Multiple Up-Lines

Multiple Up-Lines and Vector Forces

Please do not share this video with anyone outside your cohort. It is provided as a reference for our work together in the course, and it is not intended to be a stand-alone instructional video. Thank you.

The amount of load being applied to each line changes based on the angles involved. The greater the angle of the lines, the more force will be put on those lines and, as a result, on the person held in the tie.

The diagram below is a rough guide to help you consider the forces being exerted on your ropes, and on the people in your ropes, in a suspension. Keep in mind this will vary depending on the number of ropes involved, the distribution of the center of gravity, and the movement (acceleration/deceleration) involved in the suspension.

In practical terms, this means that greater angles (which can also be a result of the tension in the tie on the body) will exert greater force on the ropes and the person in the ropes, and that repositioning the line(s) with the most load on it will have the most dramatic impact on the bottom, as it will result in the most redistribution of the load.

If we focus specifically on the experience of the person in the rope, we can see how smaller angles in the rope around the body can result in greater internal “pressure” from the vector forces at work there. Smaller angles of this type often accompany ties with greater tension, though the positioning of the body plays a larger role in determining those angles.

For more information specific to rope bondage, see this excerpt from Douglas Kent’s book Complete Shibari Volume 2: Sky. We share this excerpt under the “Fair Use” for education clause of the U.S. Copyright Law. Please do not redistribute or share with others.

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