If you have any questions about the application process or encounter any difficulties with the application or the site, please send us an email: contact@ropestudy.com
We recommend reviewing the information on this page before beginning the application process. If you have additional questions or experience any difficulties while completing the application process, please let us know.
How to Apply
To apply for any of the Foundations series courses, please follow these steps:
Step 1: Make Sure We Fit Your Goals
Make sure you understand what we do in the Foundations courses and that they are the right fit for your goals. You can learn more about the courses here.
Step 2: Complete the Application
If you’re convinced that we are a good fit for your goals, complete the application.
Step 3: Send References
Once you’ve completed the application, ask for at least two people to send in references on your behalf. Details about our reference request and what do do are listed here.
Step 4: Monitor Your Email
Continue to monitor the email you used in the application for any follow-up questions from us and for announcements about the courses.
Kind words from former students …
I loved these classes for not only learning ties, but learning how to safely combine ties, create new ones, and how to practice good rope technique. Great for both tops and bottoms who want to commit to improve their rope skills quickly and safely.
This class is, by far, the best opportunity to learn safer rope and successful scenes and negotiations that I have experienced. Rope Study is led by sincere and devoted instructors and the program gave me the confidence to make kinbaku an interesting part of my life.
We had so much fun and learned a lot. I’ve been doing rope a good long while and found much to learn in this series of classes. So I highly recommend it to others of any skill level.
When I first started with rope, one of the things I was looking for was a structured, organized way to go from knowing nothing to knowing some basic ties. This class does do that but really is so much more. It focuses not only on the pattern to a certain tie, but why you do things with the ties, safety, negotiations and rope technique.
I really can’t say enough good things about this class. The content and instructors are excellent. It’s a good fit for any level. It also taught me a lot from the bottom’s perspective…what to ask, what to look for in my own body while being tied, that not everything has just one way it can be done and that it’s ok to not like some stuff.
Much of the value found in this course is rooted in the relationship forged between the lead instructors. They’ve been tying together for a long time, and that working knowledge of rope from both sides provides valuable information for both top and bottom. They’re both smart and insightful and excellent communicators, and the curriculum they’ve built is thorough and makes sense. If you have any interest in getting started in rope, or if you’ve been dabbling aimlessly for awhile and want to fill in the gaps, do this thing.
Taking these classes as a bottom was invaluable. I not only learned a great deal about safety and nerves and negotiation, but I also learned about the rope itself. Why certain ties are the way they are, what components make for sturdy frictions and good interactions, and a whole host of other things. In addition to the bottom type stuff we talked about in class, it has also been very helpful for me to know what is happening as a tie progresses.
There is something for everyone here. Going through the fundamentals will teach you many things no matter if you are new to rope or a seasoned veteran. You will get the perspective from both sides, top and bottom, and get a great understanding of why things are done the way they are. They teach you how to understand so that you can be yourself with the rope and do it safely.
As primarily a bottom, I learned a great deal about how to listen to my body in rope. I really enjoyed hearing from other bottoms and about their experiences. It was very beneficial to have suggestions on what specific things to pay attention to while in certain ties.
I have taken private and public lessons from many of the top riggers that you see on Fet. What I found in dealing with the instructors was a local resource that was equal to or better than what you can find by simply going to intensives and occasional private sessions. They offer thorough, long term learning opportunities that you just can’t get at intensives.”
The Foundations course is an amazing resource for new and experienced alike. As someone who wanted to learn and build a solid foundation, these sessions were invaluable. The class is not just how to tie a tie, but also focuses on safety, negotiations, technique, and why you tie in a certain way.
This course has made me a more responsible, more aware, and safer rope top and bottom. The instruction is invaluable, and is the perfect solid foundation on which to continue to build and grow.
Course Logistics
Location & Instructors
Location – The course will be held at a semi-private classroom reserved in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. The venue itself is a public location, but we will have the windows blocked out.
Instructors – The change in location also comes with different instructors this time around. This round of 201 courses will be taught primarily by Pixiegurly and ClosedEyesSeeing, learn more about them on the about page!
Dates & Times
Meet & Greet: January 21st 2023 (OPTIONAL) – The Meet & Greet is a chance for course participants to get to know each other and the space they will be working in before classes begin in a casual, social setting. We’ve found this has really helped people to feel more comfortable and connected during and between classes. This also provides a chance for participants across class levels to get to know each other and share their perspectives and tips.
