The Silence is a California based photographer who specializes in boudoir and kink photography, including shibari and kinbaku.

When he started, everyone was photographing their rope work with flip phones - and the he thought to himself, why not learn to take better pictures. Five years of practice later, he has discovered a deep love of photography, enjoying experimenting with lighting and posing to create striking images.

In developing his art and passion he’s shot with people around the world, and here at the podcast we find his work very inspiring, and him talented - yet in person he’s humble and genuine. We loved hearing about his passion for photography and behind the scenes experiences.

In this episode he shares:

• His rope origin story

• How he got into rope photography

• His 3Ps in rope

• The background to his kink name

• The rope he likes for a scene versus a photoshoot

• His negotiation process

• How he collaborates with models for photoshoots

• His postproduction process

• Tips he gives rope bottoms when modelling

• Great advice for new rope photographers

• His current and future focus in rope and photography

There’s no such thing as perfect, there’s always things we can improve, no matter who we are, and what level, type and role in rope we are at. Feedback can help us with that - but it’s a delicate topic that we need to approach with kindness and a gentle touch.

The podcast hosts firmly believe in feedback (outside and inside the world of rope!) for us to be better not just in terms of rope, but also as rope partners, people, and just as a life skill in general.

In this episode, Mya brings some of her professional experience as a psychologist to the episode, and the podcast hosts discuss:

• What feedback is, and why it might be important in rope

• A guide to how you might structure feedback

• Warm feedback versus cold feedback

• Why ego kills talent

• The difference between criticism and talent

• More and less effective ways to give feedback in rope

• Why it’s important to focus on the behaviour not the person when sharing feedback

• “I” versus “you” statements

• Non-Violent Communication and how it might inspire our feedback

• Why you shouldn’t use the ‘sandwich’ approach when giving feedback

• Examples of feedback the top and bottom can give each other

• Tips on how to receive feedback more easily

• The importance of discussing ‘what good looks like’ before your rope, and how that relates to feedback

Get ready - this episode goes deep!

Assistant is a large language model trained by OpenAI, and fox and Mya were interested to see how they could help provide information and insights on rope bondage, and how accurate it might be.

The results surprised them both…

In this episode hear Assistant’s thoughts on:

• What rope bondage is, and if shibari and rope bondage are the same thing

• How AI can be useful to those interested in rope bondage

• The risks of rope bondage, and what people like about it

• How we can improve our rope bondage skills

• Advice for newcomers in rope bondage

• How to find a partner to do rope bondage with

• Some creative writing from Assistant - a William-Gibson-style cyberpunk novel with a central theme of rope bondage and a poem about rope bondage in the style of Byron!

Finally, we checked with Assistant that they were ok with publishing their answers and this is what they said:

You are welcome to use some of my answers as quotes in your podcast episode. However, please be aware that I am a large language model trained by OpenAI, and the answers I provide are not my own thoughts or opinions. My responses are generated based on the data and training materials that I have been given, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any individual or organization. If you do use my answers as quotes in your podcast, I would appreciate it if you would attribute them to me as a large language model trained by OpenAI.

There are a SURPRISING number of labels people use in rope, some of which have leaked over from other aspects of BDSM, and some of which are unique to rope bondage.

In this episode, fox and Mya explore - and sometimes disagree on! - what these can mean, sharing some of the different meanings that can be associated with these labels. This discussion provides a starting point for you to have with the people you do rope with about their labels, and is definitely NOT the definitive guide - we know communities, cultures, individuals all bring different perspectives, and we encourage you to talk to others about their labels, why they chose them (if they did!) and making sure you’re both using the label that suits them, and you understand what they mean by chasing it. It’s a helpful way to discover more about each other!

