LEARN SHIBARI

Attending in person classes is crucial for growing in skill and confidence, as well as deepening your connection to rope.

I offer Japanese-influenced private tuition, classes, and workshops. Whether you’re just starting out, have a little know-how, or are already practising at an advanced stage, I’ll adapt my teachings to your experience.

Private tuition

With over 200 private Shibari classes taught tuition has formed the backbone of my practice. I deliver tailored, personal lessons in a purposeful and encouraging environment across varied skill levels.

Private classes will always provide insight into your practice, and there’ll never come a point where you’ll completely stop learning. Once you get started, your personal relationship with rope will be ever-evolving. 


My approach to teaching Shibari

My teaching method is inspired by my private and professional practice, where I explore Shibari with individuals of various sizes and physical capabilities. This offers me a space to reinvestigate the foundational elements of Shibari. Through this continuous practice, I’m able to promote a holistic understanding of structural intricacies across my lessons.

At the centre of my tuition is an emphasis on creating the right emotional headspace to play in. This is essential for a successful and enjoyable rope scene. To promote this, I focus my classes on developing tools that encourage heady emotional exchange. This involves breathing, quality of touch, movement efficiency, and rope handling among other things.

Private classes are typically three to four hours long and held at my studio in Limehouse. We’ll start with a period of observation to help me understand your rope handling, body management, and technical proficiency. I’ll teach you specific ties that will work best for you and your partner, and as well as guide you on how to create the right mood and headspace for you both to enjoy rope play.

  • Private classes are 3 Hours minimum and cost £200 and are hosted in my Studio in Limehouse. For International travel, or teaching in your home please email me at cnr@conoraphilia.com

HOW Long does it take to Learn Shibari ?

Private tuition will benefit you significantly at specific stages in your journey, particularly at the beginning of phases two, three, and four.It’s also important to keep on top of honing your rope skills for safety reasons. Shibari is an advanced practice and not something you want to get complacent with. 

  • Start with a group beginner class or a beginner private class to familiarise yourself with the very basics. Play with your partner for a month or two, and have fun exploring the fundamentals of restriction. It’s really useful to have a small piece of rope near your couch to practice with while taking it easy.

  • In this second phase, you’ll move on to learning about structured tying. Here, you’ll build a repertoire of harnesses you feel comfortable and confident tying. Once you’ve reached this point, take a private class to remedy any not-so-good habits you may have accidentally formed and continue to build up your confidence. 

    At this point, you’ll start to learn the fundamentals of body handling, create the right headspace, and understand what motivates you to do rope. 

    At this stage, more significant accidents and injuries may occur, so a private class is excellent for understanding the risks involved and, crucially, how to avoid them. The Gote, or TK, sits at the core of Shibari. However, it’s often the harness that causes most issues. Private tuition allows you to troubleshoot and adapt harnesses to your partner's specific physique and capabilities.

    Number of classes: One to two, with regular practice

Everyone learns at different speeds and will have other commitments to balance. For my students, I recommend the following learning progression as an outline. This can be used as a guide to inform your development and establish expectations, but I will happily work with you if you’d like something a little more bespoke.

I advise having one core rope partner for your journey. Having someone to grow alongside at each stage will help build confidence and expertise.

  • If you’re tying weekly, you’ll reach this next phase after about three to six months. You’ll start to feel comfortable with the core harness, and so you can begin exploring your first semi-suspensions.

    Attending an intermediate-level weekend intensive at this point will further inspire your practice. It’ll also help you understand what motivates professional riggers and what informs their style of tying. 

    This period can be intensely technical, and if all your focus is on knots and frictions, it can be easy to lose connection with your partner. A private class at this point can inspire you to play and be intentional with your rope. In these, I like to explore themes of submission, vulnerability, power play, eroticism, tenderness and objectification, suffering and somatic responses. If all your practice is purely technical, then Shibari becomes meaningless. Connection and intentionality are crucial at this point in your journey, and an absolute necessity for a fulfilling experience.

    Number of classes: Minimum two, a weekend intensive, and weekly practice

  • After six to twelve months, you’ll have taken four to eight private classes, a handful of topical evening classes, and at least one weekend intensive. You’ll be increasingly confident and creative in your approach to tying, understand your own style, and be ready to take on suspensions.

    To progress to full suspensions, you’ll need to be at a place where you can tie efficiently and confidently. This is another point where private tuition can help bolster your practice.

    Towards the end of this phase, you’ll notice that your muscle memory will be doing most of the work, especially as you become even more familiar with your partner, their anatomy, and their communication style. 

    If you want to take your tying further, now is the time to tie other people with diverse body types. This will allow you to understand harnesses on a more holistic level, and you’ll build out a more adaptable skill set. There’s a lot to learn from seeing how different bodies react to different ties, allowing you the space to think more critically about what you’re doing.

    Number of classes: Minimum two, 2-3 Weekend workshops with weekly practice