---
title: "Methodology"
description: "An analysis of the conceptual principles of shibari: which fundamentals guide each decision in practice and how to reason through technique beyond imitation"
image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/categoria/og-methodology.webp"
---

# Methodology

Learning shibari is not about imitating what someone else does, but about **understanding what you are doing**, why you are doing it and what happens when it is done differently.

 In this section we analyse the technical, conceptual and methodological principles that make it possible to **adapt technique to each person and each specific situation within a safe and responsible shibari practice**.


## Myths in shibari (5-5): origin and evolution

![Myths in shibari (5-5): origin and evolution](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0605en_sq.webp)

Is shibari really Japanese? Its origin undoubtedly places it in Japan, but today there are more practitioners, communities and schools outside the islands than inside them.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-06-05-en.md)

## Myths in shibari (4-5): the magic of rope

![Myths in shibari (4-5): the magic of rope](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0604en_sq.webp)

There are quite a few myths about rope in shibari.

 I have heard people say things like: for it to be shibari, the rope has to be of such-and-such a type, or of a particular length.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-06-04-en.md)

## Myths in shibari (3-5): pain and endurance

![Myths in shibari (3-5): pain and endurance](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0603en_sq.webp)

Shibari is **not** a torture technique, but **a management tool**. Used outside mutual consent, it becomes manipulation.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-06-03-en.md)

## Myths in shibari (2-5): the confusion of terms

![Myths in shibari (2-5): the confusion of terms](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0602en_sq.webp)

In the West, we face **Japanese terminology that has already been reinterpreted along the way** and that often reaches us distorted and secondhand.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-06-02-en.md)

## Myths in shibari (1-5): is shibari an art?

![Myths in shibari (1-5): is shibari an art?](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0601en_sq.webp)

**Shibari** is riddled with myths, that is, with mistaken ideas and falsehoods that, over time, come to be accepted without question.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-06-01-en.md)

## The cost of gray areas

![The cost of gray areas](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0505en_sq.webp)

Dismissing things quickly brings peace of mind; suspending judgment for a while produces knowledge.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-05-05-en.md)

## A shift in attention does have consequences

![A shift in attention does have consequences](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0504en_sq.webp)

There is an even deeper consequence: when the narrative changes, it is not only what we think we know about the past that changes; what we pay attention to changes too.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-05-04-en.md)

## From the individual to the community

![From the individual to the community](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0503en_sq.webp)

An individual category helps us interpret the world. A shared category also helps identify who belongs to the group and who doesn’t.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-05-03-en.md)

## How the brain builds categories

![How the brain builds categories](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0502en_sq.webp)

Communities don’t think; people do, and they all share the same cognitive system.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-05-02-en.md)

## When a rope becomes more than a rope

![When a rope becomes more than a rope](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0501en_sq.webp)

At what point does a depiction of a historical execution become an illustration of a contemporary erotic practice?


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-05-01-en.md)

## Akechi Ryu - Kanna lineage (神凪流)

![Akechi Ryu - Kanna lineage (神凪流)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0450en_sq.webp)

Created by **Nawashi Akechi Kanna (縄師明智神凪)**, the **Kanna Ryu** (神凪流) is a kinbaku style built around a very specific idea of transmission: technique can be taught, but understanding the rope, how one relates to it and the responsibility of passing it on are part of a broader learning process.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-50-en.md)

## Osada Ryu (長田流)

![Osada Ryu (長田流)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0440en_sq.webp)

Created by **Osada Eikichi** and currently led by **Osada Steve**, the **Osada Ryu** has official dojos in several countries and a particularly strong presence in the Americas, driven, among other factors, by the work of **Camelia Tsubaki** and her students in Argentina.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-40-en.md)

## Yukimura’s approach to shibari (雪村流)

![Yukimura’s approach to shibari (雪村流)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0430en_sq.webp)

The shibari style developed by **Yukimura Haruki (雪村春樹)** represents a particular way of understanding kinbaku in which rope stops being merely a tool of restraint and becomes **a vehicle for non-verbal dialogue**.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-30-en.md)

## Nawa Naka Kai (縄奈加会)

![Nawa Naka Kai (縄奈加会)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0421en_sq.webp)

