Mastering the Triangle Theory beyond pattern repetition to truly understand the principles of the technique.
The Technique Fundamentals
Let's break down Tetori Sankaku into its essential components.
Focus on one arm at a time. While you should practice with both arms, DO NOT attempt to work both arms simultaneously at this stage of your training.
Grip
Since we've covered this technique in previous lessons, we'll focus on fine-tuning and integration.
Begin by establishing a connection with your partner – enter their personal space, take hold, and initiate the movement sequence.
This initial contact is crucial because it establishes the dialogue between both bodies. Think firmness, not force. You're not squeezing, you're connecting.
Always grip the forearm, never the wrist. Your hold should wrap around, creating "communication" through the tendons and fascia.
This "communication" means that your partner's body acknowledges and responds to your touch.
As the one applying the technique, you must read this response and adjust accordingly – not by changing the exercise, but by fine-tuning your speed and intensity to match your partner's feedback.
This initial grip should activate the triceps – the cornerstone of anatomical restriction. We achieve this by triggering a reflex response in the outer forearm fascia.
This is why precision in your grip placement is so important.
Humerus Rotation: Handle with Care
This movement involves rotating the head of the humerus within its socket. Without proper care, the joint's natural structure makes it susceptible to discomfort, pain, or injury.
Think of the humerus head as a golf ball resting on a tee. Maximum joint stability comes when the "ball" sits perfectly centered on its "tee." Poor movement can cause it to slip and irritate surrounding tissues.
Moving the arm without proper muscle engagement can compromise shoulder function and anatomy.
Keep movements smooth and flowing – no jerky changes in speed or direction, no back-and-forth motion. If you need to make corrections, return to the starting position, release tension completely, and begin again.
Patience is key
Your partner's feedback is invaluable throughout this process.
Watch out for shoulders rolling forward (internal rotation) – this is something to actively prevent.
The Backward Movement
With the triceps still engaged (absolutely essential), gently guide the arm backward while rotating the shoulder. Keep the elbow straight.
Remember, this isn't a power struggle – force has no place here.
The movement should flow along the body's natural curve (imagine you're moving toward the opposite buttock – you don't need to reach it, it's just a directional guide).
Maintain a straight elbow. Bending it will deactivate the triceps and break the restriction.
As your proficiency grows, you can incorporate additional elements.
Let your partner's active range of motion be your guide. As long as their triceps remains engaged, you're good; once it disengages, you've gone too far.
Check that the restriction works effectively – your partner shouldn't be able to move their arm freely even when trying, while you should maintain control with minimal effort.
Look for muscle activation across your partner's chest, side, and throughout their body during the entire process.
The secret lies in managing their sense of balance – shifting their center of gravity so that when they instinctively try to correct it, you can harness that energy to guide them.
Key Points to Monitor
The Shoulder Blades
Ensure that the shoulder blades remain flat throughout the movement. They should provide structural support for the ribcage.
If they're raised or tilted, they won't properly distribute forces across the torso, placing stress on the shoulders and neck – increasing discomfort and injury risk.
Shoulder Positioning
Keep shoulders rotated backward, opening the chest to facilitate full-body muscle engagement.
Always be vigilant about forward rotation. Unfortunately, our everyday posture often pulls shoulders forward, conditioning the body to default to this position whenever it's uncertain.
This is why maintaining consistent tension from your initial grip is helpful – you're clearly signaling to the brain that the shoulder (and the rest of the body) should maintain this position rather than falling into habitual patterns.
Ribcage Alignment
Pay close attention to the lower ribs, ensuring they don't flare outward or extend beyond the hips.
If this happens, the abdominal muscles aren't properly engaged, and your partner needs to draw the ribs inward and downward.
When pushing a position toward its limit (which is much less extreme than most people imagine), the body often makes compensatory adjustments to reach beyond its actual range.
This is why when drawing the shoulders and arms backward, you'll commonly see ribs jutting forward while the lower back curves dramatically.
What's happening here?
Since the muscles and joints aren't providing the necessary movement, the brain deactivates the core, losing tension throughout.
This causes the ribs to flare forward and the lumbar spine to curve, forcing these areas to bear the full force of the restriction instead of distributing it across the trunk, especially the back muscles, shoulder complex, and core.
The lumbar spine isn't designed to bear forces.
For those with abdominal distension or difficulty maintaining core engagement, providing tactile feedback with your hand by "gathering" the fascia over the lower ribs, or applying tape to this area, can be tremendously helpful.
Tension Management
Control your partner's body tension through tension in your own body.
