Got Rope? - Day 1

With the nervous anticipation of class killing me I got to the Center a little too early; pulling up I saw I wasn't the only one. 3 couples were huddled in their cars avoiding the chilly Seattle morning, my energy didn't afford me that luxury so off walking I went.

Heading through the entrance 10 minutes later, I noticed that not much had changed since I was there in October, a large open space with chairs facing one corner around a ring attached to a 'biner hung from hemp attached to another 'biner secured to a hard point in the ceiling. After registering and purchasing my 'biner kit I found a seat at the end of the 2nd row. As the 20 of us settled in, we made introductions; including me there were 4 singles and we were encouraged to take notice of each other to find a partner for the workshop. Front row there was a cute, curly haired girl (the only female single) who I made eye contact with giving her a little nod signaling she was going to be my partner, which was good because not 5 minutes later one of the other singles was politely declined when asking her to partner up.

Eventually we split up to practice the Karada body harness, with what was supposed to be a pre-knotted 30-ft piece of rope, but of course in trying to be smart, I spent part of the morning lecture undoing the knots in my 30-ft piece of rope....and then had to put them back in time for practice. After splitting up I think the first question my practice partner asked me was: Clothes on or off? Me being out of the rope game for a while figured that clothes should stay on at least until we developed a little comfort level.....the clothes didn't last long though......I found out my partner's name was A and we both identified as switchy, me with a tendency to top and her with a tendency to bottom; a great team. After another lecture we practiced the boola boola, taut line hitch, square knot...all building blocks needed for partial and full suspension. We had a little time to kill so I looked around and decided I'd tie her to a chair using the boola boola.
Me: Go sit in that chair.
A: No, please?
Me: Nope
A: Interesting. You can tell a lot by a person by the way they ask you to do something
I'd never thought of it like that but I guess you can; so my tendencies for instructions were purposefully dominant.

Then came lunch. A and I had a chance to chat and get to know one another, she said she was staying with a partner in town, as she was also from out of town and I talked about being poly and my interest and experience in rope. I also found out that she was being trained privately by Max on occasion and only began learning about top recently. Around this time Monk came back and dropped off his rope kit for me to use, which pleased both A and I, because we are both very familiar with Monk and his rope....amazingly A even bought, treated and dyed her own raw hemp that she was using, which I must admit was very impressive.

After lunch, everyone got naked, or nearly naked; everyone at least kept their underwear on, but pants, socks, shirts, and bras were discarded pretty much for the rest of the class. It's strange how non-sexual nudity becomes when you're focusing on tying someone up; no one's leering it's all about the process of rope.....amazing atmosphere. Parallel lashing and chest harness in prep for the hog-tie were up next.

I hog-tied A first. Chest harness with arms pinned behind her back....ankles bound via parallel lashing....finished with a taut line hitch to make the back arch until her gasp and restricted mobility made me tie it off.....I still only met her half a day ago and didn't want to be that mean.....yet. When she finished binding me, she didn't quite have the strength to get me into a great arch.....I'm 6'4"/215 and she's 5'5"/110 so it's understandable.....luckily for her (and unluckily for me) one Max's helpers, Griffin, was nearby to put his boot on my ass and give a yank and yes that provided quite the arch.....although I think I had a little bit more to go. By this point I had an audience, I guess we were one of the last group's to finish so Griffin was showing a couple of different ways how a smaller person could handle a bigger one in this position. During the exhibition, I felt a hand on my thigh and even though I wasn't entirely uncomfortable in the position it was unbelievably comforting. I knew it was A's making sure I knew she was present and checking in; it's amazing the kind of connection that can be developed over the course of 6 hours when you're tying someone up.

Near the end of the first day, Lorelei (Max's other assistant and one of his girl's) did an amazing head bondage scene with one of students.....all I can say is WOW. It was one of the most intense things I've ever experienced.....the whole room was hushed and it felt like a weight had fallen over us all. At one point someone came in the back door and left immediately (A later point out that the individual felt the energy and left because she wasn't a part of it). The whole scene only lasted 5-10 mins but to me it felt like it went on for 20-30 minutes. By the time it was over I was breathless; probably one of the most amazing feelings I've ever had....the power of it left me speechless, words cannot describe it.

As the first day came to an end and I was helping with some clean-up, A and I were talking and she asked to sit with me the next day to make sure that we could continue our connection; definitely a good idea as we were moving on to partial and full suspension. As I was one of the last to leave, Griffin came to me and asked if I'd be willing to volunteer, I accepted immediately; which impressed him because he hadn't told me what yet. Didn't really matter to me, I'm there to learn right.....he told me to show up earlier so they could get me put into a sleep sack.....luckily at the time I had no idea what that was.....I did on Day 2.....