How do I learn shibari and make friends? A user guide to Anatomie

"How do start learning?" "How do I progress?" "How do I make friends and find partners?" All your questions and more answered here!

Where do I start learning shibari?

Start on a Thursday! Our Thursday Jams are dedicated evenings for newcomers to get to know the space and learn some basics during our beginners class. The classes are relaxed and friendly with no pressure to join in.

I'm solo, can I join shibari classes?

You can come solo on Thursdays. You can watch, self-tie or join in by partnering up with others (pairs or groups). You’ll need a partner for most of our other classes (unless otherwise stated).

How do I find shibari partners?

You can build friendships by coming to our jams, joining our social mixers (our dedicated friendship making events), or by joining our Discord server which has a “finding partners” channel.

How do I progress?

If you’re looking for structured progression, we offer a Foundations Series called “Discover Shibari” that goes from Course 1 (total neginner) to Course 4 (Full suspensions). These are usually weekend-long courses, although we sometime offer them as mid-week courses too.

What if I can't do the long courses?

We offer one off “Beginner plus” weekday evening classes aimed at those who have done at least one Thursday, and “improvers” classes aimed at those who’ve done at least course 1. The classes cover various topics, sometimes technical, sometimes more creative.

What can I do after Course 4?

Join our international guest teacher workshops. These usually cover more advanced or specialised topics. They also sometimes cover different styles and approaches to rope or even topics beyond rope (body, psychology, play, etc).

What if I just want to meet people and have fun?

Come to our jams, join our Social Mixers or our “Spontaneous” evenings. Social mixers are newbie friendly and aimed at friendship making. “Spontaneous” is a semi-structured jam for the those who alrteady tie but want to make new conections.

I'm a bottom, what can I learn?

All/most of our in-house classes are taught by people who switch therefore we aim to teach rigging and bottoming together. We also sometimes offer bottom-centric classes such as “rigging for bottoms” and “you don’t need to stretch”. The descriptions will give you information on the workshop’s focus.

Can I just come to play/practice?

Yes, our Tuesday rope Jams and Day jams are unstructured open tying events where you can simply, socialise, practice or play. If you come regularly, our “flexi memberships” offer a discount on jams (and classes).

Have more questions? Check out our FAQs.