Also learn in the episode:

• 12+ labels that the podcast hosts can think of that people use in rope

• fox and Mya’s preferred labels

• Whether you can have more than one label

• A little bit of Thai from fox

• Some of the more controversial terms, and why that might be the case

• Caution around gender and stereotyping in labels

• Areas where labels might be lacking

• Benefits of labels - and the downsides

• Why humans like labels

• How might you choose one or more labels in rope, if you want to

• A question from Mya about the rope world and their relationship to labels

We fully expect (and encourage!) listeners to disagree with our definitions, so tell us in the comments:

**What label/s do you use in rope? What does it mean to you?**

Listen for breaking news! Rope Podcast organizing a rope photo contest!

fox and Mya don’t tie TKs, and rarely tie a box tie because of their risk profile - but they understand a lot of listeners do. So when they saw educator fuoco had put out a book about box ties, they were excited to get her perspective.

fuoco also shares more about her Zine ‘Cut the Leash’, the audience for that and the notion of kinky community - as well as their issue on ‘Witchiness and rope’. Might you be a contributor? Get in touch with fuoco on her website below.

In the meantime, listen to this engaging discussion to hear about:

• The origin of the fuoco’s new book, Put Me In A Box

• Pros and cons of box tie

• What she loves about box tie

• How she manages the risks of a box tie as a rope bottom

• Ways bottoms and tops can work together to adjust the box tie to different bodies

• The concepts of a sustainability and stability and optimising both

• What can rope bottoms do to have longevity in rope

• Switching up patterns to avoid cumulative nerve damage

• Optimising rope fun!

• And plenty more <3

fuoco began her rope journey as a bottom in Phoenix ten years ago and shortly thereafter moved to London, where much of her early rope learning happened. Upon moving back to the US, she began presenting at cons and intensives around the country sharing her love of rope. As an educator, she's decidedly non-dogmatic in her approach to teaching. Her classes aim to help bottoms to better understand their bodies in movement, and to offer riggers the knowledge to adapt their tying to the unique needs of their partners.

When she’s not doing rope, fuoco is a professional acrobat. Her dedicated study of the mechanics of the body make her especially interested in developing more comprehensive education for bottoms informed by these practices. She's also a leftist who believes that kink is inherently political. She strives to bring her politics, her values, and an accountability for those values into her teaching spaces.

fuoco began her rope journey as a bottom in Phoenix ten years ago and shortly thereafter moved to London, where much of her early rope learning happened. Upon moving back to the US, she began presenting at cons and intensives around the country sharing her love of rope. As an educator, she's decidedly non-dogmatic in her approach to teaching. Her classes aim to help bottoms to better understand their bodies in movement, and to offer riggers the knowledge to adapt their tying to the unique needs of their partners.

When she’s not doing rope, fuoco is a professional acrobat. Her dedicated study of the mechanics of the body make her especially interested in developing more comprehensive education for bottoms informed by these practices. She's also a leftist who believes that kink is inherently political. She strives to bring her politics, her values, and an accountability for those values into her teaching spaces.

Listen to this engaging discussion to hear about:

• How she discovered rope bondage

• Her early experiences in London and Berlin

• Her contributions to the growth of bottoming education

• How her circus arts do - and don’t - influence her rope

• How the understanding of what a ‘valuable’ bottoming educator is has changed

• The changes that have occurred for her in the kind of rope she enjoys

• Active bottoming and how some of the ideas don’t really speak to the lived experience of most bottoms - and why

• Challenges she personally has faced as part of the rope scene

• The journey of being an unpartnered rope bottoming educator

• What possible futures of rope bottoming could look like

• How bottoming and rigging education classes might work together more harmoniously

• And much more <3

In this episode fox shares some of his experience and knowledge around how rope tops and bottoms might optimize their physical strength for rope.

The podcast hosts remind you they’re not medical doctors or trainers and you should get some professional input before starting.

Aimed at novices (though those who are more experienced are welcome to listen and share their advice in the comments on Fetlife and Instagram) list now to hear them discuss these areas:

• The kinds of movement you might want to improve your strength on as a rigger

• Injuries in rope strength training might be able to prevent

• What are dead lifts, lateral raises, upward rows, and what muscles do they work?

• Where pain and discomfort figures in weight lifting

• Different types of physical strength that bottoms might need

• The possible cons of strength training for rope bondage

• How you might strengthen your back and your core

• Compound versus isolation movements

• Reps and sets and how best to use them

• Explanations of some technical terms like ‘progressive overload’ and ‘the staircase model’

‘Auntie’ Midori has a lot of scenes behind her (and in front of her!) and her depth of experience in play means she has huge resources to draw on for ideas.

