--- title: "Technical fundamentals (基本) and basic forms (型)" date: 2026-10-22 author: "Sr. Interior (流庵殿)" intro_image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0202en_sq.webp" fulltext_image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0202en_lg.webp" categories: - name: "Methodology" url: "https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en.md" tags: - name: "#MSAFE" url: "https://shibari-dojo.online/tags/msafe-en.md" - name: "Kihon (基本)" url: "https://shibari-dojo.online/tags/kihon-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_lg.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. The fundamentals (*kihon*, 基本) are the smallest units of knowledge. To illustrate this better, we can draw an analogy with language: the fundamentals are like the letters of the alphabet, which we will later use to build sentences and, with them, interesting stories. In the same way, as children we spend years practicing first letters and then grammar, until, with time and practice, we reach an advanced level of written expression. This approach involves **a slow, demanding initial learning curve**, but one that speeds up significantly as you progress. For a beginner in this style, studying it means understanding concepts, developing physical skills and doing inner work of self-analysis, self-knowledge and acceptance. You also have to learn to listen to the other person. ## Clarity and simplicity in the fundamentals The fundamentals are clear, concrete and simple concepts, such as how to handle the rope, body posture or time management. However, **precisely because they are so simple, they often clash with habits and quirks acquired over a lifetime**, which need to be worked on. ### A place to come back to The advantage of learning the technical fundamentals first is that you can always come back to them. If you feel lost, if you don’t know how to develop your technique or where your shibari is heading, going back to the fundamentals will give you clarity. That is why **in this style there are only the basics and their combinations**, which make it possible to create hundreds, even thousands, of different figures and forms. We combine them freely, according to personal taste, mood or the circumstances of the moment, so the results of applying the same technique rarely look alike. ### How much force? One of these fundamentals answers the most common question among beginners: how much force is needed. As a general rule, the minimum needed to achieve the desired effect as efficiently as possible. Every action should pursue a specific effect, with the least effort, the least force and the least rope. In a strike, force and movement go in the same direction, and the more force, the more effective it is. In a restraint they are usually perpendicular. That makes you decide how much force to apply, with what intensity, pressure, speed and direction, and lets you adapt on the fly. If you tie too hard or too fast, the person being tied gets startled and their mind becomes focused on anticipating the next move. If the person tying hesitates, moves slowly or leaves the rope slack, the other person will swing between boredom and distrust, and the ties will be unstable. Keeping a very tight tie on for a long time is neither viable nor safe. Tightening is just one resource: the intensity of the session does not depend on how tight the ropes are. What matters is not the amount, but knowing how to modulate it to adapt to the moment. Restraint techniques are designed to restrain, not to hurt. Poorly executed, they can cause injury, but that is not their purpose. If pain is part of your eroticism, there are other techniques and tools designed for that. ## Adaptation and progression Once students have absorbed these fundamentals—and not before—they can start combining them by studying basic forms, which allows greater adaptability to each person and situation. **In Sekibaku we work less on “figures” than on techniques, which makes it easier to adapt to each person at each moment.** Adaptation is fundamental: the person tying must adjust to the person being tied, taking into account their physical condition, emotional state, the moment and how the session unfolds. **The goal of erotic shibari is not to reach a predefined point, but to seek responses**. You have to read the moment and apply the right technique in each situation. **It is not about reproducing figures with rope, but about experiencing and exposing emotions, both for the person being tied and for the person tying.** **This is very important:** in **Sekibaku**, both the person tying and the person being tied take an active part and stand on the same plane of power. ### Basic forms The classes and exercises done while studying the basics always seem the same, but they are always different: they always bring something new. To make study easier, we have several *kata*, or forms, designed precisely for practicing the techniques, just as handwriting workbooks are designed for learning to write. These *kata* are the “sentences” we mentioned at the start: once we are fluent, we stop repeating them and start building our own stories. ## A gradual process At first, not every technique is studied, since that would be too much. **The process consists of first understanding, then executing correctly and, finally, applying creatively, to create something of your own and beautiful.** Beauty accompanies the process, but it is subordinate to people’s erotic experience. ## Custom Fields **Content Type — The formal and communicative nature of a piece of content, based on its documentary function.:** Article **Knowledge Type — The nature of knowledge according to its role within practice.:** Technique **Field of Study — The specific area of practice that the content focuses on.:** Principles **Corpus — A structured body of reference knowledge that underpins the content.:** Pedagogy **Criteria — A cross-cutting perspective that defines the emphasis or intent from which the content is approached.:** Learning **Summary — A brief synthesis of the content that presents its main topics, purpose, or most relevant aspects.:** Why we teach from the fundamentals and not from figures, how they are combined and what process students follow until they create their own shibari.