Kinkfest 2015

Once again, I braved the largest kink event in the UK to teach workshops.

Every year Kinkfest UK hosts a large educational conference and party over the course of a weekend, centred around all aspects of BDSM and fetish. It has a huge assortment of workshops, classes and discussion groups.

Unfortunately, this year I did not manage to “get my rigger on” at the peer rope. But I did have lots of fun teaching several groups of tremendously awesome people.

If you get the chance to attend in 2016, it is something I highly recommend and I will be back for a third year to run workshops on the art of flogging. It is held at the Xtasia club in Birmingham. If you read my blog and spot me there in 2016, come over and say “Hi!”.

They have expressed a wish to have some kind of flogging performance at the next one. About the best I could do would probably be to just get up and play, but we shall see how it goes and what they have in mind closer to the date.

A lot of photos were taken of me at the 2015 event by the official photographers. But many contain nudity and are images of me at play while attending the afterparty, so I will be restricting my blog to having only a few. The rest can be seen in my Fetlife gallery if you are curious.

If photography at an event is something that makes you nervous, Know that the event photographers always seek permission before taking photographs and they are incredibly discrete. Any face in an image that is not the centre of attention is burred completely out.

All these photos were taken at my Art of Flogging workshops. Enjoy.

Photos courtesy of Kinkfest UK.
Photography by Red Fox Photography & Shadowofchaos.
All images are copyright © KinkfestUK 2015.

Event review: Kinkfest UK 2014

Earlier this year, I was asked to take part and teach workshops at the UK’s largest and newest BDSM educational conference and event, Kinkfest UK. To say it was an honour to have been able to take part is an understatement and over the course of its 2 day debut, it quickly became my favorite event of 2014 and one of my favourite BDSM events of this past decade.

Concentrating more on the safety and knowledge aspects of BDSM during the day by hosting a large and very diverse assortment of workshops and classes, while during the evenings having a large environment to practice in and have fun with new-found skills, as well as having live performances of fire play and Japanese rope bondage, Kinkfest UK has it all. In fact, I think the only thing it lacked was a market.

Held in the same venue as they hold the Midland peer rope evenings at the Xtasia club in Birmingham, I ran several flogging workshops over the course of the event and I also managed to get in some very fun rope (photos below). They have expressed wishes to continue Kinkfest UK as a yearly event and I for one really hope they do. This event was simply awesome and given the chance, I would gleefully attend again.

The First flogging workshop on the 26th July:

My playtime while attending the peer rope workshop on the 26th July:

The last flogging workshop on the 27th July:

My rope model and workshop partner for the event: Jitsuka.
Photos courtesy of Kinkfest UK.
Photography by Red Fox Photography.
All images are copyright © KinkfestUK 2014.

Product review: UberKinky Wax Play Candle Pack

Wax play is incredibly fun as a stand-alone kink, it has its own unique mix of sensation and emotion, but it is also one of those forms of play which I have found works brilliantly as an addition to others.

I have found it a beautiful accompaniment to Shibari and Kinbaku (strategically placing candles in the rope which then paint the model with wax while in bondage can invoke some of the most visual of BDSM art as well as produce some of the most intense play scenarios). Even impact play after a little wax play, where you are literally flogging, caning or spanking the wax off the body makes for an incredibly different scenario and plethora of sensations.

When Uberkinky offered me a pack of their specially designed wax play candles to review, I greedily grabbed the pack and started to drool at the thought of where I could add them for best effect (both ‘scenario’ and ‘body cavity’).

One of the things I noticed more than anything else with the UberKinky Wax Play Candle Pack is the quality of the wax itself, they are paraffin based which means they have a tendency to melt a little quicker and feel a little waxier, but more importantly; they produce a wax that is completely devoid of the soot which tends to accumulate with normal candles when you invert them (which, while being a positive attribute for any play, in my opinion, makes them especially good for rope performance on stage where time and appearance are very important factors).

