The first time I watched the below video was a revelation. It was perfect. Violent and sweet. Elegant and raw. The kinbakushi (Riccaro Wildties) and the model (Gorgone) were having a wordless debate, ending on an agreement. I then had the pleasure to meet in person and see Wildties perform at the London Festival of Japanese Rope Bondage. The rope-prodigy effortlessly lived up to my expectations and confirmed my own fascination for this practice.

Riccardo’s work can be seen on his website: kinbakuluxuria.com

Thank you to Bruce “Esinem” Argue for the video. This one and more can be found on Esinem.com!

SangBleu
password for the video: sangbleu

Where are you from?

I was born in Genova, but I lived most of my life in Rome. Now I live (delete the word around) travelling around Europe.

What kind of environment did you grow up in?

A middle class family. I lived with my mom, my uncle and aunt and my grandmother. I had the luck to study in very good private schools from kindergaden to middle school. I lived in a very safe neighborhood with lots of friends. It was a very average envirorment.

What kind of kid were you?

I was a very normal kid, quite shy, quite good at school and with a very normal life.

As a kid, were there any harbingers out of your future interest in SM?

Not at all. I discovered S and M relatively late. Despite this I had an interest in rough sex since the age of 15. But at that time there was no internet and it was not so easy to get information on kinky sexuality.

How did your entrance into the S and M world happen?

I have been involved in swinging, rough sex, and kinky sex in general, since I was 18 but I got to S and M when I was 30. I had a partner who I was trying to “pervert” and get her interested in my kinky sexual preferences. To do so I used to show her pics and videos of alternative sexuality and make her read kinky books. Once we started reading The Story of O together, it turned her on and we started searching for S and M related material and got involved in the lifestyle.

And how did you get into kinbaku especially?

In the begining of my S and M experimentations I really didn’t like rope. It seemed complicated, something that kills the mood. I would rather had used leather or metal bondage gear. Than my partner and I started dating a girl that who was into rope and I started learning rope bondage mainly to seduce her. Yet most of the rope bondage I did at that time was used only to shoot pretty pictures to be posted on social networks. I did not really understand yet what an incredible tool rope is, what intense play scenes it may give and the connection it can create between two people. It was only after the London Festival of the Art of Japanese Rope Bondage in 2011 that I understood what a big potential rope has.

What is so special about kinbaku?

It lets you get into your partner’s soul as well as a few other things. The range of feelings you may give is very wide, from a sensual caress to heavy S and M. Also I’ve noticed than many woman that prefer a topping role can easily bottom when it comes to ropes. I think ropes just appeal to the feminine soul. Also I’ve seen totally non masochistic woman take incredible amounts of pain when in ropes. Rope can connect two people in a very special way and it’s also a very versatile tool.

How did you develop your skills? Who did you study/train with?

Kinbaku is a discipline, not a mere practice. I trained almost two hours a day for a year to develop my skills. Actually I never had a teacher or any classes. But there is a lot of information on the internet and many videos available, plus some friends shared their knowledge from time to time. Non the less I suggest people interested in Shibari to get tuition with qualified teachers. I was lucky and had no accident during my learning, but I advice people to be safe. There are a lot of good events and teachers in almost every country and that’s the best way to learn.

Who are your favourite kinbakushis and why?

My overall favorite is Akira Naka. I simply love his very traditional style. His work displays very well the beauty of suffering which is what I love about Kinbaku. Each and every piece of rope he places on a model gives her some kind of sensation, there is no mere decoration. Also I love his slow timing, placing a rope, giving it time to create the desired effect, than adding another and so on. For performance and stage my favourites are Hajime Kinoko and Shishiwaka. Among the western riggers I’d mention Wykd Dave and Esinem.

How did you get into performing?

After my first six months of rope bondage I self-produced a little book with my pictures that had some success. Therefor a friend that organized events in Milan asked me to hold a performance and present my book at his event. After that I performed another couple of times in minor events and then started to hold my own bondage events in France that were actually private sessions rather than shows.

What reaction are you trying to provoke in your audience?

Well what I love is when girls from the audience approach me after a performance and say “wow that was hot!”. I’m really not into the artistic side of bondage. To me kinbaku is an erotic activity. On stage I do try to keep its aesthetic beautiful to see, but I like to transmit some erotic tension to my audience. I do perform at festivals and events just because it gives me some visibility that’s good for business. But my real personal performances are usually kept in a very private environment, with a limited public. I call them “Private Sessions”, and I actually show real rope intimate play.

And in your model?

Honestly, I do like my model to get sexually aroused when we do rope. I like to see her space and get high but essentially I’m looking for erotic tension rather than the introspective meditative state that many like. I like to see her yield, to see her pass her limits and feel beautiful in her suffering.

Do you have an interest for Japanese culture outside of kinbaku?

Yes I do, although just because I like Japanese Rope Bondage doesn’t mean that eats sushi twice a day or reads mangas. Indeed they have great art and actually they make art out of almost anything, like calligraphy, tattoos, ikebana etc.


What do you think about the development of a “western” kind of kinbaku? Is it necessary, interesting, or should it be rejected?

Well there is already a western style of rope bondage and even a fusion one. I do not particularly enjoy them. Still I see nothing wrong in developing different styles. What matters is the effect your rope has on the model. A Japanese girl could cry just because you open her kimono, western girls will barely feel something about it. Our cultures are so different when it comes to sexuality, shame etc. So we have to adapt our S and M rope play to who we are tying. Also it must be said that many western models are simply not fit for japanese style bondage, so there is nothing wrong to make some technical adjustments.

What are you focusing on right now?

I have in mind to shoot videos of Kinbaku sessions. Real sessions, nothing to do with show and performance, just like I do when I play privately. Also I will continue teaching ropes because I find it very fulfilling. And obviously I’m still developing my skills and I am constantly experimenting with different styles.

What do you think about the popularization of fetish and S and M? Do you think kinbaku should proactively open to a “vanilla” public or it should the public to come to kinbaku. For example, would you perform in places where the audience has nothing to do with BDSM?

I do perform in non BDSM events even if I do not really like it. But it’s part of the game. Essentially anything that brings visibility to this discipline is welcome as long as it made clear to the public that artistic rope, shows, performance are just a part of shibari and the real deal is rope used to have incredible BDSM sexual experiences. Unluckily part of the popularization of shibari has somehow made people forget that bondage is essentially a BDSM activity, most people tie models in a totally non connected way just to shoot pretty pictures. It has happen to me that some people ask what does shibari have to do with S and M and sexuality and that’s rather sad.

In your opinion, what is the biggest achievement for a kinbakushi?

Well I guess the biggest achievement is that of making his models happy and keep them safe at all time. Also being able to develop a personal style without merely reproducing what others do is a crucial step in a riggers career.

What are your interests outside of kindaku? (Music, art, politics, etc)

I’m a great fan of hard rock music especially from the 70s and 80s, I love animals and have a great passion for nature. I love mountains and go hiking every time I can. I love books on physics and philosophy and in general I’m interested in all subjects that around alternative sexuality and alternative lifestyles.

(model: Redsabbath in the series: “http://kinbakuluxuria.com/dir/redsabbath-predicament/”)