Finishing the Munenawa: The Wrist Lock

When you have tied the munenawa and have excess rope that you aren't sure what to do with there are plenty of options. If you want to keep your bottom's hands under control this is a great way to accomplish that and use up that rope. 

A few things to note before starting: this is not a super secure tie. An eel will wriggle out of this fairly easily or if you have someone that likes to be more secure then you will need to add additional wraps or rope into the mix to make it more secure. You might also find that some bottoms (particularly muscular people with a lot of upper body strength) may have a tough time maintaining this position. Just something to watch out for. 

Start with a lock knot. after completing the munenawa pull a bight behind the two shoulder ropes.

Pull the working end of your rope through the bight. 

Pull down with the working end of the rope to secure the knot and then dress it.

Have your bottom place their hands behind their back. Bring the rope behind their arms and then out toward yourself.
Please note: The bottom was able to hold one arm above the other reasonably far up the back. For some people this can be very uncomfortable and it is perfectly acceptable for someone to have their arms crossed further down their back as long as you have sufficient rope to complete the tie. 

Bring the rope back up toward the munenawa. Often you can lift the arms some doing this
but again do so with caution. Some people can't hold that position long or it could cause discomfort. 

Pull the rope behind the line coming down from the munenawa. 

Redirect the rope back toward you. 

Bring the rope back up behind the wrists.

Split the two halves of the rope on either side of the stem coming down. 

Finish with a square knot. Right over left then left over right. 

This is how it should look when completed.

Finishing the Munenawa: The Breast Cinch

A different way to finalize the munenawa is the breast cinch. This finish is fantastic because it really accentuates the breasts very nicely and if done tightly it can definitely increase sensitivity. And, hey, it looks pretty darned nice too!

Finish the munenawa with a lock knot: first pull a bight of rope behind the two shoulder ropes.

Pull the working end of the rope through that bight.

Pull the rope tight and dress the knot. 

Split the tails of the rope and bring them up over each shoulder. 

Bring the ropes down on the outside of the breasts.

Choose a side and then pull a bight underneath the upper breast wrap.

Continue pulling the bight down underneath the second breast wrap and pull the rope through.

Redirect the rope back 180 degrees on itself.

Pull the two breast wraps together with the single line you ran underneath them.
NOTE: if you pull very quickly it can cause a rope burn very easily even with natural
fiber rope. This is a very sensitive part of the body so use caution.

Then run the line underneath the single line and the shoulder ropes. 

Wrap the single line around the three strands that you just pulled it under. 

Continue wrapping the line until you have just enough left to pull a piece through the  middle of
doubled line from the shoulder rope. 

Repeat those steps on the other side. When completed it will look like this from the top.

The completed breast cinch from the side. It can definitely be made tighter than this but please
be careful and pay attention to the note of caution earlier. 

Finishing the Munenawa: The Herringbone

If you completed the munenawa in the last post and had extra rope and weren't sure what to do with it here is one option that is quite decorative. It is a simple herringbone pattern that is used to "chew up" that extra rope. 

Please note that when you do this herringbone pattern too tightly it will pull the two shoulder ropes together. If you have tied the munenawa tightly this could become uncomfortable for your bottom. That might be what you are going for but it is something to take into consideration. If you are trying to make sure it doesn't get too tight then don't allow the herringbone to pull the two shoulder ropes together. 

When finishing off the munenawa don't do the lock knot as shown in the original post. Instead
Pull the rope through the bight as shown. 

Redirect the rope back up between the shoulder ropes. 

Split the rope and pull each side underneath the shoulder ropes. 

Pull each side completely through. 

Take one side and bring it back over the shoulder rope and then underneath the shoulder rope on the
opposite side. It doesn't matter which side you start on. 

Take the original rope from the opposite side and bring it over the rope it started on then under the rope
on the opposite shoulder. 

When the first set is done it should look like this.

You will continue weaving the individual ropes back and forth in the same pattern.
Remember which side you started on and make sure that is how you continue weaving it. 

Keep going until you have about 10 inches  or so of rope left on each side. 

At this point you take one of the ropes and vine (wrap) it over the shoulder rope.

When there is only a little bit of rope left then open the pair of ropes that go over the
shoulder and put the single strand through. If it is natural fiber rope there should be enough
friction to hold it in place. 

Repeat the process on the other side. When completed the herringbone pattern should look like this. 

The Basic Munenawa

The munenawa is a very basic chest harness that is very quick to learn and has a lot of different uses. It can be a simple way to accent the breasts or it can be used as the basis for a suspension (by adding a second wrap of rope above and below the breasts). This form is so very useful that we thought it would be great to have here on the blog for folks to see how it is tied and so that we can use it for a reference in future posts. Don't be surprised to see a link back to this page in a post down the road!

This post is just how to do the basic harness. The rope used for this was a 25 foot piece of 6mm hemp. There was a fair amount of rope left over with when completing this form so there are three options provided in succeeding posts to help you use up the excess rope. Of course your mileage may vary; you may find that a longer or shorter rope will do the trick for you and your partner. If you need to add rope at any point it is pretty easy to do and please refer to this post Joining Rope Lux-uriously if you need help with that. 

Start with the mid point of the rope (the bight)  in the middle of the back

Bring the rope around the front of your partner under the breasts. This tie does work well for
male bodied persons as well.

Pull the working end of the rope through the bight all the way. 

Once the rope is fully through the bight then reverse the direction of the rope.

Bring the rope to the front of your partner going over the breasts. 

Return the rope to the back and pull it through the bight formed when the rope reversed direction.

Pull the rope up toward the shoulder. It does not matter which side to bring it over. 

Bring the rope down in between the breasts going over the upper and lower ropes. 

Reverse the rope and go underneath the lower breast rope. Pull all the rope through. 

Cross the rope over itself and direct it toward the shoulder opposite of where the rope came from the back. 

Pull the rope underneath the upper rope and continue the rope over the shoulder.

Pull a bight down through the first reversal bight.

Form a bight inside of that bight (yes a little confusing but the images should help) which forms a lock knot.
Pull all the rope through this. The munenawa is now complete! 

This is how it should look from the front. 

Depending on the person you are tying and the length of rope you used you may have excess rope when you are done. There are lots of options in this situation. Here are three different options for you to try out!

The Herringbone 

The Wrist Lock

The Breast Cinch