Customer Reviews

Jay Wiseman's Erotic Bondage Handbook

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This handbook is exactly that, a "reference book" for those who want to learn more about this aspect of BDSM play. Until now, there were "bondage" sections in books like SM 101, Screw the Roses, etc but Jay has devoted an entire book to this activity.

Jay has done bondage play for years and years and his experience and knowledge shows through here. As with other books Jay has written, this book is full of safety cautions and health risks related to doing bondage.

Among the sections in the book include a little bit of "theory" on bondage, different types of rope that can be used, different ways to do single or double-limb bondage, breast bondage (a personal fave!), spread-eagled bondage, and bondage equipment.

I like Jay's assertion that you don't need to learn a lot of knots to do good bondage. I'm glad to hear that because I don't know very many knots myself!

A well-written and very informative book. Good job Jay.

Frankly, this subject has always scared me a bit, so I've tended not to try it extensively in my kinky life. However, Jay Wiseman's book has allayed many of my fears, but also introduced new perspectives. Some of what Jay writes supports what many have said about bondage-what's safe, what's not, etc. But Jay also refutes some "age old" adages, and some may find this controversial. He backs it all up with solid research and long experience in the paramedic profession. After that, the book is rich with techniques, illustrations, and references for everyone, novice to "old rope." I've also had the privilege of watching Jay demonstrate and speak, so I can safely say that this book should be read by everyone in the bdsm scene, even if it's not their particular passion.

Jay Wiseman's "SM-101" has earned a well-deserved place on most BDSM reading lists. So I have *really* been looking forward to reading his new book dedicated to erotic bondage. I was not disappointed.

Jay starts off by setting the scope of the book. His goal is to provide basic-to-intermediate level ties in terms of both risk and difficulty. He does not cover self-bondage, suspension, complex Japanese "hojo-jitsu" ties, long-term ties, or tying against resistance. This still leaves a pretty wide range of techniques for tying single limbs, "I bet you can't get loose" games, double wrist and ankle, spread-eagle, hogtie, gags and ear muffs, male and female genital bondage, breast bondage, handcuffs, tape, safety issues, and lots of other fun stuff.

Perhaps most surprisingly considering Jay's reputation as a BDSM safety promoter, he evaluates the military-style hogtie using a rope that crosses the front of the throat as only medium risk. I have long advocated modifying the classic hojo-jitsu ties to avoid this, so Jay and I find ourselves on opposite chairs of this particular safety issue. As long as the bottom is closely monitored and not left alone, I agree that the risk from this technique is not too extreme, but it is still something I personally prefer to avoid. Jay includes a "politically correct" version (what I have in the past called the "backpack tie") for we fuddy-duddies.

This is a very handsome and substantial book, at 323 pages, with a *very* sexy cover photo and lots of excellent drawings of knots and prisoners, including gay, lesbian, and het couples. Folks who hang out on soc.subculture.bondage-bdsm and wonder what Jay, Janet, and Sockermom look like will finally have their curiosity satisfied. This is definitely must reading for anyone interested in learning how to tie up their partner(s.)

Highly trained professional stunt perverts may find that they are already familiar with some of the basic techniques. Still, I recommend this for every bondage enthusiast's library.

If nothing else, it is handy to have on the bookshelf to "try out some of these ties" with your partner.

Your Humble Jester,

Philip the Foole

Tap for release? Hmmm, I've never tried that. - Ancient Kung Foole Proverb by Jay Wiseman

One of the author's stated objectives in writing this book is "to deepen, broaden, clarify, and update the body of knowledge regarding bondage." To this end, the Handbook is an unquestionable success. Perhaps more importantly, this book puts a huge body of bondage knowledge into a concise, available, and accessible form.

Handbook contains over 200 pages of pure rope and bondage knowledge, written by someone obviously passionate about the topic. Jay's instructions are generally quite clear, although some ties (Japanese Arm-wrap Harness comes to mind) would benefit from a numbered or bulleted list format. The simple line drawings were a perfect accompaniment to the text. These 200 pages are very well written, and structured logically for both an initial read and later references.

This "part 2" of Handbook is the most complete bondage how-to I've seen. It's targeted at novice-to-intermediate bondage enthusiasts, and covers this ground thoroughly.

In his own words, Jay Wiseman has a reputation as an "ultra-safety-conscious person," and this publication won't put that reputation at risk. There are another 100 or so pages preceding the bulk of this book. Before getting to the core topic, Handbook covers basic BDSM terminology, his own credentials, and safety, safety, and more safety. I have mixed feelings about this part of the book. There is enough new material, particularly relating to bondage, to justify reading it. However, most of "part 1" is a repetition information in Screw, SM101, and every other major BDSM book. I feel like Handbook goes to the 50% depth on safety information... not deep enough to be a newbie's first BDSM book, but long enough to give that impression. The repetition of this information in "part 2," applied to specific ties and techniques, is infinitely more useful.

Throughout the book Jay refers to his "research" and "files," information he has deliberately collected about deaths and serious injuries in BDSM play and related non-kink pursuits. He outlines some valuable conclusions about causative factors in BDSM injuries in addition to appropriate precautions. Unfortunately, the reader gets very little direct data... statements are phrased with "most", "many", "few", and similar relative words. We're left to trust Jay's analysis and categorizations. A summary of the data itself, sample size, source, and completeness information would have been interesting to me, although my background is in analytics and this may not be a problem for other folks.

There is one major leap from this research. Although Jay has always been extremely cautious about any breath or neck play, he covers military-style restraints that include a rope around the neck. He provides solid rationale for this decision, despite its disagreement with common wisdom. I applaud his willingness to think out of the box.

