ADDIE TAHL (Canada)
she/her
Addie is a Vancouver-based rope educators who teach and perform world-wide. Addie is a switch and self-suspension enthusiast. She organizes regular workshops on dynamic self-suspension and versatile education both, for beginners and technically advanced. When co-teaching, she focuses on bottoming information and discourse.
AMAYA (Costa Rica)
she/her
Amaya is a 41-year-old industrial engineer from Costa Rica. She first encountered the world of rope in 2020, but it wasn’t until 2022 that she began pursuing it in a more mindful way, seeking out safe and diverse spaces for learning. In 2024, she became part of the organizing team for Costa Rica’s first international rope gathering.
AMNESIA JANE (Canada)
they/she
Amnesia is a tall, fat, muppety human who has been exploring the world of rope since 2017. With experience in tying, being tied, and self-tying, Amnesia specializes in dubious suspensions for the sake of science. Deeply skeptical of the word “can’t,” they are dedicated to discovering adaptations and modifications that make suspensions accessible for all bodies. Guided by curiosity and collaboration, Amnesia thrives on helping others bring their most unconventional rope dreams to life.
AXEL (USA)
she/her
Axel’s pleasure is through pain. As a masochist, Axel joined the kink community when she began exploring different methods of energy release. Through Axel’s journey, she has gained a thriving passion for helping others find identity through kink, self-love, and expression, as well as creating safe spaces that allow knowledge of kink to flow thoroughly. Axel is a switch that enjoys rope, impact play, power exchange, and service.
BENOÎT DESCORDES (France)
she/her
Benoît Descordes is a nonbinary switch from Paris, France. She was lucky enough to begin her rope education in 2014 when various teachers started coming to Paris from all over the world which offered her a large technical skills, and a view on many different styles. Now, almost ten years later, her style is a kind of semenawa mixing playful predicaments and slow buildings of torturous ropes. Her comfort zone as a teacher is to go into deep geeky technical stuff, and sometimes dig into beyond ropes topics, like consent strategies, session dynamics, or the reasons we do what we do. For a few months, she now teaches with Noémie and together they both try to give space and time for the model perspective to be shared.
CARITIA (Germany/UK)
no pronouns
Caritia: lives in a queer, gender-fluid, BiPoC (assigned female at birth) body. Walking a path with invisible disabilities and the living challenges which accompany that life. Educator, creative and ongoing work in process, whose advocacy for establishing boundaries is as strong as the desire to love with truth and honesty. On a quiet mission to de-stigmatize difference and return power to each individual. Using the language of kink to the point of geeky excitement. Co-owner & co-founder of Karada House & OhYesPlease Berlin Germany
CECI FEROX (Germany/Finland)
they/them
Ceci is a Berlin based queer, kinky and fat sexologist, kink activist, and rope nerd. They have been organizing rope events and teaching shibari since 2014, and a sex therapist since spring 2021. Ceci teaches Japanese inspired rope bondage, BDSM and sexuality from top, bottom and switch perspectives. Their goal is to create safer spaces for people to communicate through rope and kink.
CHIAKI (Japan)
she/her
Chiaki is a professional dominatrix, bondage expert, shibari educator, and life coach based in Tokyo. With nearly 20 years of experience in rope and a decade of dedicated study under the guidance of Naka Akira sensei, Chiaki brings a wealth of expertise and a deep understanding of shibari.
GOMBÉ (Japan)
he/him
Gombé is a skilled Shibari artist and professional cuddler in Tokyo, celebrated for his unique approach that combines Japanese rope art with emotional depth and care. Inspired by the spirit of shudō, his work centers on creating strong, respectful connections that encourage clients to explore their true selves. Through his sessions — whether in kinbaku or comforting embrace — Gombé provides a space for self-reflection, inner strength, and genuine human connection.
HUA HUA (UK/China)
she/her
hua hua (she/her) is an artist and Shibari teacher. She is the founder of Borderline Shibari, a platform dedicated to creating a mindful and conscious Shibari community. She began the first public rope art classes in Shanghai, and has held numerous workshops, performances and Shibari events across China. She is now based in Europe and continues to develop Borderline online and offline.
She believes that rope bondage is a practice of authenticity. To her, ropes build the bridge between two beings; between interior and exterior and between the elevated and the underground. In addition to her Shibari work, her art work also includes experimental nude photography, physical theatre, installations and she frequently collaborates with other artists to encourage cross-cultural integration. Her artwork is influenced by BDSM, just as her Shibari teaching derives techniques from other disciplines.
hua hua’s Shibari teaching style is centred around intention, expression and the emotional process of rope. Her work has been featured on various Shibari platforms such as Shibari Study and Queer Rope festival.
KASIA (Canada)
she/they
Kasia’s approach to rope is a perfect balance of fluid and connective with chaotic scientist. They enjoy tying and building community spaces to foster learning so they can share that joy with others.
