The IFA blog features primarily Japanese style (shibari) rope bondage. We occasionally
step away from the more traditional style and do some Western style and fusion (Western/shibari inspired) ties. One style that is rarely seen in Western bondage communities is Chinese rope bondage. One tie that is the basis for most Chinese rope bondage is the Five Flowers tie.
The fundamental difference between this tie and shibari is that this tie uses a single line as opposed to the doubled line that is typical in shibari. There are doubled line versions of this tie too but a doubled rope is not necessary. Please remember that a single rope does apply more pressure than a doubled rope. The lines on the arms of this tie need to be kept fairly tight so it is important to keep an eye on your bottom.
The Five Flowers tie is very common in Chinese rope bondage. It is used by police to tie prisoners even today. The basic tie you see here is inspired by the website Chinese Rope Art. There you can find a bunch of different derivatives of the Five Flowers Tie. Definitely check it out it is pretty awesome: http://www.chineseropeart.com/home.html
The tie that is showed in this tutorial uses a 25 foot rope. That worked perfectly with this bottom but your mileage may vary.
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| Start with the midpoint of the rope (the bight) behind the bottom's neck. For the start of the tie the bottom's arms should be at their sides. |
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| Here is how the bight should look at the back. |
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| The rope gets pulled under the arms from front to back. |
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| The rope spirals around the arm. Note that sometimes the rope will be close to the radial nerve. If there are any sharp pains in the hands of your bottom, most notably in the thumb, pointer or middle fingers, remove the rope quickly. |
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| Spiral the rope all the way down to the wrists. Keep the spirals fairly tight so they stay in place but not so tight as to be overly uncomfortable. |
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| Have the bottom move their hands together behind their back. One hand should go above the other or they should be parallel next to each other. Pull the two single lines together. |
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| Pull the doubled rope up between the arms and the back. |
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| Bring the rope down in the front of the wrists. |
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| The rope then goes back behind the wrists again. |
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| From the wrists the rope follows the spine up to the bight at the bottom's neck. Here the rope passes behind the rope then returns back toward the wrists. |
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| The rope passes between the arms. |
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| The rope captures the ropes that are wrapped around the arms. |
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| Do a half hitch around the rope that came down from the bight. |
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| Bring the rope back up to the bight then return back to the wrists. |
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| Pass the rope back between the wrists like the first pass from the bight. Now start to wrap the rope around the "stem" (the rope that follows up the spine). |
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| At the top of the vine do a half hitch to complete the tie. |
