practice in case you ever need to cut your partner out of the ropes quickly.

Do Your Reading

Midori is required reading for anyone getting into ropes. Not only is it a beautiful book chock full of photography of awe inspiring rope bondage but each chapter goes back and explains with text and line art how each rope and knot is placed to achieve the final result. If you don’t want to get distracted by the beautiful art you can grab a simple book like Naughty Knots and start with some simple ties on yourself, your partner or even a pillow.

The Rope

When choosing your rope a common place to start is with a simple cotton rope is a great place to start because it’s softer while still holding a knot. There are also different diameters with rope. Folks People who prefer thicker rope tend to notice the extra thickness distributes the pressure over a wider area, meaning it can cut into skin less. Keep in mind that the thicker a rope gets, the stiffer it can also feel. This can make this more difficult when you’re doing a more complicated pattern. Thicker rope also weighs more and that can make it more difficult to handle.

And in terms of length, it depends largely on what you plan on doing it. An average length of rope is about 30 feet and that’s a good amount to get you started to get you making body harnesses and body restraints.