How I got started with rope

When I tell people that I am a Shibari artist, and that it basically is my full time job (more on the nuances of this later), they react perplexed. They wonder how I got to this place in life and often the first question they ask me is: How did you get started?

I started doing Shibari a little over three years ago. At the time I had just finished my studies in information/computer science, didn't have a solid job, and apart from having a lot of hobbies was totally missing direction of where I wanted my life to go. I had been looking for my 'purpose' for a long long time, but without any success. Then, a great loss happened to me. I lost a potential future, a path that had felt like it been laid out for me and looked so beautiful on the surface, but wasn't something I truly chose.

At the time that I was processing this deep grief, I felt stripped down to the bone. There was a huge vacuum in my life and it was waiting for me to fill it in myself rather than wait around for external forces to fill it in. I promised to myself that for a while, I would just do everything I felt inspired to do. No endless thought spirals, no waiting around for the perfect moment, just feel the inspiration and do it.

 I wanted this, I didn't know what it was but I knew I had to try it.

And then, I saw a picture of Shibari for the first time. I was completely mesmerised. It looked so artistic and sensual. I wanted this, I didn't know what it was but I knew I had to try it. I immediately scoured my room for anything I could tie myself with and found some old macrame rope in a box. I looked online for a tutorial and got a shibaristudy subscription. When I tried my first self tie, it was like a whole world had opened up to me. Who knew that knots could be so thrilling!

My very first tie following a tutorial video by Gorgone on shibaristudy

From this point onwards, I started tying ALL of my friends. Nobody was safe anymore haha! Beforehand, I always had trouble with platonic physical touch. Even hugging my friends felt uneasy. I would be very much in my head. "Am I hugging too long?", "Are my hands placed right?". Now that I had my knots to think about, and the rope to hold onto, I was able to be physical with my friends without feeling awkward. I had found a way to be intimate through the body and not through the brain, and it was amazing. I yearned for intimacy and closeness, but it had always been challenging. Shibari allowed me a natural path to overcoming this challenge.

It was the beginning of the magical journey that I am still on to this day. It was love at first sight, and it was a path that I chose against the odds. For that I will always be grateful.