Psychological Sadism - with Pretzel and Xena Feels

About the class 

In this class, we delve into the realm of psychological sadism and explore the possibilities created by combining shibari and interrogation play. With a strong emphasis on consent, communication, and mutual enjoyment, this class aims to enhance the intensity and connection between partners through carefully crafted rope techniques and psychological play.

During the course, participants will learn about various approaches and strategies to create intense sensations, heighten psychological arousal, and explore power dynamics within the boundaries of consensual play.

Petite Pretzel draws inspiration from her master’s thesis on terrorism and her lifelong fascination with fear. She is fascinated by what causes people to feel afraid and how they behave when stressed or frightened. The class draws inspiration from CIA interrogation manuals as well as medieval methods of extracting confession. Please note that this class is strictly dedicated to consensual BDSM practices.

We prioritise the physical and emotional safety of all participants, promoting open communication, negotiation, and the use of safewords. Consent and the well-being of all individuals involved are fundamental pillars of this educational experience.

Who teaches this class?

Petite Pretzel is a rope switch from New York City. She has been teaching shibari (Japanese rope bondage) since 2019 at Anatomie Studio London, as well as at other UK venues (Oxford Rope Bight, Tangled Festival Derby, Edinburgh Rope Showcase), and abroad in the USA (Temple NYC), Greece (Athens Shibari), Germany (Eurix), and Sweden (Stockholm Pride). She has performed and taught live for Shambala Festival, Pinky Promise, Riposte Queer Rave, Fox & Badge. Her commercial rigging includes music video credits (Charli XCX, Christine + the Queens), art gallery installation (Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery), fashion photography and full-length film. She lives in Bethnal Green with her cat, who loves ropes just as much as she does. You can find her on Twitter as @PetitePretzel and Instagram as @Petite_Pretzel.

Xena (she/her) has been practicing rope since 2018, she started primarily as a bottom but her practice has developed over the last few years as a switch. Xena is often drawn to themes of objectification in power exchange but also enjoys exploring body mechanics and manipulation. Xena has performed and taught for a variety of events including; Karada House, Fox and Badge and Noisily Festival, she is also a life model and has used rope in her work; performing for London Drawing since 2022. She is interested in elements of storytelling through rope and has been involved in many rope photo projects as a photographer as well as rope bottom and top.

Who can come to this class? Are there pre-requisites?

Please read the pre-requisites and make sure you meet them. Pre-requisites keep everyone safe and ensure we all have the same tools and level of understanding. This is especially important in workshops dealing with more advanced or "edgy" content.

For riggers, you must:

• be familiar and comfortable with partial suspensions or full suspensions
• be comfortable tying structured harnesses for suspension
• tying up-lines safely to suspension points
• able to read body language, negotiate clearly and treat your rope models needs and boundaries with kindness and respect

For rope models/bottoms/partners, you should:

• have some degree of familiarity with your bodies in rope
• understand risks such as nerve impingement
• be able to communicate with your riggers regarding limits, boundaries, likes/dislikes and any other feedback during and outside ties

What should I bring and what do I wear?

Please bring your own set of ropes, any play-related materials you feel might fit the context of the class.

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For our Code of Conduct see here.

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Membership Perk Alert! If you hold an active Rope Jam Membership, don’t forget to use your membership code at checkout to enjoy 10% off your ticket.

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Need financial help to access this course? Please click here.

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Please note that tickets can only be refunded or transferred up to 7 days before the event after which they become non-refundable. If you are unable to attend within 7 days, please join the 'Ticket Exchange' channel on our Discord server.