Shibari Suspensions: A Step by Step Guide
Gestalta's 2019 guide to rope suspension for people with some shibari experience, published by Kahboom and covering communication, safety and hardpoints.
Shibari Suspensions: A Step by Step Guide is a book by Gestalta, a shibari artist, performer and teacher who runs the studio Daruma in Berlin. It was published by Kahboom in 2019; the Swiss retailer Ex Libris gives March 31, 2019. The listings disagree on the length, with 144 pages at Ex Libris and 172 at Microcosm Publishing.
According to the description in Microcosm’s catalog, the book is a reference for fundamental suspension techniques that aims to help readers understand both the ties and the body of the person being tied. It encourages adapting the ties to individual needs and is written for riggers and models alike. It also covers communication, safety, equipment maintenance and the assessment of hardpoints. The author note at Ex Libris stresses Gestalta’s experience on both sides of the rope, as rigger and as model, and lists performances and workshops in the UK, Japan, Australia and many European countries.
Gestalta’s own site mentions the book and describes a tying style that fuses several Japanese rope traditions with butoh dance, art and BDSM. This entry describes the book and does not reproduce its techniques.