Chris (aka Topologist), inventor of the popular Somerville Bowline cuff, has taught and performed at a variety of venues on both coasts, including Bound in Boston, the SF Citadel, the Society CT, Jaded, and Supperclub. He was recognized in 2010 as the Dark Odyssey Winter Fire Featured Artist for his bondage photography. Chris currently resides in San Francisco, where he now co-hosts the founding chapter of Rope Bite.

A Chest-Loading Takate-Kote

Takate-kotes (box ties) have many benefits, but one very significant drawback, especially for suspension: the high risk of injury where the rope passes near vulnerable nerves in the arms. This class presents a modified tie that maintains the look, feel, and functionality of the takate-kote, but redirects most of the load during suspensions onto the torso, away from the arms, reducing the risk of nerve injury, and (for many bottoms) significantly increasing comfort and the duration sustainable in the tie.
Level: Advanced
Requirements: Proficiency with traditional Takate-kotes; Four 20-30' ropes

Improvisational Inescapability

One of the fun things about floorwork is that when there's no chance of falling, you can feel more free to make things up on the fly, without worrying about whether every component of a tie is bombproof. On the other hand, after spending 15 minutes tying a brilliantly artistic and complex flight of fancy, it's kind of disappointing if your bottom just shrugs right out of it because their nose itched. This class provides an opportunity to focus on honing the inescapability of unstructured floor ties through guided hands-on exercises, along with some general tips and tricks.
Level: Intermediate
Requirements: At least 50ft (15.5m) of rope, in lengths you prefer.

The Somerville Bowline

This class focuses on performing one- and two-column limb ties with the Somerville Bowline, a universal column tie that is as fast as the traditional "Boola Boola", but safe to use in a wider variety of applications, and more appropriate for bedroom bondage. Several different approaches to constructing the tie will be covered, as well as how to adapt the Somerville Bowline for non-columnar ties, quick-release variants, and the Reverse Somerville Bowline.
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Requirements: One 25+ft (7.5+m) length of rope