Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 1 introduction.July 4 2005
 Have you ever seen asian bondage pictures? Since you are here, you probably have :-) But there is so much more to it than just pretty korean and other asian girls being tied up with ropes all over their tight bodies.
In fact the art of Nawa Shibari is almost an entire science. In the next few days, I´m going to lay out a series of 5-7 articles about Shibari and I promise you that it will be well worth the time you will spend reading them. So now, is the time to bookmark Bondage sex and celebrity news.Let me say right of the bat, that the inspiration for this series of articles came from Shibari Do - Japenese Bondage Lifestyle and this Asian Bondage site, but enough about that now.
Full list of articles about nawa shibari japenese rope bondage:
- Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 1 introduction.
- Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 2 Excersises.
- Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 3 Chakras.
- Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 4 Erogenous zones
- Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 5 Shinju and Sakuranbo
- Nawa Shibari - The art of japanese rope bondage - Part 6 The first bondage layer Karada (The Body)
Let us begin (or should I say: Hajime, which is japanese for the same). Yes, let us begin. You have just entered a different world. Different in mindset, different in terms of norms and values. Different in cultural aspects and background. And different in approach.
The world you are about to enter may not be what you expected it to be. And even more imporantly, it will probably be very different from what you may have experienced so far. That is not a problem, it is a challenge. That is why you came here in the frist place, isn't it?
Yes, you have entered the world of martial arts. Shibari, more commonly known as Japanese rope bondage, in a way is a martial art and let's start with taking away a few other misconceptions, the most important one being that it is not solely Japanese. There are many forms of martial and spritiual use of rope, either Hindu and dating back to at least 500 BC, Celtic or Indonesian of Fillipine, to only name a few. Secondly, it can be - but it does not have to be and usually is not, romantic beautiful, etceterea. Occasionally it can also be tough with elements of violence. Finally, it is not BDSM (but it incorporates elements you will also find in BDSM).
 Still, it is exciting, there is a lot to learn and explore. Please come with an open mind. We are more than pleased and honored to be given the opportunity to introduce you to the art. Thank you for taking an interest in this new world.
About Shibari Fumo Ryu
Shibari is a very ancient, sometimes complex art and lifestyle. Nobody really knows when it started. It is assumed that the art originates from other arts, Kinbaku (pre-medieval and medieval Japanese torture techniques) and Hojo Jitsu (the art of arresting and transporting prisoners of war). However, Japan is far from the only oriental country that developed forms of rope worship, martial arts based on rope or even rope gods and rope spirituality. India, 500 BC, for example, had its rope god Varuna. So it is equally likely Shibari evolved as its spitiruality and religion evolved. Much that is considered Japanese these days originates from other areas. Shinto, the Japanese religion, is a form of Buhddism. The kanji (characters), hence the language, orginate from China. So does much of its traditional medicine. So it might be Shibari too started somewhere else. We simply do not really know.
Modern day Hojo Jitsu
 Most of the knowledge of and about Shibari was lost during the 17th and 18th century, when more western forms of sexuality were fashionable in Japan and its own culture faded into the background. Since the art itself was largely taught verbally. nearly everything was lost until, in the late 1960s and early 1970s some people set out on a quest to try and recover the art and the knowledge. Shibari Fumo Ryu is a result of that. The result of close to thirty years of research and the only now more or less fully documented Shibari style. Shibari Fumo is one of various Shibari styles or schools (Ryu). The Fumo style is characterized by spirituality and eroticism. For practical reasons the Fumo style has been adapted to a western audience, without interfering with the Shibari tradition. Complex bondages and rope tieing techniques have been simplified. A five level system has been developed to allow for easy learning and incorporation within your own love life.
From martial art to love art
It may seem strange that a martial art evolves into an art of love, bonding, passion and sexuality. Actually that is not so strange at all. For example, many modern western sexual and erotic norms and values originate from courtley love, a system of sexual norms, values , ideas, eroticism and romantic/erotic poetry and art designed by the European knights at the times of the early medieval crusades. Celts used sexual magic as part of its Druidism to cast spells in times of war (and peace).
Erotic and sexual norms and values, as well as techniques and ideas, often originate from the ruling class in any society and at many times in many countries warriors (knights, samurai or other) simply were the leading class and they brought their warrior mentality, warrior norms, warrior brutality and warrior force to the bedroom as well.
Do not underestimate the martial power and technique, still very present in Shibari. Whatever its actual origin, many of the techniques used in Shibari can also be used to restrain, disable and potentially kill an opponent, when used as a weapon. Its martial roots are still very visible.
How to use this information
 >>> Chinese police using Hojo Jitsu while making an arrest.
"Martial art" by most people these days is associated with forms of sports: judo, karate, aikido, jiu jitsu or other, hence associated with schools and some sort of belt system. Shibari does not have a "sports version" (although Hojo Jitsu is still being taught, most importantly in China, where the technique is used by the police) and it does not have a belt system or exams and graduations.
Some of the people who study and try to recover and document the art are trying to develop such a teaching system, but first of all there aren't many teachers (the most optimistic estimation is that there are only fifty Nawashi - accomplished Shibari masters/teachers - in the world, over half of them in Japan). The other problem is that no style is fully documented yet and as long as the documentation is incomplete, it is impossible to develop an organized teaching system that would allow for such things as a belt system or other format of standardized graduation.
So, at least for now it will come down to self study and self discovery. That is what this information is for. It will help you, explain and serve as a tour guide during your own quest. There is no need to be a purist. It helps to master the techniques and other aspects of Shibari, but it is probably also a good idea to improve, explore and fuse Shibari techniques with your own forms of lovemaking, since that is what tthe art is for.
The Gakùnen (levels) actually deal with bondage and complementary techniques. Other parts deal with related information, techniques to prepare yourself, excersizes, etcetera. You can use them as you see fit, more like an encyclopedia than an actual course that starts with lesson 1, although that too, is an option if that is what you prefer. We have chosen a pratical path that allows you to experiment and have fun, learn and deepen your knowledge and understanding as you go along.
Enjoy the ride, more is coming tomorrow so be patient and remember to return, the good stuff is just about to get started.
If you just can´t wait for more, please visit Shibari Do - Japenese Bondage Lifestyle where you can get more info about the Shibari lifestyle.
Also, if you want to look at Asian and Korean Girls tied up, you should take a look at this Asian Bondage site, it´s called Tied Asian and have daily updates with new asian girl tied with ropes every day, there´s you will be able see what we are writting about.
More tomorrow, see you then.....
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