--- title: "Kyosho-gaku – The education of desire" date: 2026-10-22 author: "Sr. Interior (流庵殿)" intro_image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0203en_sq.webp" fulltext_image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0203en_lg.webp" categories: - name: "Methodology" url: "https://shibari-dojo.online/mtd-en.md" tags: - name: "Sekibaku (責縛)" url: "https://shibari-dojo.online/tags/sekibaku-en.md" - name: "Kyosho-gaku (急所學)" url: "https://shibari-dojo.online/tags/kyosho-gaku-en.md" --- # Kyosho-gaku – The education of desire ![Kyosho-gaku – The education of desire](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/metodo/mtd0203en_lg.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. Obviously, **this interpretation does not apply to the erotic context**. We are not in a fight and, if we want these interactions to be healthy, they should not involve strategies of the “gaining the upper hand over the other party” kind. Quite the opposite: **we must go in the same direction, each on our own path, but together**. A simplistic reading of the literal translation might suggest that this is an area of study devoted to revealing to the timid student magic pleasure points hidden in the erogenous zones that will take their shibari partner to heights of pleasure never seen before. That interpretation has no basis. **The scientific fact is that, although touch—in its various degrees—on certain areas of the body influences erotic sensations, there is no direct link between the two that would establish a cause-and-effect relationship, let alone a method that is infallible or even effective in a significant number of people.** Other factors, such as social context, previous experiences, mood at the time of the interaction or the **ability to eroticize the situation**, are far more decisive. Nor, of course, is there a region of the brain devoted exclusively to handling these sensations: they respond to more complex neural maps—*schemas*—that are only just beginning to be studied and understood. That is why at **Shibari Dojo** we take this term as a metaphor and give it the more abstract sense of “educating oneself from what we perceive in another person.” Poetic license, they call it. Under that umbrella we include the teaching of **concepts, processes and techniques** from various disciplines that **allow us to improve communication and management during the shibari session**: knowledge and skills that help us better understand what is happening in the other person and in ourselves within the context of an erotic interaction. ## The pillars of Kyosho-gaku ### Posture: shisei (姿勢) An erotic interaction is inconceivable without putting the body first: it is our connection with the outside world, with the context and, above all, with the other person. The way we position ourselves, present our body and observe the other’s is one of the “key points” to understand. We start from two principles: - “The body doesn’t lie.” - “We only have one body for our whole life.” It may seem obvious, but a lifetime of using the body leads us to silence it—and even ignore it—in fundamental respects, especially everyday ones. When we say that “knowing yourself” is a requirement for satisfying your own erotic desire, we are not referring only to psychological or emotional aspects: we are talking, first of all, about knowing your own body and knowing how to work with it toward richer, more conscious erotic interactions. ### The desire circuit: yokkyo kairo (欲求回路) Erotic desire is an emotion we can manage, handle and shape, and shibari is an effective tool for doing so. It is not a magic solution for producing orgasms and moans: it lets us explore and enrich our emotional repertoire and build a whole series of experiences out of shared moments. We approach desire from neuroscience, psychology and sexology, always working on scientific foundations. ### Intention and direction: shiko (志向) Before interacting, you need to know where that interaction is heading: clarifying the object of your own desire—and being genuinely willing to learn about the other person’s—is the starting point of any conscious erotic interaction. *Shiko* refers precisely to that: the intentionality, intensity and consistency with which **both participants engage actively and steadily in the interaction**. And it offers a system and method for orienting ourselves and better understanding what each participant is experiencing at each moment of the session. It is not a state you reach once and that then maintains itself; **it requires continuous attention, presence and direction**. It is like the children’s telephone made of two cups joined by a string: for it to work, the string has to be taut, and it only works in one direction—when one person speaks, the other listens in silence. In the study of erotic shibari there is no room for mysticism, myths or fuzzy concepts. They are not only a scam: they carry real risks, both for the body and for the desire of those taking part. At Shibari Dojo, we work with **operational definitions**, continually updating our knowledge, with **certified instructors with professional experience** in their respective areas of teaching. ## 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.:** Knowledge **Field of Study — The specific area of practice that the content focuses on.:** Mind **Corpus — A structured body of reference knowledge that underpins the content.:** Sexology **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.:** What Kyosho-gaku studies, how it is applied in the erotic session and why it dismantles the myths about pleasure in shibari.