I have also noticed that there is very little in the way of wax evaporation. lots of drippage and body coverage while using only a fraction of the candle and the wax burns at a slightly lower temperature, meaning you can add a larger range of sensation without feeling as though you are about to unpleasantly burn off a layer of sensitive skin.

The only downside that I can think of is the fact that they are colour dipped instead of a solid colour. The center of the candle is a white wax that takes on the colour of the candles dipped shell as it melts, which, while adding colour to the dripping wax, means that the dripped wax on the body is not as vibrant a colour as the candle itself. It is only a small downside, but a downside nonetheless. I still think the positive value of these candles far outweigh that single noteworthy negative.

As an added bonus for people who are new to this form of play, Uberkinky has written up the Beginner’s Guide To Wax Play which gives tips on safety, aftercare, how to get started and much more. Worth a peek 😉

Performance: BOUND, London – 22/11/13 Additional Photos

Continued from Performance: BOUND, London – 22/11/13

More photography of our London BOUND shibari rope bondage performance:

Photos courtesy of Clover Photography.
Photography by Clover Brook.
Images are Copyright © 2013 kinkyclover.com

Artwork: Isobel Williams@BOUND, London – 22/11/13

One of the artists which I seem to be encountering more frequently these days (though usually not directly as I frequently fail to spot her, and when I do manage to, I loath to interrupt her because she is often putting brush or ink to paper) is Isobel Williams.

She has drawn Benjamin and I in the past at Dr Phil’s London shibari workshop and now it seems that we have mused for her once more with our performance at BOUND last weekend.

I am always honored when used as inspirational material for any artistry and I think Isobel did a wonderful job at capturing a moment within our performance.

You can see more of her work at http://boulevardisme.blogspot.co.uk/

I would highly recommend a peek.

Performance: BOUND, London – 22/11/13

One month after our last BOUND shibari performance in London at The Flying Dutchman, Benjamin and I were asked to step up on stage once more. This time to be the last show at the last BOUND of the year which would be broadcast in its entirety on Shibari TV.

A backwards prayer and a single leg suspension where my free leg is used to manipulate momentum and gravity to spin myself rather fast. Not an easy bout of rope to take (especially not for me).

But we managed it and a few photos were taken in the process.

All photography is raw and unedited.
Photos courtesy of Prohibit-As.
Photography by Prohibit-As.
Images are Copyright © 2013

Otonawa workshops with Peer Rope London

I have been incredibly busy this past month, but I finally have the time to sit down and write a few posts for my currently neglected blogs.

First up: A short post about the extended 4 day weekend of Otonawa workshops and Peer Rope London events that we had attended this past week while they are still fresh in my memory.

Mister Otonawa and his lovely wife Tsubasa are one of my favorite Kinbaku performance couples. They bring to the stage a mix of Kinbaku with stand-up comedy and sideshow theatrics. Their performances are incredibly unique and entertaining (Mister Otonawa is also the inventor of ‘Air Kinbaku’, rope without rope).

When Benjamin was asked to safety monitor the workshops and help anyone who may be having a little difficulty while taking the classes, I jumped at the chance to tag along and perhaps learn a few things in the process (I find it a little funny that Benjamin was so busy doing the monitoring over the 4 days that he did not get to tie me up at all).

One of the evenings was an open stage night and we were treated to a full performance by Mister Otonawa and Tsubasa. The word ‘Awesome’ comes to mind when I think back to that particular night.

Luckily, I had taken videos of all the lessons so that Benjamin and I can refer back to them when opportunities arise to practice. I personally sat in on one of the workshops, partnered up with a friend of mine, and I think we learned a lot.

I managed to break out my poi floggers and dragon tails during the evenings and moments between workshops (at one point having 6 people lined up in a row and bent over while I flogged up and down the line) and even encouraged Mister Otonawa and his wife to have a go.

