Okay. Now to the above the waist stuff.
I enjoy having my arms pulled back so that my elbows nearly touch. This I can almost accomplish with a belt or dual collars connected. One helpful variation though is to place a small collar above each elbow and then feed a length of thin rope or line through the D rings on each collar. I tie one end of this line to the waist belt in back and then pull the other end until my elbows come together. This end can then be tied off and be very effective, but you must have a way to get this rope free and that takes planning and having a back-up as well. If you cannot free your elbows, you are probably not going to get free at all, and that is NOT what you want to happen. So, if you try this system, either tie off the ends in a place where your hands can reach and untie them or have scissors and/or a sharp knife nearby. I cannot emphasize too much the importance of this. So be careful before you finish off anything that holds your arms close behind you.
A slightly different variation that I actually like better is to take the rope through the rings on the elbow collars and, keeping it loose so that you can use your hands, tie a bowline loop in one end and put the other end through that loop. Make certain that you have a bowline loop that will not slip and tighten up or you will have to cut yourself free later. Now feed the free end up through either a ring on the back of your neck collar or a ring on the top of a hood or head harness. Once the end is through this ring, pulling down on it will simultaneously pull your head back, (if you use the head harness or hood ring), or put tension on your collar. I prefer the head harness/hood arrangement. Naturally, if you have done this right, the twin elbow collars will come together and bring your elbows as close to each other as you can tolerate. Now tie off the free end to one of the waist ropes or, if you want a simple, effective hog-tie, to your ankle bindings. But use a slip knot so that if you need to escape, you will not waste time working a knot loose to get free.
I realize that this sounds complicated. There are dozens of variations you can use here, so just experiment until you find a safe and enjoyable set-up for elbow restraint.
Now, once you have planned and set up your arm bondage and before you activate it, get the rest of your plan in order. Know what you are going to use to bind your wrists, (if you want them bound), and what headgear you will use. For example, if you plan to use a hood, you will need to have it in place and secure BEFORE you do your arms and wrists. Simple? Yes, of course, but sometimes we get so excited we forget and that means having to get free and go back and do what we missed or do without it.
If you want a gag and or blindfold, they too must be in place before the arm work is done. As much as I like the feeling of the discipline hoods, I really prefer a head harness with gag and separate blindfold. But if you go for the hood, make sure that your breathing system is flawless. And I mean flawless. Consider that your nose could get obstructed and if you have a ball gag or similar item in your mouth, you could suffocate yourself, which would really spoil the whole scene. If I use a hood, I put a cleave gag of some sort in my mouth. I often use the cut off tops of ruined thigh high hose. This pulls back my cheeks, creates the desired tension in the mouth and allows breathing through the mouth hole in the hood. There is enough written in the BDSM literature to tell you about the hazards of hoods and I think you will see more of this later in this book, but always bear in mind that anything that obstructs breathing is dangerous. Period. If you are wearing a highly restrictive hood and gag combination and for some reason, start to cry, or if your have a cold, your nose may plug up and then you are going to panic and may not get your head out of the hood fast enough. Beware. Besides, the head harness/gag combination has its own erotic benefits, so I tend to favor that arrangement.
Okay. I have digressed again. I put in the gag, pull down the already set blindfold and slip my arms into the double collar elbow restraints, bend my legs back, pull the end of the elbow rope down and tie it to the D ring on the back of the collars around my ankles. This puts the knot within reach and now my elbows are nearly touching, which, I confess, is often enough to bring on the first of several orgasms even while my hands are still free. Trying to lower my legs from the bent position puts more tension on the elbow bindings, so this creates an interesting condition. Of course, the dildoes and tight leg bondage play a part in this too. Once I have calmed down and my pulse is back to near normal, I secure my wrists in any one of several ways. The one I like and use most is a simple collar that I can slip over one hand at a time without any real struggle. Once it's on, the tension in my arms holds it well enough to give me the feeling of now total restraint and I can get on with the mental scenario of being kept in some evil man's cellar or closet or vehicle trunk or whatever I want to imagine. The thing about wrist bondage at this point is that this is my only way to freedom, so I do not want to use anything that might, even by chance, prohibit rapid escape. Remember that even with hands free, I still must untie the slipknot holding the elbow collars together and then get the head harness or hood off, so time is critical and the last thing I want is to discover that, bound as I am, my hands are not getting free without cutting the collars.
So, here's the final picture: My legs are snugly bound together with at least three bands of collars at ankle, above and below the knee. I may add yet another band around the top of my thighs and if I do, this needs a fairly long collar or two collars strapped together. Then I use an additional collar as a cinch, going between the legs and pulling the thigh collars tight. This is necessary because otherwise high leg straps tend to slide down to narrower parts of my legs and become useless.
I have a waist belt that anchors the crotch strap and both are pulled tight. Ideal for this are belts with roller buckles.
My elbows are close behind me anchored with the rope through the hood's D rings and finished at my ankle bands.
My wrists are well secured with a single thinner collar, just tight enough to make me have to work to slip it on and off.
If I don't have the hood, I wear a multi-strap head harness with D rings at critical locations and a good ball gag pulled well back into my mouth. An option is a blindfold that snaps onto the harness or is independent of it.
This is a useful position and I can remain in it for several hours, assuming phones or doorbells ringing do not interrupt me. In the best cases, I get tired, exhausted really, and just either doze off for a while or slip my wrists out and begin the task of getting free.
Note here that I have not used a neck collar at all. It has its uses and I use it often, but in this case, it is probably esoteric and unnecessary.
I hope this helps anyone who is new or experimenting in self-bondage. The final words are simple: plan, allow for emergencies and escape, and always be careful.
