In the event that we have more applicants than space available, we will accept qualified applicants by lottery.

We also want to be clear that the following factors have no influence on acceptance: race, gender, sexual orientation, age, body type, creed, or financial situation. (Those who feel the cost of the course is prohibitive will be admitted free of charge.)

The first cost is financial. We charge significantly less than most rope-related educational offerings regionally or nationally (regardless of the topic). We keep costs as low as possible because we want foundational rope education to be available to all.

However, in order to provide instruction at the level we offer here, we invest a good deal of our time and money (in web hosting, instructional content and videos, materials, facility upkeep, learning from others to bring back to the local community, etc.). We charge in order to off-set those costs so that we can continue to make these offerings available in a sustainable way. We greatly appreciate your support!

That said, we never want money to be the reason that someone dedicated to the study of rope bondage is not able to learn. If the cost is prohibitive for you, please let us know in the application process. Financial ability is NOT a determining factor for acceptance, and we offer both discounted rates and full scholarships.

The second “cost” that we ask of participants is a commitment to find ways to give back to the continued growth and development of a healthy, risk-informed, responsible rope community. Some examples include: being a responsible participant at local events; attending and supporting local groups and events where possible; offering your experience and perspective to others, particularly to help people new to rope find safe entry into the community; volunteering as a TA for future courses or workshops, etc. In general, striving to embody and spread the “Core Values” that form the foundation of Rope Study.

There is an expectation that members will practice the skills and review the information from the previous topics while using provided resources to prepare for the next topic. Members are also expected to adhere to the “Core Values“

As we said above, the ultimate goals for these courses are: to provide a solid foundation of understanding and skills for students to competently practice rope in a responsible, risk-aware manner; and to prepare students to attend other workshops, intensives, and classes with other instructors and be able to understand and build upon what is being presented.

This means we are trying to provide essential tools and knowledge to prepare people to continue an informed, risk-aware pursuit of more rope education. We are not attempting to teach “everything there is” (or even everything we know) about rope. We are not attempting to “show every pattern” or “cover every risk” or provide “comprehensive and exhaustive rope education.” Nor are we trying to define “the right way” to do rope or tell you what your “reasons for doing rope” should be.

We just hope to help lay a solid foundation on which you can continue to build your rope education in a risk-informed manner and according to your unique interests and enjoyment.

Starting with Rope 201 and all subsequent courses, the rope work we practice is based on and inspired by the Japanese style of tying, often referred to as shibari or kinbaku. Please see the individual course pages for more details about what is taught during each course.

We don’t explicitly teach Western-style bondage or purely decorative bondage beyond Rope 101. While we value those forms of tying and don’t mean to denigrate them in any way, it’s simply not what we practice (and therefore, not what we teach). However, we do believe that the skills we teach at all levels are applicable to other forms of rope bondage. Still, if you’re interested in studying those styles of rope bondage specifically, please contact us, and we can give you a better sense of whether or not our courses would serve your interests and try to direct you to good sources of information if they do not.

We also want to point out that if your goal is to simply find some ways to tie up your partner for play, then the content in Rope 101 will likely be more than enough to get you started. However, the kind of tying we teach in Rope 201 and beyond may be more than you’re looking for in that case. You can certainly take the skills we cover and apply them to that goal, but that is not the focus of those courses. Take Rope 101 and come out to Rope Bite, as many participants there can also help you with those goals.

Rope 201 builds on Rope 101 and is designed for both new rope tops and bottoms ready to begin a serious study of rope bondage and for experience tops and bottoms looking to reinforce the fundamentals and fill any significant gaps in their education. It assumes some familiarity with rope at the “101” level, and enough time working with rope to commit to a serious pursuit, but has no specific prerequisites.

We believe all skill levels can benefit from Rope 201, as this course seeks to enhance your understanding of rope bondage and improve on the skills of tying well. The focus is not only on the fundamental concepts and skills of rope bondage, but also on genuinely understanding those fundamentals and learning to apply and adapt them to various situations, from both the top and bottom perspective.

Rope 301 is designed for more experienced rope artists who are ready to start exploring the fundamental concepts and skills that come with adding load to the ties and the bodies in those ties.

Finally, our private instruction is open to all levels, but is where we work specifically with more advanced rope concepts, techniques, and patterns.

Being perpetual students ourselves, we feel new ideas are always worth exploring. We also believe that, by sharing your experience and helping others, you learn even more. Experienced participants in 201 have reported that they learned something new at each meeting, even if those things were smaller insights and details than what novices gained. However, it will be up to you to determine if the return on investment is high enough for a given course. You will still be asked to progress through the material in order, but we expect experienced participants to move through more quickly and to be able to help newer members.

If you plan to continue studying rope bondage, and your focus isn’t exclusively on self-tying, then we recommend that you arrange someone to practice with during and between sessions. (Though please note that a “practice partner” does not necessarily mean a romantic or sexual partner.)

Rope is an art best practiced together, and our prices are structured to accommodate arrangements other than top/bottom pairs. We are open to singles and odd-numbered partnerships, but we cannot guarantee practice partners or equal practice times.

Also, to get the most from these courses, it’s important that you have someone with whom you can practice between classes. The more practice time you can put in between each class, the more quickly you will see your skills improve.

In contrast, we are a rope study group for people who want to move through a structured examination of their rope skills in a committed cohort of peer learners. That structure and commitment allows us to study in ways that aren’t otherwise possible.

Additionally, it is our hope that successful completion of our courses will prepare our students to attend skill shares, rope labs, and similar events and have more to contribute and learn from those settings, and also to attend other workshops, intensives, or educational opportunities from other instructors and be able to understand what is being taught and benefit more readily from the instruction.

We believe a variety of opportunities are important for a healthy rope community!