Foundation for Sex Positive Culture presents: Rope Intensive Weekend with Topologist
This Independence Day weekend the Center for Sex Positive Culture will be celebrating bondage as well as freedom, with a special series of intensive rope suspension courses by Topologist.
Suspension Transitions Intensive
Friday July 3rd, 11am-5pm; limited to 12 couples
This course will include some of the most advanced material in the Core Rope Curriculum. You will be guided through a series of suspension transition sequences designed to illustrate the techniques and principles needed to perform adaptable, spontaneous suspension scenes where the position and level of stress is varied fluidly in response to your bottom's reactions. Topics include:
- Pre-tying support lines with and without tension
- Handling multiple lines for height adjustment, position changes, and lowering to standing or the floor
- Multi-step exit strategies
- Avoiding a tangled mess
- Using leftover line to torture, adjust, or support
- Smoothly raising and lowering the chest
- Using quick releases for limb lowering
- Tying futomomos and hip harnesses in the air
- Maintaining modularity
- Achieving consistent initial positioning
- Maintaining height through transitions
- Working with limited clearance
- Bottom-powered and bottom-assisted transitions
- Entering extreme positions safely
- Lowering from inversion
- Rotating on the long axis
- Positioning and active bottoming for aesthetics
Prerequisites
This extremely advanced class is only suitable for tops and bottoms with substantial suspension experience; at least 1-2 years of regular practice. Students must come prepared able to tie multi-directional stable chest and hip harnesses and safely attach and secure support lines. No suspension harnesses will be taught in class.
Tops for this class should be able to rapidly and reliably tie:
- A chest harness suitable for face up, face down, and side suspension
- A chest harness suitable for upright and face down suspension
- A hip harness suitable for face up suspension, face down suspension, and single-point hip inversion
- A suspension-ready "futomomo" leg tie; preferably a one-rope variant
- Ankle cuffs suitable for inversion
Note that for safety reasons, the use of traditional Takate Kotes will not be allowed in this class. You must use a harness which puts the majority of the load on the chest.
In order to participate in all sequences, bottoms will need to be comfortable maintaining the following positions:
- Face up with chest and hip support
- Face down with chest, thigh, and ankle support
- Face down with chest, hip, and ankle support
- Side suspension with chest, hip, and ankle support
- Upright with chest, thigh, and ankle support
- Lotus with chest and ankle support
- Partial suspension from one-rope futomomo (~50% body weight)
- Single-point hip inversion
- Hip inversion from a column tie / minimal harness
- Double ankle inversion from column ties
It is fine to sit out some sequences/positions, but bottoms should have the level of experience with each position to either know what they need to make it sustainable for them, or know it is not something they should do.
Chest Loading Takate Kote Workshop
Friday July 3rd, 6pm-10pm; limited to 4 couples
This intimate, advanced-level workshop will give you the opportunity to work one-on-one with Topologist to refine your Chest Loading Takate Kote and gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental building blocks in the CTKv4. Through in-class suspension and experimentation, we'll explore:
- The relationship between tension, comfort, and structure
- Adapting the CTK to different bodies and situations
- Purpose-building partially chest-loading TKs
- Applying CTK techniques to Teppou, high-hands TKs, and other positions
Prerequisites
In order to get the most out of this class, it is strongly recommended that you already have a basic familiarity with the steps of tying a CTKv4; there is a video here which you can study ahead of time. You do not need to have already suspended in a CTK, but should have an active suspension practice. You also should have the skill and experience to rapidly tie a suspension-worthy 2-rope TK, even if you're wise enough to never suspend off one; this class is emphatically not for anyone brand new to the Takate Kote.
Suspension Fundamentals Intensive
Sunday July 5th, 11am-6pm; limited to 12 couples
This hands-on suspension intensive will train you in how to safely and comfortably suspend in a variety of fundamental positions. We will cover proper use of equipment, lift line handling, chest and hip harnesses, head and limb support, and how to enter 2-3 basic suspension positions (as time allows). We'll discuss the principles behind why certain ties work in some circumstances but not others, and perform exercises to help you better understand the basic physics and body mechanics of suspension.
Prerequisites
In order to attend this course, you should already possess a working knowledge of basic rope bondage, and have developed good rope handling skills; 6-12 months of regular practice tying on the ground is recommended before attempting to suspend. Additionally, you must be able to perform the following specific techniques quickly, neatly, and with good tension:
Required Reading
Before arriving for the course, you must thoroughly review the following safety articles:
We will discuss some of this material in class, but will not have an extended safety lecture, in order to maximize time for hands-on training.
Required Equipment
You may use any bondage-appropriate 6-8mm rope for these classes; all techniques to be taught will work with either natural or synthetic line. However, please NO BLACK ROPE as dark rope is very hard to visually check for correctness.
Rope used for support lines must have a breaking strength at least 5x (10x when doubled over) the model or rigger's weight, whichever is greater. This means almost all natural fibre rope is unsuitable, except perhaps 8mm hemp. The rope used for support lines does not need to be the same material or diameter as what you tie with on the body.
You will need:
- 6-8x 25-30' lines for tying on the body
- 3-4x 5-15' lines for finishing up ties
- 3x 30' strong support lines (4x for the Transitions class)
- 6-8x climbing-rated carabiners
- A ring or rigging plate (optional but recommended)
- A cloth blindfold, scarf, or other piece of fabric (for the Fundamentals class only)
If you are planning to purchase rope/equipment specifically for a class, contact Topologist for recommendations.
About the Instructor
Topologist is the founder of Crash Restraint, a free online instructional database of over 200 ties, and creator of the Core Rope Curriculum, a modern educational system for bondage built from the ground up for safety, diversity, and effectiveness. He has invented numerous new techniques, most famously the Somerville Bowline, which since its introduction in 2009 has become perhaps the most widely taught tie of non-Japanese origin. He is the facilitator of Rope Bite SF, and lives in the Mission District of San Francisco, where he teaches weekly classes.
In teaching rope, Topologist also draws upon his expertise as a photographer, engineer, climber, yogi, and aerialist; he encourages students to explore the mechanics, aesthetics, and experience of bondage from multiple angles, simultaneously developing muscle memory, intuition, and rational understanding. His classes are intensively hands-on while being structured to support multiple learning styles. Topologist's non-dogmatic approach to rope places risk awareness and adaptability at the center of the process, allowing challenging ties to be performed while honoring a bottom's limitations and avoiding unnecessary hazards.
This workshop is produced by the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture, producer of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival. Please go to TheFSPC.org for more information.
This event is sponsored by the Center for Sex Positive Culture.
Early-bird pricing is in effect until 11:59pm PDT May 31st. Regular advance pricing for each pair will be:
Suspension Transitions Intensive - $150 ($180 at the door)
Chest Loading Takate Kote - $120 ($150 at the door)
Suspension Fundamentals Intensive - $150 ($180 at the door)
Tickets are sold per pair. A pair is one top and one bottom. Classes will be structured with time for each pair to do everything once; you will not be able to switch in class.
