Much has been written about this Martial Art that dates back to the early 1600's Originally developed to "Bind" and Torture the enemy of the Tokugawa Sh**un. Like most things in Japan, there is always a natural metamorphosis of systems that lend themselves to an equal and opposite use, from violence to love and pleasure, attaining balance. Sh***ri is no different and was not missed by this process
, finding its way into homes along with its intricate patterns and binds reflecting the natural world. It has now firmly anchored its place in history as an Erotic and breathtaking art form.
In Modern times we refer to these "Ways" as Sh***ri (The ACT of Tying or Weaving) or/and Ki***ku (Tight Binding) The two terms, I were taught and now believe, are truly interchangeable. There is much discussion about the terminology in Western Societies, but this only adds shades of grey to a traditionally Black & White Japanese terminology. So for this site at least, I will refer to the "way", simply as Sh***ri.
I was 5 when I started in the most traditional of Martial Arts, Judo and although that particular discipline did not stick, it was the beginning of a fascination I have with the orient to this very day. By the time I was a Teen I had dedicated many years of training in other forms of the Martial Arts to achieve one goal, to develop, and attain recognition in my own Martial Arts system Chuho Do. It was 1989 when I was successful at registering Chuho Do and I became a fully endorsed Instructor with the Okinawa Independent Martial Arts Assoc.
My Introduction to Sh***ri came to me through some old prints of feudal warriors binding and killing their captives on the walls of a small store, in the oldest established China Town outside of china itself (Manila). The images made me feel uncomfortable at the time, but even then, I had a strange pull towards the rope work. Then while reading through a more modern based history book on Japan, I came across one image, a print depicting a beautiful naked Japanese woman who was fully suspended in the most amazing rope work. The Caption was "Woman exhausted from the pleasures of Ki***ku" That single image changed the face of Sh***ri for me forever and a timeless romance began...
