Classes Offered

Classes Co-Taught by Secondfloor and gaping_lotus

Improving Communication and Feedback in BDSM Scenes

None of us, tops or bottoms, are mind readers. This is why it’s so important to build skills for communicating effectively and giving coherent feedback during play, scenes, and lab time. In this class we will give you some options for improving your “lab time” and “in scene” communication and we will also talk about how to assess when things go wrong so you can use those times as learning tools.

Suitable for all experience levels.

Negotiating for What you Want

We discuss the top and bottom’s roles in the negotiation process and some best practices for giving/receiving consent for bondage and activities done while in bondage.  We also discuss methods for selecting suitable tying partners and methods of vetting partners to help ensure that they tie/get tied responsibly and respect the consent and agency of their partners.  We will role play some examples of negotiations for different scenarios.

Suitable for all skill levels of tops/bottoms/switches.

Using body manipulation, rope, and partial suspensions to establish control

In this hands on class we will work on utilizing a variety of methods to work with a partner on how to establish both mental and physical control using your body and a few pieces of rope.  We will demonstrate a few simple ties that can be used to start off a scene and help a bottom achieve a nice headspace quickly and easily.  Those with suspension experience will be able to try out a few control techniques using partial suspensions.

Suitable for all experience levels, but partial suspension work will be limited to those with prior suspension experience.

Scenes that make you go mmm…

Creating mutually enjoyable, engaging, and memorable bondage scenes

In this class, we discuss how you can utilize negotiation skills to identify areas of mutual interest with your scene partner, and then use that information to craft a plan for a scene that all participants will enjoy.  We will talk about ways to vary your pace and intensity in your scene, making them more engaging for both participants and spectators when playing publicly. We discuss options for tailoring your in-scene communication to enhance the experience with your partner. We will demonstrate a quick negotiation and mini-scene based on the results of that negotiation.  Participants will then be invited to practice what they learned in the hands-on portion of the class.

Suitable for all experience levels.  Bring a few pieces of 20-30ft rope lengths for the hands-on portion.

TK: Tying Beyond the Pattern

This is a VERY hands on class where you will be asked to tie your best takate kote and then you will get feedback from the instructors on ways of improving the structure and form of your box tie, as well as adapting your ties to better suit your bottom’s body.  We will go over several different versions of TK ties and discuss the importance of the various structural elements of those ties.

This class is limited to 5 tying pairs, and is suitable for intermediate level riggers and all level bottoms.

Facilitated Lab Session

In this class we will begin with a discussion about why lab time is such an important element in rope bondage practice. Attendees will then get a chance to work on specific areas they are struggling (inversions, futomomo, ankle ties, TK’s, uplines, etc.) and get feedback from the presenters about options of adapting those ties to better fit their goals. We will encourage tops and bottoms to assess their own/partner’s rope work in order to understand how well their ties are or aren’t working to achieve their purpose and how they could be improved.

This class is limited to 10 tying sets, and is suitable for all skill levels bottoms/switches, self-riggers, and tops who wish to learn more about adapting ties to suit different body types & preferences. Attendees should be prepared to discuss the areas that they struggle with the most with rope so that we can address those specific areas and offer some possible solutions to those issues.  

Agura Shibari – variations and applications for floor play, partial, and full suspension

Secondfloor’s Classes

Self-Suspension Basics

This class covers a few harnesses designed for self suspension as well as safety considerations for self-suspenders. How to tie and safely lock off uplines will be reviewed.

Suitable for beginner to intermediate experience levels. Should know how to tie a single-column tie and have a basic understanding of rope bondage concepts.

Dragonback Hip/Thigh Harness

gaping_lotus’ Classes

Introduction to Rope Bottoming

Rope bottoming can be a highly rewarding experience to participate in, but it carries with it certain risks.  By educating yourself, practicing body awareness, and communicating effectively with your rope partner, you can minimize the risks and maximize the rewards.

Some specific topics this class addresses:

• Anatomy & safety
• Vetting tops/red flags
• Bottom responsibilities
• Negotiation basics
• Warmup/dynamic stretching vs flexibility training
• Cultivating a desired headspace
• Communication & feedback
• Assessing ties for basic safety considerations (placement, tension, structure)
• Good pain/bad pain
• Demo TK tie and show examples of ways to asses/give feedback of tie

Suitable for all skill levels of bottoms/switches and tops who wish to learn more about bottoming skills but the class is focused on beginner bottoming skills

Rope Bottoming, Beyond the Basics

In this class we focus on methods to increase sustainability in rope bondage, as well as techniques to train your body to be able to handle more difficult rope.

Some specific topics this class addresses:

• Self-awareness:  cultivating an understanding what you want to get out of rope & what it is you bring to the table
• Rope bottom’s responsibilities advanced edition
• Preparing your mind & body to receive challenging rope
• Communication & feedback: being able to effectively communicate about your bondage needs; how to decide if feedback is situationally appropriate and when/how it can be most effectively communicated
• Assessing ties for their intended goals & choosing/building the right ties for your needs
• Pain processing
• Panic management
• Expressing your inner bottom/embracing how you receive rope in your own unique way
• Demo suspension tie and talk about how bottoms can assess ties while they are being tied and things bottoms can do on their end to make ties more sustainable

Suitable for all skill levels of bottoms/switches and tops who wish to learn more about bottoming skills but the class is focused on intermediate to advanced level bottoming skills.

Rope Bottoming Round Table

This is a peer-based workshop for bottoms of all levels where bottoms are encouraged to talk about issues they struggle with and get ideas of solving those problems from other bottoms (and tops). We discuss our rope bottoming goals and get advice from other bottoms on some ways of working to achieve those goals.

Tops are welcome for this workshop but are not required.

Rope Bottoming Lab Session

This class can focus on any specific area that is desired by the attending bottoms (inversions, futomomos, ankle ties, TK’s, etc).  We will talk about ways bottoms can assess ties to achieve optimal results for their bodies.  We will discuss ways bottoms can ask for adjustments to ties to make them more sustainable/enjoyable.  Some ties can be self tied but some ties will require a top. Tops attending this class should come with an open mind and be ready to try different styles of ties than they may be used to tying.

Suitable for all skill levels of bottoms/switches and tops who wish to learn more adapting ties to suit different body types & preferences.  Bottoms should be prepared to discuss the areas that they struggle with the most while in bondage so that we can address those specific areas and offer some possible solutions to those issues.

Negotiating for What you Want: Bottoming Edition

This class focuses on the bottom’s role in the negotiation process and what a bottom’s responsibilities are in giving consent for bondage and activities done while in bondage.  We also discuss methods for selecting suitable tying partners and methods of vetting those people to help ensure that they tie responsibly and respect the consent and agency of their partners.  We will role play some examples of negotiations for different scenarios.

Suitable for all skill levels of bottoms/switches and tops who wish to learn more about the bottom’s perspective.

Active Bottoming

In this class we discuss what “active bottoming” means and some techniques bottoms can utilize to contribute to the success of their scenes. We will talk about the importance of lab and practice time for both rope tops and bottoms.  We will demonstrate some methods of assessing the structure, tension, and placement of ties as they are being tied and options for giving feedback to your top to ensure that the ties you wear are best suited to your needs.  We will show some methods of active bottoming for suspension bondage that can increase sustainability in a tie, make more pleasing shapes, and protect connective tissue from being strained.  We will discuss the bottom’s responsibility in monitoring their body for warning signs of injury and how bottoms can communicate that information to tops most effectively.

Suitable for all skill levels of bottoms/switches and tops who wish to learn more about bottoming education but some of the material will be geared more towards intermediate level bottoms and bottoms with suspension experience.