I wish to send out a big thankyou to the organisers of the whole wonderful weekend (I am not sure if they are comfortable with names being mentioned, so I will simply say ‘organisers’ as they know who they are). We had a fantastic time.

It was a trip down Roper Lane that I will not soon forget.

Performance: BOUND, London – 11/10/13 Additional Photos

Continued from Performance: BOUND, London – 11/10/13

More photography of our London Bound shibari rope bondage performance:

Photos courtesy of Bee Bzzz.
Photography by Bee Bzzz.
Images are Copyright © 2013 Bee Bzz

Performance: BOUND, London – 11/10/13

It was late by the time we managed to attend BOUND shibari night, held at The Flying Dutchman in London. It was Benjamin‘s birthday and we had already spent a large portion of the evening with close friends and a restaurant meal.

Most of our time spent at BOUND tends to be watching the performances and socialising (a large majority of our friends attend this same event), but this evening was different (despite being Benjamin‘s birthday) and it was not until the performance before the last that Nina Russ approached Benjamin and said “Oh, by the way, we have booked you in as the last performance of the evening. Happy Birthday!”

Nerves ran high (which is probably why nothing was said until about an hour before we were due to perform) and we almost bottled out of doing it. But in the end we swallowed hard and went on stage; as you can see from the simply amazing photos.

We have both been buzzing from the experience all weekend, after all, this was our first Shibari/Kinbaku performance.

I am just glad he had such an awesome birthday.

These images were taken from two different photographers (details are under each collection of photos). I have been told more people were taking photos, but these are what we have received to date.

Photos courtesy of Amplified Pulse.
Photography by Rebecca Seal-Davis.
Images are Copyright © 2013 www.amplifiedpulse.com

Photos courtesy of Sex is not Art.
Photography by Manolo Remiddi.
Images are Copyright © 2013 www.sexisnotart.com

More photos can be seen: Here.

Dr Phil’s London Shibari Workshop

Benjamin and I have been on many Shibari and Kinbaku training courses over the past 9 months. We have had private tuition, attended workshops, demonstrations, performances and events or have even simply met and managed to discuss rope one-on-one with Riggers and Rope Models who have dedicated their lives to it and are simply amazing at what they do. Names like Bruce Esinem, Nina Russ, Gorgone, Kasami Ranki, Vinciens, Kirigami and Peter Slemrian to name but a few. However, I always seem to avoid going into depth about our experiences with them as it is often simply training or technical discussion; which can sometimes come across as tedious for those not interested in that particular subject or too much of a single type of study (Which is not always the best thing to fill up a blog as diverse as mine with; I prefer to mix in as many different aspects of my BDSM practices that I can).

I hope to change things and add a little more to my blog in the way of personal and lifestyle experiences. It has been suggested that I should write more; Ergo, I shall!

Dr Phil’s London Shibari Workshop:

Dr Phil is a French Rigger who has had a passion for bondage since the age of 24. Benjamin seemed eager to attend the rare opportunity of a rope workshop in London hosted by him at Chez Esinem, and we jumped at the chance when a couple of our friends announced that they would want to go along with us.

The class was quite small, consisting of only 5 Riggers and 4 Models (not including Dr Phil and his Model), so it allowed for discussion and getting to know people, which is always a bonus, and primarily concentrated on styles that we were already relatively familiar with (it is great when you understand the basics to begin with, it helps in noticing each Riggers individual and often subtle variations) but also included a little of the aesthetic and non suspension ties. The only harness that we remembered to take a photo of was a very pretty (non-suspension) version of Hojōjutsu.

The latticework between the shoulders makes a great ‘handle’ for controlling your play partner.

Also joining us at the workshop was well known artist and frequent addition to BOUND: Isobel Williams, Who sat on the sidelines during the ‘throwing of string’ and sketched, inked or painted away. You can see some of her rendition of the day on her blog at: http://boulevardisme.blogspot.co.uk

It turned out to be both a fun and informative day. One I would gladly repeat.