Partial Suspension
Partial suspension is rope suspension where some part of the body still bears weight on the ground, a foot, a knee, the torso, while rope takes the rest. A single leg pulled up and secured to an overhead point while the other stays planted is the classic form, but the same principle applies to a chest harness taking some of the load while the person still stands or kneels. No single connection point ever has to carry the entire body.
This practice sits within Risk-Aware Consensual Kink.
It carries real, documented risk. Skill and care lower that risk. The risk remains. The honest approach is to understand exactly what that risk is and to accept it as part of the choice.
Sit down with it and study it thoroughly before you begin. Everyone involved does this work, not only the person performing the act. Real consent depends on everyone understanding the risk equally. Learn from experienced practitioners and trusted sources, and read about Risk-Aware Consensual Kink first.
COMMON NAMES
Sometimes just called a partial, or a groundwork suspension.
WHY PEOPLE LIKE IT
The appeal sits partly in the physical sensation of that in-between state, weight shared between rope and body rather than given over entirely, and partly in what it makes possible: positions and angles a rigger couldn't reach with the person fully supporting themselves, without the total commitment of full suspension. For the person suspended, some of the vulnerability of hanging is present without losing all contact with the ground, which changes the psychological weight of the experience considerably. For the rigger, it turns load distribution across multiple points into its own technical puzzle.
PARTICIPANTS
Rope Bunny
The person being tied in rope bondage scenes.
Rigger
The person doing the tying in rope bondage.
Nawashi
The person who ties in Japanese rope bondage. The nawashi combines technical mastery, artistic expression, and deep attunement to the person in their hands.
Nawako
The person being tied in Japanese rope bondage. An active participant whose presence, responsiveness, and communication shapes the session as much as the nawashi's hands.
PREVALENCE & GENDER
No population-level prevalence or gender-breakdown data exists specifically for partial suspension. It's typically discussed as part of broader suspension bondage practice rather than surveyed as a separate category.
EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES
Both ankles drawn up together while the torso and shoulders stay resting on the floor. A seated partial suspension, where a hip harness takes part of the weight while the person remains seated on a low stool or the rigger's lap. A suspension line added to an otherwise floor-based tie partway through a session, without lifting the person fully off the ground.
HISTORY
Suspension grew out of kinbaku as riggers began working beyond purely floor-based ties over the course of the 20th century, and partial suspension developed alongside full suspension as a natural middle step, using the same rigging principles at lower stakes and lower height. It doesn't have a separately documented origin from suspension generally; the distinction between partial and full is a matter of degree within the same suspension tradition.
TIPS FOR ENGAGING WITH IT
Start with a single point of suspension and keep the load light before adding more. Partial suspension is a legitimate practice in its own right, not just a rehearsal for full suspension, and can be returned to on its own terms.
IS IT SAFE
The main risks are nerve compression (particularly the peroneal nerve at the outer knee in bent-leg positions) and joint strain on whichever limb is left bearing weight, which fatigues faster than expected since it's compensating for the suspended side. The first sign of that fatigue is trembling or shaking in the standing leg; if that's pushed through rather than addressed, the leg can buckle or give way, dumping the full bodyweight suddenly onto the suspended limb and its rope line, exactly the kind of sudden dynamic load a static rig isn't built to absorb. Treat trembling as the cue to add support, a second suspension point, a stool, the rigger's own body, or bring the leg down, not as something to push through. Keep suspension times shorter than feels necessary at first, check circulation and sensation in both the suspended and weight-bearing limbs regularly, and have a fast, rehearsed way to bring the person fully back to the ground.
Hardpoint ratings, rope material choice, and general suspension safety practices are covered in full on the main Rope Suspension entry and apply here too.
- Wickedly Woven. Shibari Suspension: An Art of Aerial Bondage. https://www.wickedlywoven.com/shibari-suspension-an-art-of-aerial-bondage/
- Suspension bondage. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_bondage
- ShibariNews. Rope Bondage Suspension. https://shibarinews.com/beginners-guide/getting-started/rope-bondage-suspension
- Shibari Study Blog. On Seiu Ito and the Origins of Kinbaku. https://shibaristudy.com/blog/post/on-seiu-ito-and-the-origins-of-kinbaku
- Helsinki Shibari. Rope Bondage Risks From the Perspective of the Person Being Tied (Risks 101). https://www.helsinkishibari.com/articles/title