Foundations of Self-Suspension workshop

Foundations of Self-Suspension workshop

This hands-on class presents key skills for self-tying and foundations for self-suspension, taught by experienced self-suspension instructor Parker.

This workshop include risks and risk-reducing measures, and similarities and differences in risk and approaches between self-suspension and partner suspension.

The hands-on portion of the class will include skill-building exercises for practicing key self-tying skills that are also foundational for self-suspension, such as:

• one-handed tying
• tying without seeing
• using your toes
• using your core
• using your face
• determining the harness(es) that are best for your individual body

For participants who have sufficient rope skills on the ground to go to the air, the workshop will also introduce self-suspension techniques. If ready for this content, participants can learn:

• specific self-suspension methods and practice
• up-line techniques and tie-offs optimized for self-suspension
• self-suspension planning
• techniques for going up and coming down in self-suspension
• proprioception, body awareness, and physical control in self-suspension
• the importance of self-leveling and relative heights in self-suspension
• participants who are relatively new to self-suspension can learn a relatively static face-up self-suspension; more advanced self-suspenders have the option to learn some additional transitions and positions
• other tips and tricks for self-suspension based on the needs, skills level, and questions of the participants

Prerequisites

The minimum prerequisites for the class class are: facility with rope-handling, controlling tension, attaching a new rope, square knot, half-hitch, and a Somerville bowline single column tie. It is also recommended that you can self-tie some sort of chest harness.

Materials needed: Each participant will need at least 8-10 ropes, with each rope 25-35 feet in length. We recommend 6mm-diameter jute or hemp, and/or 5mm or 6mm POSH as most suitable for this class. For suspension uplines, synthetic materials such as POSH provide a safety factor far greater than that of natural fiber ropes--though many people also suspend with jute or hemp uplines, cautiously, and with an awareness of that risk. 100% nylon or MFP rope in similar diameters are also acceptable. For this workshop, do not use ropes made of cotton rope, sisal, manila, polyester, or nylon/poly blends, or other hardware store rope or rock climbing rope. Rope is available for sale at Coil & Cord.

About the Instructor: Known for their distinctive self-suspension techniques and highly dynamic self-suspensions, Parker RopeBoi (they/them) loves to share their passion for self-tying and tips and tricks from 16+ years of self-tying and teaching. Parker has presented self-tying/self-suspension workshops and performances at at major rope venues including Tethered Together (New England), Twisted Windows (San Francisco), Vox Body Studio (San Francisco), Anatomie Studios (London, UK), Dark Odyssey Winter Fire/Fusion/Surrender (Maryland/DC/California), International Ms. Leather/Ms. Bootblack, RopeCraft (Chicago), Shibaricon (Chicago), NARIX (Ann Arbor; Philadelphia, and Tampa), Bondage Expo Dallas, The Floating World (NJ), Bound in Boston, Ropes in Motion (Montreal), Tension (Montreal), Folsom Street East (NYC), Folsom Street Fair (San Francisco), Bound (London), Temple New York, and the inaugural 2025 EXIST conference in Montreal, the first conference devoted to self-tying. Parker hosts the monthly Queer Rope Social rope jam and is a co-founder of Coil & Cord Studio in New York City.