Kinbaku and Shibari: Private tuition with Esinem and Nina Russ – 14/10/12

From the 12th October -14th October, Benjamin and I spent the weekend in London under the tuition of the Shibari and Kinbaku professionals : Esinem and Nina Russ.

Rope play has always been an interest of mine (unfortunately, having claws can make it difficult to master effectively; ergo, I have never done advanced courses), but when Benjamin was introduced to images and movies of it, he fell in love with the artform and expressed a huge desire to learn it. I, in turn, have nurtured this desire (as well as offering to be his practice model) and after several months of play, practice and research, higher learning for him was inevitably required.

When it comes to any form of bondage, especially rope bondage, safety and knowledge is paramount. I highly recommend that it is not attempted without at least being taught the basics, either by research using the internet or books, or by attaining the services of an experienced teacher. There are many aspects to take note of during this kind of play; including asphyxiation and nerve damage. Do not be an idiot; Play safely.

To this end we contacted Esinem for his offer on residential private tuition and made plans to visit him at his home and studio in London for an intensive training course to further our learning.

After copious hours of practice and training with both Esinem and Nina Russ (living and breathing rope bondage for three days), I personally have developed a great respect for the rope bondage models that you see in all the images across the internet. I make it a personal rule to experience anything that I intend to put anyone else through (this is true for all forms of BDSM play that I practice). This kind of bondage can be incredibly painful (especially rope suspension). For me, the weekend was a significant learning experience which tested my endurance and stamina to great lengths. For Benjamin; well, let us just say he has returned from the experience with a slightly frazzled brain from taking in so much information, sore fingers from extensive use of the rope and a significantly vaster knowledge of the artform (as well as his own set of Asanawa Tossa Lite 6mm Jute ropes, a birthday present from me and my partner).

We do plan on having further private tuition with Esinem and Nina in the near future, but we must first put what we have learned over this last weekend into frequent practice. This kind of skill takes a great amount of time and dedication.

Thanks to the wonderful Nina Russ, I also experienced full rope suspension. Another thing which I do not recommend unless in the hands of an experienced and well practiced individual. To quote Esinem’s website:

“As safety is a prime concern, please be aware that, like so many good things in life, there is always possibility of accidental injury. Rope suspension is undoubtedly edge play and should only be undertaken by those who are physically and mentally up to the challenge. Suspension is safe but not without risk, regardless of proficiency or experience, so is definitely RACK (Risk Aware Consensual Kink) rather than entirely SSC (Safe Sane and Consensual). The more extreme suspensions require a high degree of fitness and often a reasonable pain threshold, so don’t imagine everyone can do what professional models make look easy!”

Luckily, I was physically and mentally adequate, however, as I mentioned earlier in this blog post, the whole weekend experience (full suspension, partial suspension and constant floor practice) has given me a profound respect for rope bondage models. It is definitely not easy.

Despite the aches and pains that I was suffering by the end of the weekend and despite the fact that I am not naturally submissive, I could not resist the chance to be tied up and partially suspended by the man himself.

Enjoy the photos.

 

All photography is unedited.

Photos courtesy of Esinem and Nina Russ.
Photography by Nina Russ.
All images are Copyright © 2012 AemiliaHawk. All Rights Reserved.

DV8 Fetish Festival 2012: Overview

As expected, the festival was exceedingly fun.
The first evening, the DV8 club XS party, consisted of greeting old friends, saying hellos and letting my submissive (Benjamin) find his feet. This was his first time seeing public play, so I decided it would be best to make few demands, let him watch the activities of others and to let him decide on his own when he would be ready to play with an audience.
I was in no rush and was planning on a relaxing weekend.
I did get up on the main floor to play with Tempest for a while, but aside from that, my entertainment mainly consisted of friends, conversation and watching my wide-eyed menial take in the atmosphere.

The day of the festival, however, was far more active.

For the majority of the morning and afternoon, I played host at the Kabunza Craftwerks market stand. For our first ever official event I think we did exceptionally well. Lots of business cards were passed around, we received lots of interest and collars, necklaces, bracelets and cuffs were made to measure on the spot for a good number of people.

Shopping at the market was expected, though I did not expect to spend so much or have so much spent on me. I was having an incredible amount of fun testing out the weight and flow of the floggers for sale.

With the approach of the evening: A dip in the pool (Nudity mandatory), lots of conversation and the meeting of more kinksters. But the highlight of the night started with some violet wand play. A friend of mine had brought along his violet wand and graciously allowed me the use of it. It was at this point my menial play partner lost his “finding his feet” immunity and spent the following hour or so being flogged with an electrified mini flogger, having his nipples toasted and generally being zapped for my amusement.

Eventually, my attentions turned towards the electrical arc of the wand. The electrical arc was a lot larger compared to what I had seen in the past. It beckoned attention. Asking my friend to turn it up to full power, I spent half an hour or so attracting a crowd by playing with the currents and lightning. I had an incredible amount of fun with this and it is my hope to visit the home of my friend in the near future in an effort to make a video or two for show on this blog. There was one comment that I overheard about my play that I found most amusing and will never forget: “It looks like the hand of god.”

My proudest moment was when my menial requested to be flogged. It seemed the nudged play with electricity had culled all his butterflies. Using my new dual floggers (freshly purchased from the festival market) I was still eager to play and many people gave compliment to both my technique and my menials stamina. He did very well for his first public play.

I had one request from a random watcher in the crowds. A canning. Which, due to the lack of decent arm room, could only be relatively light. But he seemed to enjoy it immensely.

The festival eventually came to an end with the closing of the DV8 venue at 3:00am on the Sunday morning. It had been a wonderful weekend, it was over far too soon and I find myself already in anticipation for next years event.

Final analysis: Excellent. A much needed and very fun break.

All images are Copyright © 2012 AemiliaHawk. All Rights Reserved.