If there is one name closely associated with *semenawa*, it is **Naka Akira**. Through his work and, especially, through training his students, he has played a decisive role in defining and spreading this way of understanding shibari.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-21-en.md)

## Semenawa (責め繩): what it is and what defines this style

![Semenawa (責め繩): what it is and what defines this style](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0420en_sq.webp)

*Semenawa* (責め繩) is one of the ways of understanding shibari that has gained the most presence in the West over recent decades.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-20-en.md)

## Yagami Ryu (鵺神流): how is this system of study structured?

![Yagami Ryu (鵺神流): how is this system of study structured?](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0410en_sq.webp)

The **Yagami Ryu** is a system for studying and practicing shibari developed by **Yagami Ren**.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-10-en.md)

## Ryu, style and school in shibari

![Ryu, style and school in shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0400en_sq.webp)

Telling apart the concepts of style, school and ryu can be confusing. In this article we offer a summary to serve as an introductory guide.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-04-00-en.md)

## Nawasuji (繩筋): management through the rope

![Nawasuji (繩筋): management through the rope](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0205en_sq.webp)

Unlike other shibari styles built around predefined figures or patterns, **Sekibaku** places **the practical usefulness of the rope within the erotic interaction** as its central technical criterion.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-02-05-en.md)

## Taijutsu (體術): body mechanics

![Taijutsu (體術): body mechanics](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0204en_sq.webp)

The study of the techniques that allow us to understand and use the body during shibari is the **second technical area of Sekibaku** and, without doubt, the most demanding for students.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-02-04-en.md)

## Kyosho-gaku – The education of desire

![Kyosho-gaku – The education of desire](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0203en_sq.webp)

The literal translation of *Kyosho-gaku* (急所學) is “the study of vital points”: a martial arts concept referring to areas of the body where it is advantageous to apply a particular technique in combat.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-02-03-en.md)

## Technical fundamentals (基本) and basic forms (型)

![Technical fundamentals (基本) and basic forms (型)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0202en_sq.webp)

In our dojo we don’t rely on canonical “figures” to teach shibari; instead we start from the technical fundamentals and their combined application to create a personal, unique and unrepeatable shibari.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-02-02-en.md)

## Sekibaku (責縛) — Characteristics of the style

![Sekibaku (責縛) — Characteristics of the style](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0201en_sq.webp)

**Sekibaku** is the shibari style created by **Yagami Ren** and developed independently at **Shibari Dojo**.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-02-01-en.md)

## Shibari: art or technique?

![Shibari: art or technique?](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0106en_sq.webp)

A clay bowl, made by a craftsman in his workshop, is bought at the market for a few euros and used at home to eat soup.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-01-06-en.md)

## Is suspension practice safe?

![Is suspension practice safe?](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0105en_sq.webp)

**Short, honest answer: no.**

 Suspension in shibari carries inherent risks. The body is subjected to intense, unusual forces and loads while the ropes take part in managing that body. The combination involves risks of injury and accident.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-01-05-en.md)

## Can you talk through rope? Effective communication in shibari

![Can you talk through rope? Effective communication in shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0104en_sq.webp)

References to “communication” in shibari are generally full of vagueness, fantasies, inaccuracies or even nonsense. Fallacies such as “another level of communication,” “talking with or through the ropes” or “non-verbal communication” are nothing more than masks for avoiding reality.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-01-04-en.md)

## How physical condition affects shibari practice

![How physical condition affects shibari practice](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0103en_sq.webp)

The short answer is that it is not a requirement, but there are nuances worth knowing: what role posture, mobility and biomechanics really play in practice, and how they relate to the erotic experience.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-01-03-en.md)

## How to practice shibari with discernment

![How to practice shibari with discernment](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0102en_sq.webp)

Repeating a technical application over and over without understanding it neither brings new knowledge nor lets us move forward. In this article we offer guidelines for efficient, fruitful practice.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-01-02-en.md)

## How to learn shibari

![How to learn shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0101en_sq.webp)

Shibari is a technique and, as such, anyone can learn it by putting in time and effort.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en/mtd-01-01-en.md)