"HARNESS" column - December 2005

Topping Amateur Escape Artists - Part 2

Following on from last month's column here are some more ideas for keeping your amateur escape artists exactly where you left them:

11. Hood, gag or otherwise cover up the submissive's mouth.
    That stops them from using their teeth to unpick knots or manipulate a key.

12. Put leather mitts over the submissive's hands.
    This serves two purposes. First of all it stops them from being able to use their fingers to unpick knots. Secondly it increases the circumference of the fist, stopping them from collapsing their hands small enough to slip out of handcuffs or manacles.

13. Learn several different types of knots.
    Some knots are easier to unpick than others. The greater variety of knots you use the harder it will be to escape from them.

14. Make sure ropes are tied off at short intervals.
    It's much harder to escape if you can't work up enough slack to move around.

15. To keep struggling to a minimum add ropes to a part of the body they'd like to keep attached.
    Stretching sensitive parts of the body can be a great way of keeping their attention focused on staying still.

16. Add extra ropes for redundancy.
    One fun thing you can do is add a fake knot close to the submissive's hand using a very short length of rope. Let them spend many happy minutes picking away at the knot, only to find that the short length of rope comes away and has done nothing to loosen their restraints.

17. Be careful when repositioning your submissive - some people use that as an opportunity to escape.
    You might need to reposition your submissive because (they claim) a limb has gone to sleep or because you've finished playing with them in one position and wish to move the scene along. Consider restraining an elbow before you move a wrist, for example, and always retie one limb thoroughly before moving another.

18. If your handcuffs have a chain in the middle rather than a hinge, put one handcuff through the other before closing them around the submissive's wrists.
    That will hold their wrists at 90 degree angle to each other and make it much harder for them to reach the keyhole, even if they have the key.

19. Lock their wrists in front of the body, instead of behind their back.
    Novice Tops often think that restraints are harder to remove if your wrists are behind you. Actually it makes it much easier, because the Top can't see what the bottom is doing. Better to have their wrists in full view so that you can see immediately if they are trying to escape.

20. Look for ways to educate yourself.
    If your submissives keep escaping, don't be too proud to seek help. Go to a bondage class run by a local leather club, buy a book about knots, visit some SM educational websites or ask a more experienced Top to teach you. SM skills are built over a lifetime, and there's a great deal of fun to be had swapping ideas with like-minded people.

Some submissives like to escape because they have issues about trusting other people or giving up control. If you tie them up so successfully that they can't escape you increase the possibility that they might have a panic attack. If that happens be prepared to stay calm, remove any blindfold/ hood or gag, reassure them that nothing bad is going to happen to them and slowly release their restraints once you are sure they won't lash out at you.

Never leave someone in bondage unattended (although you can let them believe that you've left them alone). And make sure that no matter how well they are restrained you could always release them in under 60 seconds if there was a fire or other emergency. Have bandage scissors to hand and be prepared to use them on your ropes if necessary. Leather restraints are useful because the buckles can be opened in seconds.

Have fun, look after yourselves and the people you play with.

Best wishes,

John Pendal
International Mr Leather 2003