LIEF BOUND & ICKY (USA)
he/they, he/they
Lief Bound and Icky are queer and trans rope educators and performance artists currently residing in San Francisco, California. Lief Bound is a rope switch who found their love of bondage over a decade ago and believes that rope can be the most honest way to connect with each other. Icky is a switchy pain enthusiast who started their rope bottoming exploration over a decade ago and is most passionate about exploring intersectionality and positionality in consent. Their teaching styles bring the best of both worlds combining crucial perspectives of the top and the bottom. They value consent and safety in every topic they teach, bringing an inclusive and accessible approach to learning rope bondage. Lief and Icky are most passionate about using multi-media process art to share their vision with the world and push the boundaries of what defines rope.
NAOKO (UK/Hong Kong)
she/her
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Naoko is a Shibari artist, performer and educator based in London. She is the founder of Studio Yukari (London, 2022) and Kokoro Studio (Hong Kong, 2015). She is part of Nawa Naka Kai 縄奈加会 and in 2023 was recognised as the third deshi of Naka Akira 奈加あきら sensei.
Around 2011, Naoko was introduced to Shibari as a Shibari model. Deeply fascinated by its aesthetics, eroticism and emotions, she began studying the art of Japanese rope bondage in Japan. Being drawn to the raw expression of vulnerability in semenawa 責め縄, Naoko found her teacher Naka Akira sensei and has been formallystudying with him since.
Naoko’s style of semenawa is described to be “feminine and inclusive”. She draws great inspiration from her short encounter with Yukimura Haruki in 2014. Using rope to engage in an empathic conversation forms the heart of her style in Shibari. Having had extensive experience in multiple tying styles, and vast exposure to different rope communities in Asia and in the West, she has developed a unique, adaptive, and evolving approach to tying and teaching.
Naoko has taught and performed in over 20 cities and has had the honor of assisting Naka Sensei at his Nawa-kai, Satsuei-kai, and Kenkyuu-kai in Tokyo, alongside his international workshops in San Francisco, London, Helsinki, and Copenhagen.
NOÉMIE KNOT_NiDi (France)
she/her
Noémie has been into ropes for 2 years now. She’s a switch but preferably gets tied up at the moment. She is mostly tied by my partner Benoit and cares a lot about highlighting the model perspective during classes, as they teach together. She also loves to show the type of ropes, play, and vulnerability they share together.
RENÉE DE SANS (Germany)
he/they
René de Sans is a Berlin based, visual artist with a focus on photography and film. Her primary artist interest lies on the exploration of human bodies as visual, visceral and psychological landscapes, that express, incarnate, question and deconstruct ideas of identity, gender sexuality and taboo.
René first came into contact with rope in 2013 while modeling for private lessons and started to develop tying skills with self-tying. Eventually she also started to tie others and finds herself comfortable on all sides of the ropes.
SALEM X (USA)
he/they
Salem X (he/they) is a queer, nonbinary rope switch, educator, and performer based in NYC. A playful sadomasochist, he loves rope that is sadistic, connective, and sometimes silly. Salem first began their rope journey as a bottom, then began self-tying and eventually tying others. Their rope practice centers people in marginalized bodies, specifically BIPOC, trans, disabled, and fat folks, who are underrepresented in popular kinbaku imagery. Their love for the adaptive nature of rope bondage guides their mission of creating accessible, inclusive rope spaces. In line with this mission, seeing a need for a trans-centered rope space, Salem co-founded T4T Jam, a monthly rope jam for trans folks in Brooklyn.
SOPHIA ROSE (UK)
she/they
Sophia is an artist, facilitator, and educator based in London, and Sophia has been exploring rope bondage and BDSM since 2013. Their interests and passions lie in thinking about what’s beneath the surface. Sophia is interested in exploring different practices that support us in making sense of what it means to be human, to connect to oneself and each other.
VIKING (Canada)
they/them
Viking was told 15 years ago that they were too fat to be tied and have since dedicated themself to proving rope can be empowering to experience, especially when you don’t fit the “societal norm”. As a sadomasochist switch, they love how deep you can go with someone you respect, trust and are a little afraid of!
YADA KAEWBUREE (Thailand)
she/her
Yada Kaewburee (yada.kinbaku) A Kink Education based in Bangkok, Thailand. “I believe rope bondage is not just tying someone up but it’s also a way to communicate with the person that I tie through rope without saying any words and yet be able to move that person heart. “ Yada is also activist/political artist who are currently oppressed under the military government And as a women born and raised in the male-dominated patriarchal country. Yada uses her sexuality and rope bondage often in her political movements In order to assure that women’s voices will be heard and to demand rights and freedom for women in Thailand, especially those who are marginalized or underprivileged.