To be firmly confined in cage, ropes or chains actually has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the body in a way reminiscent of a return to the womb. It can also be very erotic.
Bondage is popular because of its great versatility and its capacity to be presented as creative art. Dominant players enjoy the sense of power this gives and submissives report a feeling of great freedom as soon as they give up all responsibility for themselves.
Some people enjoy tying each other up as objects of beauty. Other want to fight against their restraints and pit their wits against the Dominant who roped them. So we have many different styles such as decorative bondage or netsuke, named for the patterns on a turtle's shell and performed as intricate works of art, often by acclaimed practitioners like Midori, whose beautifully bound and framed subjects appear like jewels in a spiders' web.
Japanese bondage is often taught as a standardised, formal purposive method, to calm and immobilise males or to keep females in a state of arousal by applying pressure at certain points on the body.
Another form of bondage is the hog-tie, an immobilising convention favoured by the more threatening practitioners who also use such theatrical restraints as cages, handcuffs, chained leashes and padlocks. They may use dungeon furniture to restrain their play partners, such as stools and stocks or tie them to a bondage frame or a St Andrew's Cross.
The latter are surprisingly comfortable and feel safe and secure, promoting a sense of trust and security in the hands of a responsible Dominant. You can hardly fall flat on your face if you are carefully suspended with your weight evenly distributed to avoid stress on any particular point.
People also enclose each other in rubber and latex costumes, with harnesses, zips, masks and leather bags, or wrap each other up in cling-film.
But whatever form it takes, there are safety conventions. If you are wrapping someone in rubber or plastic film, care must be taken that they do not overheat or become dehydrated. Too long in such forms of bondage can also cause skin problems.
All forms of bondage can put pressure on nerves, joints and arteries, so a basic knowledge of anatomy is needed for safety and a way of releasing subjects quickly in case of pain, cramp or loss of colour or sensation. As a general rule, never put anyone into bondage so tight that it restricts circulation. Never leave a bound person unattended. Always agree on a safeword or a signal that means “I want out, now!” and honour it. Never restrict any part of the body for more than 30 minutes.
For this reason, most rope-masters carry a large pair of shears and lovers of chains and padlocks make sure they have easily turned keys to hand, or use snap locks which can quickly be undone.
