Elbows Do Not Always Have to Touch

Close enough

Yes, I love when elbows touch. There's something about taking something as far as it will go, and there's really no farther then welded together when it comes to having your arms behind your back. I know there are Russian gymnasts out there and uber-flexible gals that can go beyond that, but I'm talking about the typical damsel. When the elbows are together you know the position is tight, but they don't have to touch to look challenging to me.

My ultimate love is when I can see that someone's arms are as close together as they will go. You can see how the rope around the elbows sinks into the skin even more than when elbows though. You can notice the tension in the shoulders because they can't rotate back any more. The shoulder blades start to close in on themselves, and the skin on the arms gets tight to the touch. That my friends can be even more challenging than having your elbows though.

When someone is flexible, their elbows can touch and it doesn't cause as much strain as you would think. When someone can't get their elbows to touch though and you pull them as close as they will go. That is the ultimate test of endurance. There is not way to relieve any pressure or any tension. Every cord bites in it's deepest and every movement pulls your already strained shoulders just a little more than would happen with elbows touching. I'm by no means saying that it's easy to have your elbows touching. I'm just saying it's damn hard when they don't touch and are still cranked back.

That's one of the reasons I loved working with Sammie Sparks. Her elbows didn't touch, but she'd let you haul them back as far as she could take. She'd let you do that and then still struggle like hell. In my opinion that is more taxing and more uncomfortable than most can imagine. That is a true test of fortitude that I will always appreciate. As a rigger one of my goals is to portray true helplessness and elbows not touching that you can visibly see are at their maximum closeness show true helplessness to me more than a lot of other restraints.

Image courtesy of He Made My Tits Bulge with Sammie Sparks.