Research and Development: dolphin position

Like most ropers in Seattle, I learned most of what I know from Max.  He teaches a style of roping involving many small ropes.  This reduces the amount of time spent pulling ropes.

This means that ties can almost always be performed from the center of the rope.
But there are times that is not possible.  I learned mid-rope knots from the book Complete Shibari Volume 1: Land, in the section "Frictions". (a few of the pages from this section can be previewed on the book's website)

Inspiration comes from many places.  But photos on recon are a good place to start. I saw the beautiful photos on the profile of TieMeUpNY.  (I was told later that this arm-binding is loosely based on a technique taught by Midori) 

This arm-binding relies on tension from near the shoulders.  I worried that the loop around the body could be pulled over the head and that the tie would then disappear.  I made minor adjustments on the initial lark's head, moving it from the outside of the arms to just around the torso.  I finished the arm-binding with a friction around the wrists.

The legs are tied with frictions. (styles A and G in that book [okay - style G is the basic single column tie])  The legs are then lifted in the standard way (learned from Max, but shown as Lift A in Complete Shibari Volume 2: Sky).

Pretty.