If you read our previous Shibari post it described mannequins that people use for DISPLAYING their Shibari handiwork. This post is about mannequins for PRACTICING your Shibari rope tying techniques. There is some overlap with the products recommended, but I highly recommend you read both articles so you can make an informed choice.

We’ve become the Shibari mannequin experts because so many of our customers (we are located in the SF Bay Area, where Shibari is super popular) have educated us on what is most beneficial for their rope tying needs.

Perhaps movies like the Pleasure of the Rope and Fifty Shades of Grey has contributed to surge in interest in Shibari. Shibari-style rigging creates geometric patterns and shapes with rope that contrast beautifully with the human body’s natural curves. But it takes a lot of time and study to master this. So that is why people buy mannequins as a substitute for a human canvas to practice their skills.

The photos above are from a Shibari practitioner in Germany, who uses a plastic female 3/4 torso as his canvas.  Plastic is good because if you drop the torso while rope tying, it won’t break like a fiberglass one would. We sell a range of styles of  new and used plastic and fiberglass torsos

Instead of the armless plastic torso, most people prefer a cloth dress form with bendable arms, partial leg and on a stand. The stand provides a more stable canvas and you can adjust the height of the form on the stand. They also like the organic texture of the cloth, with simulates the texture of the rope.

One of our customers did a side by side comparison of two different styles of the cloth dress forms and created this Youtube video to showcase the pros and cons of each.

In a screenshot from this youtube video of Shibari master Kinkoko Hajime in his studio, he has multiple dress forms with flexible arms and fingers and half legs.

We sell male and female body forms that are almost identical to the ones in his studio, but with a different stand.   

His stands appear to be custom made provide more stability as he works. If you put additional weight on our metal stands (wood or concrete blocks), they should provide the stability you need.

The flexible arms on the form are an added bonus to practice on. However  you might want to permanently secure the limbs (liquid nails) to the form.  Since you aren’t going to remove the arms to dress the mannequin, you want them secure so they don’t pop out when tying them with rope.

Other people prefer dress forms with articulated arms because they want to have joints which more closely mirror a human body. It comes down to a personal preference, but whichever one you choose, just make sure it has the half leg.

Speaking of leg, for those who want complete full legs versus the half leg there are fully articulated life size mannequins, but they tend to be pricey ($500 and up). Also we have a sister site, MannequinMadnessxxx.com where we sell Sex Dolls made out of TPE (similar to silicone) which are anatomically correct. And they can be used for sexual purposes.

Other options are fiberglass mannequins that are in submissive poses like this female mannequin in a kneeling position with her ankles crossed.

Or a dramatic spread eagle pose, with visible nipples and arms positioned as if she is in the throes of ecstasy.

The arms on fiberglass mannequin don’t bend but you can rotate the arms in the shoulder to create different poses. They might look a bit contorted, but perhaps that is the impact you want.

Whatever style of mannequin or dress form you choose for your Shibari practice, we have something that suits your style in our Shibari mannequin collection.

For Shibari Tutorials and information on Worldwide Shibari events visit the Art of Contemporary Shibari blog. If you are in the SF Bay area where we are, Shibari classes are taught at Bondage Erotique.

Although in Shibari, the rope master has traditionally been a male, women are starting to become rope binders instead of being the one bound. There is an international  organization Hitchin’ Bitches that provides a safe space for women to learn to tie in a peer-to-peer format.

Feel free to leave comments below if you are aware of Shibari classes in other cities.

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