Double-column tie

A double-column tie joins two columns in one cuff. In Rope365’s definition, a cinch is what joins the two columns into one cuff; Shibari Study describes a cuff around two or more limbs that keeps them apart with rope. cee’s Shibari 101 series for Autostraddle gives two wrists or a wrist and an ankle as typical pairs; the same series uses “column” for anything being tied, from a leg to a bedpost. This page describes the tie; it does not teach it.

The cinch

What separates a double-column tie from two limbs simply wrapped together is the rope that runs between the columns, known in English as the cinch and in Japanese as kannuki. In Rope365’s definition it is the cinch that makes the cuff; Shibari Study stresses that the limbs end up separated by rope. Like the single-column tie, the finished cuff is meant to hold its size instead of tightening when pulled.

Variants and uses

Crash Restraint’s tie index shows how many versions exist: a lark’s head double column and a figure-eight inline double column sit under basic floorwork, while a Somerville bowline double column is filed under intermediate floorwork. English Wikipedia, citing Harrington’s 2007 manual, names the single- and double-column ties as the two basic ties, and Autostraddle treats the pair as the groundwork for more elaborate shibari.

Before you tie

Rope: Voudou Ropes recommends natural-fibre jute of about 6 to 8 metres and 6 to 8 mm, with a smoother synthetic rope as an alternative; Autostraddle gives no length. Lazarus Redmayne’s TheDuchy tutorial ties two wrists with one 10-foot (about 3 m) cotton rope. For a first set, see the best rope for shibari guide. Practise first on your own ankles or a chair leg.

Body areas at risk: when the columns are wrists, the nerves and vessels at the wrist are the concern. Autostraddle, in its single-column section, keeps the knot off the inner wrist, Voudou Ropes calls wrists sensitive, with many nerve endings and blood vessels, and ShibariNews advises against tying directly over joints or nerves. See the safety notes above.

What to check while tying: two fingers should slide between rope and skin, the wraps should lie even without twists, and Voudou Ropes lists numbness, tingling and discoloration as the signs to watch for. The Bear Essentials, in its single-column tutorial, says to loosen the tie at once when such signs appear. Autostraddle wants the tie loose enough for a couple of fingers but not so loose that a hand can slip through. Watch the colour of the hands or feet and keep asking about sensation.

Voudou Ropes says never to suspend a person from this tie alone, and not to fix tied wrists so that they cannot move at all, for example to a bed.

Redmayne cautions that a strong pull can injure the wrist joint or push its small bones out of place, and warns against lasting heavy pressure on tied wrists, such as the force created by pulling on the feet of a person whose wrists are tied to a bed.

Keep safety shears or a rope cutter within reach. Read safety before you start, and find in-person teaching through the places directory.

Where to see it tied

These are free public tutorials by the teachers named below. Kinbaku World has not tested them. In-person teaching is linked under “Before you tie”.

• Anastasia, Voudou Ropes: Shibari Skills: Mastering the Double Column Tie is an English text article with one picture. It discusses uses and includes a safety section.
• Chelle Lisbeth: Shibari 101: Double Column Ties is a 6:27 video in English with spoken explanation (automatic English captions). The page does not name a variant. Its chapter list marks the tying itself from 2:44, and its description names her videos on rope terminology and on single column ties as the ones to watch first.
• SomeTies Rope Collective: Double Column Tiie is a short 1:59 video in English with spoken explanation (automatic English captions). The page does not name a variant. Its description says the collective runs workshops in Berlin and that the tutorials do not replace hands-on teaching. The video warns that a closing knot tied too tight will hurt the wrists.

Variations by teacher and school

• Wraps and spacing: Autostraddle wraps twice. Voudou Ropes needs only one wrap, more for comfort or thicker cuffs, and has the person place the two columns about a palm’s width apart so there is room for the cinch. ShibariNews gives the same twice-wrapped sequence as Autostraddle, in simplified form and without a named author.
• Locking: Autostraddle takes the bight between the wrists and around both sets of wraps, then locks it with two passes through loops of the working ends. Voudou Ropes builds the cinch differently: bight and tail go across the wraps, the bight circles the cuff in the gap between the wrists, and a square knot or double knot ends the tie, with the remaining tail kept for further rope.
• Knot: Rope365 suggests beginning with a single-column tie and adding a cinch, and weighs three starting knots: the lark’s head suits wide columns, the Somerville bowline holds firmly and unties from where it began, and the square knot is quick but has to be backed up with more knots.
• Reverse tension: Lazarus Redmayne’s TheDuchy tutorial ties a lark’s head double column in reverse tension, normally with one or two further wraps (up to six strands); he cautions that more wraps can leave the tension uneven once the cinch is pulled. After the wraps he splits the two tails and runs each around all the wrap strands in opposite directions, then locks the tie with an overhand knot converted to a square knot. For the fit, his photo captions ask for two fingers between each wrist and its cuff; in the video he says one or two fingers there, and separately suggests about two fingers of space between the wrists before wrapping. He also shows load-bearing endings; they are not described here.
• Handle: Rope365 notes that the connecting rope between two tied wrists lets the person release pressure by gripping it, and that a thicker rope makes that easier.
• Other forms: Rope365 lists a reverse-tension double column, a captured-bight cinch and an infinity variation. It also covers square and diagonal lashings, which bind two columns set at an angle to each other rather than side by side.

How it developed

Rope365 credits Yukimura Haruki with spreading the captured-bight cinch, widely known as the Yuki knot, and Tifereth with spreading the infinity variation, whose captured bight shares the load evenly. It also points out that a tie begun as a single column can take a second column later, so a position can change without undoing the first cuff. For the cinch it gives one Japanese name, kannuki.

Difficulty and risk

Crash Restraint files its simplest double columns under basic floorwork, Shibari Safety places two-column connections among its basic techniques, and Autostraddle covers the tie in its introductory Shibari 101 series, so Kinbaku World lists it as beginner. Where the columns are wrists, the nerve risks described in the safety notes apply, and Autostraddle warns against letting a person hang from tied wrists. Kinbaku World lists the risk as moderate.