There will always be room for a "more advanced" book on a given topic, and this is no exception. Don't buy Handbook to learn about suspension, because the topic isn't covered. Handbook doesn't detail the stylized techniques of Japanese bondage, and Jay consistently assumes that bondage will be limited to 2 hours. As far as it goes, however, this book is exceptional.

Who should read this book? Certainly, any BDSM newbie interested in bondage from either side of the rope will love it. Buy a broader introduction to BDSM book first, but Handbook is a must-have for you. Bondage enthusiasts with some experience will also get a lot from this book. Folks like me, with years of experience haphazardly tying people up (or favoring leather and chains ;), might just find that it kindles a real interest in good bondage. Even if you're BondageMaster, you'll probably enjoy reading Handbook.

Tie me up, tie me down, just do it right, DAMMIT! Another great book by Wiseman. Thick with info and always heavy on the SAFETY, Wiseman's books are vital for anyone interested in trying S&M and doing so sanely. This one's extremely well done. (A great gift for that special someone! )

Jay Wiseman's Erotic Bondage Handbook can be considered to be one of the 'classic' texts, in that if you ask people into BDSM to recommend books, this is one of the titles which tends to be named.

As someone who has been into bondage my entire adult life, but who relies on a relatively small number of techniques, I thought it might be interesting to broaden my repertoire.

Let's start with the bad news. The language, style, degree of repetition and statements of the stunningly obvious all combine to give the impression that the first third or so of the book was written with ten-year-olds in mind. Harsh? Written from the perspective of the experienced bondage practitioner? Well, allow me to illustrate ...

'Probably the most common reason that bondage is applied to a consenting partner is to restrict, in one way or another, their ability to move.' ... 'A sleepy or exhausted top will find it essentially impossible to remain properly alert.' ... 'It can be dangerous for the bottom to use a knife or other sharp object to cut themselves free if they cannot see where they are cutting.' ... 'The risk level seems to dramatically increase if the self-bound person unexpectedly falls.'

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Being an American book, Wiseman was clearly also looking over his shoulder for law-suits as he wrote, with almost every other page containing something like 'SM play should only be done by people who are adequately informed of the nature of what they are doing and who are mentally competent to decide for themselves whether or not this is something that they want to do.' All true, but if you are the type of person who needs this to be pointed out to you, you automatically fall into the 'not mentally competent' category (and are also unlikely to be reading the book) ...

These type of statements, and entire paragraphs devoted to points which could be more effectively made in a single sentence, take up about the first 85 pages of the book. Remove the padding, and there is probably about 15 pages of real material in this section. It's a great shame because frustration with the verbose and patronising style could easily lead the reader to miss some crucial material and cut to the chase.

Other bad news? Well, the book could use a few more illustrations, and some points would be more effectively made by photographs, but that would increase the price. Oh, and there's a boxed-out quote every few pages which is usually completely unrelated to the text on the page and thus adds to the sense of pointless padding.

I suspect the book was deliberately padded to give it a more credible page-count. Were it significantly slimmer, it might have been harder to believe that the book really was a comprehensive handbook covering most major bondage techniques. But - apart from suspension - that's exactly what it is. And that's the good news.

Every major type of tie is covered, usually with several variants. Each technique is well explained, usually well illustrated and has an excellent discussion of the considerations applicable to that type of tie. Unlike the earlier section of the book, the safety advice here is generally thoughtful and useful.

There is also a good discussion of the different types of materials, for example the different materials and manufacturing techniques used for different types of rope, and the pros and cons for each. Here again the safety information is excellent, for example explaining why eye-bolts are much safer than screw-eyes (it is very rare for the former to fail, but very common for the latter).

The step-by-step approach and level of explanation appeared suitable for complete beginners, while still containing plenty of material of interest to those of us who have been tying people up for many years!

Do I wish Wiseman or his editor would take a pair of paramedic shears to the first 85 pages of the book? Absolutely. Would I recommend this book to anyone into bondage, no matter what their experience level? Absolutely.

Those who are familiar with Jay Wiseman's work will not be surprised to find his Erotic Bondage Handbook to be creative, thorough and safety-oriented. The book is very careful to refer the reader to other sources on topics that are not within the book's scope, and concentrates on describing and demonstrating multiple techniques for lovers. In most cases, it describes several different methods for achieving the same bondage goal, so that you can find the one you like best. A wonderful reference manual for that bedside table!

In the world of kink, bondage enthusiasts are often left out, but no more! This brand-new book includes dozens of tips on how to tie up the one you love, from the fast and simple to the slow and sexy. Jay teaches the both the basics and the more advanced techniques, some that you won't be able to wait to try, and some that might shock you. This is stuff you can really use; no complex knots you have to be a sailor to tie or expensive, hard-to-find gear. The pictures are great, as are the safety tips and wry humor that we've come to know and love from Jay.

you don't know much about knots. A well written book that may over-do the safety cautions, but then it is better to be over-safe than injured anytime. A good deal of the book tells us who Jay Wiseman is, why he is qualified to write this book, and how he went about researching, experimenting, and writing it. A bit long for those who know about him but shoudl reassure those who are exploring this for the first time. Let me begin by saying that I am "lazy" and easily bored. I've never been a fan of bondage either, as those who read my erotica can attest to. So, I would have prefered the knots section to be more interwoven in the positions section, I had to flip back and forth, but I have enough experience that primarily the book is inspiration. Bottoms who like to wiggling and get out of bondage may be angered a bit at the section about their "tricks" but tops will pleased to learn how to counter some of these. Likewise the description of rope helped me understand those "safety cautions" you always here but which are not explained. Good for the beginner, those apprenticing to learn knots or being a good boyscout might be a good idea first.

My husband and I just began this sort of thing and we Really enjoyed this book... This book has real information that anyone can follow. It give lots of safty information and it give great Ideas. If you really want to know how to do basic bondage stuff, make sure you read this!