This isn't about being tense or rigid, but about appropriate muscle activation.
Once contact is established and tension created, it must remain consistent throughout the entire pose. If you suddenly increase or decrease it, your partner will lose all muscle activation and joint stability, nullifying the restriction.
Even worse is constantly varying tension – imagine trying to hold a phone conversation with spotty reception. Picture that sensation in your own body.
Range of Motion Awareness
Dynamic range refers to a joint's movement amplitude.
Active range is the movement amplitude you can achieve using only the muscles directly associated with that joint and their strength.
Passive range is the movement amplitude achievable using external forces. It's always greater than the active range, with its maximum being the point beyond which the joint cannot move further.
These ranges aren't fixed – they vary day to day in the same person, and even throughout a single session. As muscles warm up and activate, a person's active range increases.
Regarding dynamic ranges, remember that when taking a joint to its passive range, its associated muscles deactivate.
The brain considers them unnecessary or doesn't know how to use them in that range, so it deactivates them to conserve energy.
This makes the joint less stable and increases the risk of damaging passive structures.
Remember that when we ask the body for a movement, it will do whatever it can to provide it – in this case, using tendons and ligaments instead of muscles to maintain position.
This is why it's important to progress gradually with restrictions, allowing the body to adapt and understand how to respond, while supporting it through muscle activation and rope reinforcement.
Response Time
Response time is the interval between the brain commanding movement and the body executing it.
Training the body and building muscle memory to reduce response time is essential for developing fluid, safe rope work.
This is the goal of shibari practice: first teaching the brain the movement pattern and execution, demonstrating that it's not only safe but more efficient than previously learned patterns.
Once the brain assimilates this – which may require several practice sessions spaced days apart – we begin working on muscle memory to improve response times.
Meanwhile, the person applying the technique must pay attention to their partner's responses, manage their own impatience, and adapt their rhythm and movements accordingly.
Patience and Adaptation
Remember, with practice, dynamic range will increase. Adaptation is key.
Practicing this technique, especially initially, can be exhausting for the receiving partner and frustrating for the one applying it.
Take it slow, step by step, and don't attempt too many repetitions.
Understanding the biomechanical principles behind this technique is crucial – it's the only way to apply it safely and adapt it to all body types.
Open Hand Technique
When executing the grip technique, use minimal force with your hand – don't grip tightly. That's not the point.
If you squeeze with your hand or rely on hand strength, you won't stabilize your joints properly, you won't be able to use your partner's balance, and your control will be clumsy.
However, if your power comes from your core, you'll handle the movement with smoothness, control, and fluidity.
DON'T BEND YOUR WRIST. When applying the technique, avoid flexing your wrist, as any angle creates an energy leak. The same biomechanical principles apply here as when avoiding wrist application.
Exercise: Finding Your Optimal Forearm Support Point
Try this exercise independently with both arms to identify your optimal power point in the forearm.
- Setup: Position a stable table in front of you. Ensure you have enough space to move your arm comfortably.
- Starting position: Rest your forearm against the edge of the table. The "pinky side" should contact the surface. We'll test different areas from wrist to elbow. Maintain only one contact point between forearm and table at a time.
- Strength test:
- Begin by applying downward pressure with your forearm near the wrist.
- Gradually shift the pressure point toward your elbow, repositioning your arm along the table edge. Don't drag – lift and place at each new position.
- Note the amount of force you can apply and how it feels at each position.
- Finding the sweet spot:
- Pay attention to where you can exert the most force with comfort and control. This is your optimal point for applying this pushing technique.
Purpose: This exercise helps you locate the contact point on your forearm where you can generate maximum force. This is essential for techniques requiring effective pushing and support, maximizing efficiency while minimizing injury risk.
Maintain proper, relaxed posture throughout this exercise, avoiding unnecessary tension elsewhere in your body.
Your partner's response will vary depending on which part of the forearm you engage (such as the point identified in the previous exercise), or if you wrap your hand around their entire arm.
As we learned in anatomy lessons, muscles work in pairs – one "pulls" while another "shortens" to facilitate movement.
So if you wrap your entire hand around their forearm, you'll be acting on two sets of muscles with opposing functions, which sends contradictory signals to the brain.
Demonstration and Application
The video demonstrates both proper technique application and several incorrect approaches.
Don't try to imitate exactly. The specific arm movement shown first is just to make it easier to see on video. I'm left-handed, so I handle things better with my left hand, and so on...
Aim for the results (creating an anatomical restriction while preserving joint stability) and explore your bodies.
And if you have any doubts, difficulties, or issues, please reach out to us, either through Telegram or email.