Her interest in rope developed alongside her experience in other kinks, and in this episode, fox and Mya explore some of her more unusual ideas on ‘how to play’. This is a great episode to help enhance your scenes, beginner or advanced, whatever your level.

Listen to the discussion to hear about:

• Intent in rope bondage, what it means, and making sure both (all) parties’ intents match

• Food as a metaphor for scening

• Why she doesn’t start negotiations by discussing the type of tie she wants

• How intent can help you if you get stuck progressing your scene

• The need to be flexible even when you’ve planned our your intent in advance

• Rituals, what they are, from the simplest to the most complicated

• Her personal rope rituals

• Insights into her rope playlists

• How you can draw on mindfulness to create deeper, more intense rope scenes

• The kind of help she needs to get present to the right topping headspace

• ‘Antagonistic’ versus ‘collaborative’ rope, what it is and how it connects to intent

• How listeners can use the idea of verbs and nouns in their rope play

• Doing rope bondage with your ass!

• And so much more <3

Trailblazing educator, sexologist, artist, and irritant to banality, Midori founded Rope Dojo and ForteFemme: Women's Dominance Intensive. She penned the first English instruction book on Shibari, "Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage" in 2001, paving the way to the popularity of rope. Dan Savage calls her the "Super Nova of Kink," while others affectionately call her Auntie Midori for her cool, tell-it-like-it-is, funny, reality-based teaching. 

Midori is the Co-Director of Curriculum for Kink Informed Certification, part of Sexual Health Alliance, training therapists and helping professional to provide safe, compassionate, and inclusive service to their clients. She is the recipient of the 2022 Humanitarian Award from the American Association of Sex Educators Therapists & Counselors (AASECT) and 2022 Effing Foundation Grant, along with having honored with a Sainthood by the Sisters of Perpetual indulgence.

She is also the author of "Wild Side Sex," "Master Han's Daughter," and "Silk Threads.” 

Learn, laugh, and enjoy her special online classes, events, and art at  www.patreon.com/PlanetMidori (this is where she is working on her next shibari book through this site!)

Midori literally ‘wrote the book’ on rope bondage, with the first English instruction manual on Shibari: ‘Seductive Art of Japanese Rope Bondage’.

With her first hand perspectives on both American and Japanese rope culture, fox and Mya were able to discuss with her a depth of understanding of Japanese Rope culture that may be at odds with some of the myths out there.

Listen to the discussion to hear about:

• Midori’s slow burn entry into rope, and where she learned both the skills of making rope (3rd grade!) and tying (a lot later…)

• How not to be a culture vampire in Japanese rope bondage

• The sex ways of ordinary people and ensuring we don’t erase these

• The extent to which rope bondage is actually practised in Japan

• A new perspective on the Tengu tie

• The themes in her erotic short story in ‘Silk Threads’

• The connection - or not - between Japanese rope and Japanese rope martial arts

Trailblazing educator, sexologist, artist, and irritant to banality, Midori founded Rope Dojo and ForteFemme: Women's Dominance Intensive. She penned the first English instruction book on Shibari, "Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage" in 2001, paving the way to the popularity of rope. Dan Savage calls her the "Super Nova of Kink," while others affectionately call her Auntie Midori for her cool, tell-it-like-it-is, funny, reality-based teaching. 

Midori is the Co-Director of Curriculum for Kink Informed Certification, part of Sexual Health Alliance, training therapists and helping professional to provide safe, compassionate, and inclusive service to their clients. She is the recipient of the 2022 Humanitarian Award from the American Association of Sex Educators Therapists & Counselors (AASECT) and 2022 Effing Foundation Grant, along with having honored with a Sainthood by the Sisters of Perpetual indulgence.

She is also the author of "Wild Side Sex," "Master Han's Daughter," and "Silk Threads.” 

Learn, laugh, and enjoy her special online classes, events, and art at  www.patreon.com/PlanetMidori (this is where she is working on her next shibari book through this site!)