Ropunawa shared that they see far more ulnar nerve issues than radial in this tie, and haven’t seen issues with motor function (which is what we’re worried about when we’re thinking about the radial nerve above the elbow). However, nerve issues can definitely arise in this harness. As mentioned in the video, tying with a looser tension and a looser single column tie are both important to avoid nerve injuries. Your bottom should be checking for nerve issues when in this tie and communicating about any indicators of nerve compression that they’re feeling.

Hi! Thanks for your question. Avoiding putting pressure on the radial nerve is definitely important to be thinking about in general in your rope practice. However, you will notice that this tie doesn’t sit on the lower third of the upper arm, between the bicep and the elbow, and you should be able to avoid placing rope in that region by being mindful of your placement. Additionally, because of where the tie loads from, most of the rope in the harness is pulled away from the inner arm where nerves tend to be more exposed.

It’s also good to pay attention to not just where rope is on the body but where rope is loaded on the body. In this harness, most of the load will be distributed to the upper wraps (closer to the armpit) when loaded in facedown and inversion positions. And load will sit more on the forearms in more upright positions. So it’s unlikely, both in how this harness is tied and how it’s loaded, that the rope closest to the elbow will be a cause of nerve issues in this tie.

It’s totally an option to tie the upper body with a butterfly harness and then use a more self-tie friendly hip harness on the lower body! Given that this will require you to do less tying behind your back, it’s definitely the easier option for a self-tyer.

Yes and no. All of the tutorials you see in this collection are examples of how to use the face-up third rope on top of suspendable harnesses. Here you see Fred Hatt tying a base harness that approximates an armbinder just to be able to show how you would tie the third rope on top of a form like that. However, suspending from the base harness he ties would likely be stressful for your model. Instead, you should use this video to learn the third rope pattern, and then tie it over top of something like this harness here: Strappado (Arm Binders) Tutorial | Shibari Study

It might be! Managing that suspension line behind you will definitely require a lot of shoulder mobility as well as a great deal of confidence in your upline techniques. We recommend always self-suspending with a spotter on hand, but if you try this out, definitely make sure you have someone checking your back to confirm that the upline is properly locked and to help you down if you end up stuck. Let us know how it goes!

Hi there! Good eye. Two overhand knots applied on top of each other do form a square knot. Here we use the term “overhand knot” because that describes how the knots are applied, as opposed to the method in which you form a loop and close it with the bight, making a square knot in one go. For some people, thinking about a square knot as two overhand knots is more accessible in the beginning than learning the second way.

Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words! Lief and Icky's connection is truly inspiring. ❤️

Thank you for sharing your experience! It means so much to us to know that the class has enhanced your rope journey.❤️

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Thank you so much for these suggestions! We're happy to know that you're enjoying our theoretical classes. Rest assured, more exciting content is on the way! In the meantime, we recommend checking out these courses 💕 Mid-Air Futomomos and Positional Study for Futomomo