Chapter Ten
Using technology as an assist in SB can be highly effective,
as this narrator illustrates.
Mandy - video & pictures
If it wasn't for having video cam, I doubt that I'd be as enthusiastic about SB as I am. The fact is that I enjoy seeing myself tied up probably more than the actually tying. Over the last few years, I have found this to be more erotically rewarding than anything else I do sexually. If I can venture a sort of rationalization here, it's a lot safer than getting picked up in a bar or at the library and having to wade through the complications of getting to know and trust someone only to discover that he's gay, married or nuts.
SB is quiet and safe. Within normal boundaries, there isn't much I cannot do for myself without the risk of STDs, violence, a confrontation or screwed up love affair. In a way, this is also true of BDSM relationships, only they incorporate the additional danger of getting involved with someone who is not tuned in to worry about your, (or his) personal safety.
Coming to this event was not an easy thing for me. I am pretty private and not inclined to chat with others about my personal life. I live very well, make a good income as a scientist and, if I wanted to, could probably have a very active social life. I cannot do video here, but at home, I have a considerable collection of hours and hours of myself bound, gagged, hooded, blindfolded, impaled on a variety of objects, chained and caged. Some people might find these films of interest, but for reasons I really cannot comprehend, they are important for me as a history of how I progressed from tying myself up with a bathrobe sash to present day use of locks and chains and everything else I can afford.
My favorite position is chained in a cage. Last year, after saving for it over several months, I had a cage made for me to my specifications. I told the welders who made it that I was doing research on small wild cats and need a safe containment for them. The welder, ever helpful to a young woman with large breasts and (he said) a nice ass, suggested that I save a bundle and buy a dog kennel. I told him I had one and that the cats broke out, so then we looked over various steel bar stock and selected some that would meet my needs. The cage was built so that it can be taken apart and assembled where it's needed. The individual side and top/bottom pieces are quite heavy and cannot be moved easily unless the whole thing is disassembled. The corners are joined by metal clamps that fasten with bolts and wing nuts….or, as I adapted it, with medium sized, one key fits all, master padlocks. Using the locks, I can lower the top to make a much smaller container. I also adapted a set of wide, heavy metal ankle cuffs that are locked to the rear sides of the cage. The great thing about the bar structure is that any part can be an attachment point for cuffs or locks or anything else.
Here's one arrangement that I really enjoy with the cage.
The first thing I do is get it set up in my bedroom where I have the most privacy. I place the cage on a thick rug and then attach the chain and cuffs I will need. In a plastic envelope tied to one corner of the cage is the key that works in all of the locks. On the other corner is another envelope with keys to the cuffs. This is a double safety. If I cannot get the locks undone, I can always unlock the cuffs….well, that's the theory anyway. So far, I have had no major mishaps.
I set my room lights on a timer, strip down to nothing or wear something that feels sexy, and slip into my personal cage. I lock my ankles into the rear-mounted cuffs and then slide an extra bar through the sides of the cage and across the back of my knees. This bar keeps my legs in place and doesn’t need to be locked. If I want an especially stringent session, I add another bar that goes from side to side at the top of my thighs and just under my belly. This forces my ass further back and jams the twin dildoes deep into my ass and cunt. With this bar in place, I cannot move my legs or torso at all, so the double plugs stay in their holes and I can feel them every time I wiggle or struggle. At this point, I must put my head down and force the thick rubber penis gag that is mounted on the bottom of the cage into my open mouth. I can add either a third cross bar that goes over the back of my neck and holds the gagging prick in my mouth or I can strap the thing in without the bar. Either way, I am more or less welded to the bottom of the cage by the gag and my mouth around it.
At this stage, I must admit that I am often so fuckin’ horny that I just put my hand down and massage my clit until I come. This is “cheating”, but at times we all do this. If I can restrain myself from the masturbation, I clip my wrist cuffs to the sides of the cage and enjoy the thrills of total incarceration and the triple fuck. This may go on for minutes or hours. But when I need escape, I have only to unsnap the wrist cuffs from the side bars and then slowly get out of what I created. Part of the real fun of the cage is that I have come up with a dozen variations and each of them is unique in its own way and each brings different kinds of excitement.
Chapter Eleven
This chapter includes some good insights about cuffs, locks and chain
W. - Bound in steel
One of the questions that I often ask myself is about the apparent masochistic nature of chaining myself up, struggling in bondage and eventually, if it goes well, getting a sexual release before its over.
It's difficult for me to sort out the S from the M.
Consider that if you tie or chain yourself you are both the sadist who enjoys tying someone up and doing sexually exciting things to them, but you are also the masochist, the victim of the bondage. I find this confusing and extremely interesting as a psychological characteristic in humans like myself. Further complicating this is the fact that I enjoy tying up a partner, but seldom get off when doing it, hoping instead that the person who I am binding will get their special thrills from the activity and I am just the catalyst, the implementer. I cannot think of another personal activity that has these characteristics.
For me, there is not much mystery. If I have a choice for self-restraint, I prefer steel. Chains, cuffs, shackles and collars seem to offer the most alluring stimulation for me. Some of this fascination, this fetish for steel binding, comes I think, from watching the hundreds of films, especially the old movies where the villain chains the pretty girl in some ghastly place and leaves her there to struggle and suffer alone. Take your pick of the scenes you might remember, but although I was very young, I can recall the Flash Gordon series. This was in the days when we went to the movies on Saturday and saw the serial adventures played out in black and white on the big screen. Dale was often left tied or in chains at the end of an episode, only to be rescued a week later by Flash. If this sounds trite now, it was erotically inspiring then and I think that's where the chain fetish may have begun.