Japanese: 寝技
From martial arts; Floor work.
Any tie where you are sitting/lying on the floor.
In the words of Master “K”:
“Newaza” is the technique of erotic floor shibari/kinbaku that’s been refined into an erogenous art form by the great Yukimura Haruki (雪村 春樹). Dubbed “the caressing style” by aficionados, it’s rare for Westerners to get a chance to see this unique type of tying. I’m delighted to see that Western BDSM practitioners are becoming so knowledgeable about the varieties of shibari/kinbaku styles and techniques that they include this one in their discussions.
Although Yukimura sensei has refined this style he wasn’t actually the first to use shibari/kinbaku in this most sensuous and even delicate of ways. In the early days of the SM boom in Japan (the 1950s through the early 1960s), both Tsujimura Takashi and Minomura Kou practiced something like this technique. Tsujimura also pioneered various safe tsuri (suspension) stylings but Minomura, like Yukimura after him, disliked suspensions and usually preferred to play with his partners on the tatami mat. In fact, he so disliked tsuri that, as an illustrator (under the revered name of “Kita Reiko”), he hardly ever drew one!
It’s often thought that these great bakushi (“rope masters”) preferred floor shibari to suspensions for safety reasons. This may in part be true but newaza allows participants to more directly experience the elements of intimacy, sexuality and emotion that shibari/kinbaku is capable of.
For those who have never seen or experienced it, newaza style shibari (the word is taken from martial arts such as judo) is done principally on the tatami mat between two loving partners and uses tying techniques that are quite different from those used for suspensions. Rhythm and pace are key to erotic newaza with the partners usually engaging in a slow dance that slowly builds sexual tension through ties, caresses and sensations. The pace is slow but builds, the rhythm languid but fascinating. It can, in a word, be mesmerizing.
Of course, it’s not for everybody and different satisfactions come with practicing shibari floor ties and suspensions in the more usual and creative ways. Still, there’s something to be said for the power of newaza. It should also be noted that many newaza sessions end without a completed tie… but that’s another story.
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