In Week 5 we dove into the box tie, a tie with the hands in the back. But there are many ways to bind the arms behind.
Bringing the hands in the back adds an element of vulnerability and helplessness. These positions challenge the body in new ways as they are not often used in daily life. Warm-up each joint, especially the shoulder to allow for maximum range of motion and prevent injuries. Every person has a different flexibility level and these poses will look different from person to person.
The goal of this week is to play with different positions that bind the hands in the back and learn to adapt to different levels of flexibility.
Day 99: Bunny Ears – Aka pillow tie, Waki Zarashi 脇晒し (exposed armpit) or Usagi ウサギ (rabbit). Tying the wrist behind the head will bend the elbow in the way that it creates two bunny ears above the head. There are several variations, wrists crossing, prayer hands, tying the forearms together or tying them seperately and joining the two bunny ears.
Day 100: Reverse prayer – Aka ushirote kannon shibari 後手観音縛り (Back kannon tie, a buddhist diety) in Japanese.The reverse prayer is a beautiful but difficult position. Few will be able to bring their hands very high up the back, most can manage to get their palms together and many won’t be able to bring their hands together in the back. The angle of the elbow will vary a lot from person to person, depending on their flexibility.
Day 101: Inverted Reverse Prayer – An unusual but interesting position is created by tying the hands together in the back with the palms facing out. This create different shapes from the usual revers prayer, including a position with the fingers pointing outward. A tutorial of this tie was documented in the book SM耽美文学別巻 SMプレイ (SM Play – You can play SM) by 浦戸宏 Urado Hiroshi.
Day 102: Downward Reverse Prayer – Place the palms against each other in the back with the fingers pointing down. This is an interesting variation to the classic reverse prayer that is more accessible.
Day 103: Wrists to Lower Body – Tie the wrists to the hips, or crossing over the butt. Explore with pulling the wrists downward..
Day 104: Strappado – Aka armbinder. Tie the arms straight behind the back. Depending on flexibility, the arms can be apart from each other or elbows can be touching. This position can be difficult to maintain for a lot of people, and the Latissimus dorsi muscles are likely to press into nerves. Monitor the hands and make sure you can untie quickly, don’t hesitate to cut the rope with control in case of emergency.
Bonus: Box Tie Review– Wanna go back full circle with a study of hands in the back? Let’s go back to Week 5 and get a fresh look at it. Can you design your own?
Video References
We compiled a Youtube playlist with various videos on this topic, let us know if you find others we should add to this list. Note that video references may display risky or unstable techniques, viewer discernment is advised.
Gallery
Bunny Tie
One rope wrists crossing with inline cuffs.M: Miss Soffia - R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Bunny Tie
Chicken wings assembly. M: Miss Soffia R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Bunny Tie
Wrists crossing with chest support. M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Bunny Tie
Chicken wings M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Bunny Tie
Strict version, double column on writst, wraps on arms, leftover on fingers. M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Bunny Tie
Strict version, double column on writst, wraps on arms, leftover on fingers. M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Structural Bunny Tie
Front. Includes a chest harness. and cuffs on arms M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Structural Bunny Tie
Back. Wrists crossing, chest harness with hexagon (kikkou) and hojo cuffs. M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Structural Bunny Tie
Front. Add a bunny tie and hojo cuff to an existing chest harness with Naka Panty. The chest harness has shoulder straps and square lashing to create an additional strong stem. M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Structural Bunny Tie
Back. Add a bunny tie and hojo cuff to an existing chest harness with hexagon (kikkou) Naka Panty. M: Hanna R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Reverse Prayer Tie
Hands in prayer in the back pointing up, elbows tied and shoulder straps to stabilize the position. M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Reverse Prayer
Hands in prayer in the back pointing with structure on the arms. M: Nathaniel Flumen R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Perpendicular Inverted Reverse Prayer
Note that this tie uses cuff with increased risks (Akechi cuff, based on hojojutsu techniques).
M: Nathaniel Flumen R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Downward Reverse Prayer
Palm together in the back, pointing downward. Using a Kimono tie shape (X) to hold in position. M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Wrists to the Waist
Square lashing on wrists attached to the waist. M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Strappado
Horizontal wraps and shoulder straps to tie the arms parallel in the back M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Bending Elbows
Tie the forearms together in the back and pulled them upward with shoulder straps. M: Nathaniel Flumen R/P: Ebi McKnotty
Elbow Out Box Tie
An unusal box position with the hands tied seperately. Using shoulder straps and elbow ties to hold the position. M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Experimental Box Tie
Improvised box tie trying to design a different structure. Used a mountain shape to lock the structure in place. M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Chest Box Tie
A modification of the classic Box Tie where the wraps are on the chest. The bight is trapped in the friction to build a strong stem. M: AlexK7 R: Ebi McKnotty
One Rope Box Tie
Classic Box Tie with a single column on the wrists and a wrap on the upper chest. M: Era R: Ebi McKnotty
High Hand Box Tie
Classic Box Tie with a single column on the wrists and a wrap on the upper chest and the wrist slightly up. M: Miss Soffia R: Ebi McKnotty
Inspirations and Resources
Got more resources suggestions? Write it in the comments!
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