Dates for the course*
- Class 1: Saturday, January 28th
- Class 2: Saturday, February 11th
- Class 3: Saturday, February 25th
- Class 4: Saturday, March 11th
- Class 5: Saturday, March 25th
- Class 6: Saturday, April 8th
Class times for each date are
- Rope 201 (Foundations Part 1): 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
*Please note: The classes in the course rely on and build upon the content from the previous class. Therefore, it’s vital that participants attend all classes. As there are only 6 class sessions, missing one class is a loss of ~15% of the course, and missing two is a third of the course. Given this, we will fill open spots with applicants who can attend all classes first and then admit others as space permits. If a class session is missed, the participant will be expected to make up that session at the instructors’ convenience. Missing more than two classes will result in the participant being asked to leave the course. While we understand that everyone has busy lives, we also have to consider other participants in the course (and therefore cannot spend class time teaching previous content) as well as the time of the instructors (who will be arranging time to re-teach missed class sessions).
Cost
Each course costs $50/person (includes all 6 class sessions).
However, 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.
Expectations
We do ask class participants to agree to follow the Rope Study Expectations. Please review those expectations before applying.
Why an application?
In a perfect world, we would accept everyone who has an interest in studying with us. However, we do have a few concerns and limitations that we have to work within:
- First: Our primary concern is to ensure that we are the right fit for those who are interested.
- Our Foundations series of courses are designed for those who want an in-depth study of rope bondage, typically ranging from advanced floor work through suspension, and the techniques focus on natural-fiber rope (though most are adaptable to synthetic rope). Therefore, we may not be a good fit for those who are mainly or exclusively looking to learn more about decorative rope or Western-style rope bondage or who are only interested in rope for casual or sexual play.
- In addition, these courses are like college-level seminars: we focus on many aspects of rope bondage in the hope of providing a well-rounded understanding of the major concepts and skills necessary at each level. In order to do so, we ask that students complete a good amount of reading, reflection, and practice between classes. This level of intense study and commitment may not be appropriate or worthwhile for everyone and may not be a good match for those who are just finding out about rope bondage or who are interested in it only as a small component of their play.
- Second: We do want to screen for any “red flags” for everyone’s safety. We meet in a location that can revoke our ability to book, and many of the people who take classes with us take their own privacy very seriously. Therefore, we must take steps to try to ensure that privacy and ethical consent practices will be respected.
- Third: We are limited by space, and accepting more people than the space can reasonably accommodate will result in a poorer experience for everyone. Therefore, we want to make sure that spots are filled by students who are ready to dedicate the time and attention required to get the most out of the courses.
- Fourth: We do have some prerequisites in place to ensure that certain minimums are met so that everyone in the course can progress at a relatively similar pace. It would be unfair to other participants to admit students who significantly lack prior knowledge and skills.
- Rope 201 – The prerequisites aren’t really about your current ability with rope. We’re mainly looking for people who have been doing rope long enough to know they really want to do this thing, are ready for focused study and practice, and are sure that the style of rope we teach is compatible with what they want to learn.
We also want to be clear that the following factors have no influence on acceptance: race, gender, age, body type or ability, creed, sexual orientation, or financial situation. (Those who feel the cost of the course is prohibitive will be admitted free of charge.)
Other Frequently-Asked Questions
The information below should answer many of the common questions about the application process and studying with us. However, if you have additional questions, please contact us.
How do you determine who to accept?
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The major areas we consider are: meeting prerequisites where relevant; commitment to study and practice regularly between classes; ability to attend all classes; commitment to “give back” to the rope community in some way (see below).
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.)
What is the cost, and why do you charge?
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We like to say that there are “two costs” for taking our Foundations Courses.
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.
What is this? What is it NOT?
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At its core, Rope Study is a series of courses based on a structured curriculum designed to move cohort members through a progression of skills and understanding. As such, topics build on each other, and members are required to master some topics before they will gain access to others.
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.
What kind of rope work will I be learning?
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In Rope 101, we try to offer a broad overview of the various styles and approaches to rope bondage to help participants decide what appeals to them about rope.
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.
Is this for beginners? Or do I already need to know some things?
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Rope 101 is designed for anyone new to rope! We explore various styles and approaches to rope bondage and provide some essential skills to get you tying.
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.
Is this for experienced people?
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Yes.
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.
Is a partner required?
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Not required … particularly for Rope 101 … but recommended.
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.
I’m a rope bottom. Will I get anything out of this, or is it mainly for tops?
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YES! THESE COURSES ARE DESIGNED FOR BOTTOMS, TOO! We strongly believe that knowledge, skills, and experience are equally essential for both tops and bottoms, and we hope to encourage a culture where bottoms take an equal and active level of responsibility within the rope community. Therefore, we develop the materials with “both sides of the rope” in mind, and our curriculum has specific content designed for bottoms.
Is this a replacement for Rope Bite and other social/peer/skill share rope groups?
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Definitely not! RVA Rope and other similar groups in the area offer regular social gatherings, educational opportunities, skill-shares, rope labs, and workshops or intensives for people who enjoy rope and want to spend time getting to know each other, discussing their successes and challenges, sharing their knowledge, tying together, or learning specific topics. However, given the open nature of these events, it can be difficult to work through a structured curriculum with a consistent group of members.
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!