Precipice Malum is a co-founder and instructor of Studio Kink. Studio Kink hosts a large variety of workshops, live performances, social get togethers and events ranging from Kink Yoga, Japanese Bondage Rope, SKORE (Studio Kink Open Rope Exchange), Impact Play, Pups and Handlers and BDSM which will give you the ability to learn new skills and techniques that you can use to enhance your sexual lifestyle.
Studio Kink provides a welcoming atmosphere which is inclusive community for people of all different identities, fetishes and kinks. They are well known for providing an environment which supports the cooperation of talented experts, artisans, instructors, performers, crafters and educators who come from all over the world to practice within their establishment to share their skills, personal experience and creativity. For Studio Kink it is not competition or ego that fuels their work.
This is a VIP Interview With Precipice Malum Co-founder & Instructor Of Studio Kink.
Tell me about yourself?
I’m one of the co-founders and instructors for Studio Kink. My main areas of interest are: power exchange relationships (Dominant/Submissive or Master/Slave) and Japanese Style Rope Bondage.
What are your favourite quotes?
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.” ~ Richard Feynman.
This is the quote I come back to most often. In BDSM discussions honesty is a critical value/theme but it often only gets thought of in terms of being honest to other people. I love this quote because to me it encourages honesty with oneself. It can be very easy when you to fool yourself into thinking you are better or more important than you really are or develop an ego. One of my personal values is to strive for self-awareness and to value introspection. This is meaningless unless you can be honest and critical with yourself.
How did you get involved in the adult lifestyle industry? What inspired you to establish Studio Kink?
I first got involved with the public BDSM community after I attended the Sydney Hellfire club in 2010. At the time my partner had just moved overseas for their research so I was looking to meet other kinky people and make likeminded friends with similar interests.
I remember seeing Shibari performances at Hellfire by people like Mark and Lani DV8 and deciding that I wanted to learn how to do that. Up until that point I had been using boating knots and books by Two Knotty Boys for rope bondage. By late 2013 I began teaching regular classes at the Sydney Rope Dojo, primarily alongside one of the founders Nawa Rei. In 2014 I began going to Japan to further study Japanese Rope bondage furthering my own skills. In 2015 the Sydney Rope Dojo was closing down and Aleni, Mark, Lani, Nawa Rei, Cypher and I ended up sitting down at a pub on Norton Street and agreeing that it would be a pity if there was no longer a dedicated education venue in Sydney and that it should focus on different aspects of BDSM, including rope bondage. In October we launched a crowdfunding campaign which ended up raising nearly 7 times what we were expecting and we used the funding to launch Studio Kink in November.
What do you love most about Japanese Rope Bondage?
The thing I love most is the philosophy of Japanese Rope Bondage. A lot of other styles of rope bondage you learn lots of different pretty knots and you use them to either make decorative harnesses or to tie someone up so that you can do something else to them. In these styles often you begin tying and then you get the benefit at the end once the tie is complete. Japanese Style rope bondage puts the emphasis on the entire process of tying. Right from the moment you decide to tie someone until after the last rope has been untied the focus is on every moment and step having an impact on the people involved. It is about the entire journey, not just the destination. Because of this idea there are actually only a few knots you need to know (we teach almost all of them in a single beginners class). Instead of learning more complicated knots as you progress you learn different ways and patterns of combining them. They are designed for the flow and rhythm of tying them and not only for their look. Often a very pretty knot is fiddly and time consuming to tie.
The more you learn about Japanese Style Rope Bondage, the less it becomes about the rope and knots and the more it is about using the rope to have the effect you want on the person you are tying. Developing the skills to express your mood and personality with the rope and to interpret the person you are tying and incorporate that into the session to make it unique.
What does the experience feel like? Can Shibari be seen as a loving act or is it predominately sexual?
The experience is different each time. It depends completely on the people involved and their personality, mood and what they are looking to achieve in the moment. One of the things I love about Japanese Style Rope Bondage is the versatility. It can be loving, intimate, detached, sensual, sadistic, slow, fast, sexual, empowering, disempowering, kind, cruel, gentle or hard. If you have the skill and desire you can combine any of these elements (and probably some more I haven’t thought of). For example you can have an intimate but non sexual session that is both kind and hard.
What japanese bondage rope knots would you recommend a beginner learn?
There are only three kinds of ties you need to know in order to create almost any bondage position you can think of. A non collapsing single column tie (there are dozens of ways you can tie these but you only need one), an inline cuff and a half hitch. By repeating and combining these three components you can tie someone up in any position you want.
What is involved in the running of your workshops? What types of people would you recommend go?
Workshops are a usually a combination of theory, demonstration and hands on practice (depending on the topic). For example in out Introduction to Shibari workshop our instructors explain the tie we are doing, demonstrate the tie, explain why it works and safety information and then students have the opportunity to try it on themselves (tying their own ankle) and get assistance and feedback. The class costs $20 for a single class or $15 when purchased as part of our beginners course (a 4 week progression of classes on Shibari). We recommend anyone (and ideally everyone) with an interest in the topic come along to the class.
You run many events and workshops, tell me about the teachers and famous industry leaders you have come across?
As part of our commitment to providing world class education we have endeavoured to Australia to teach for us the best Japanese Rope Artists in the world. We have had the opportunity to host the very best.
How do you become a member of the Studio Kink?
From December to February we open Studio Kink membership for sale. Being a member gives priority booking for our classes (especially ones with our international guests can fill up) as well as various discounts.
Meet Sexpert, our full-time sex blogger! With a background in women’s lifestyle blogs, she brings expertise to Adultsmart and runs Good Girl Guide too.