A lot of people have been asking me and Ojipan recently if we have tips for them as they prepare to go to their first big con.
So I thought I’d put together my suggestions, in no particular order.
Mark and count your gear!If you think a small class of 10-12 people is challenging to keep track of your natural colored, natural fiber rope and carabiners, imagine a class of 25 or 30. Count your gear when you pack for the trip and every time you pack up after a class, practice session, or scene at the party.
The learning area is often very air-conditioned. Bring layers.
The floor is often covered with durable, but rough, high-traffic carpet. Consider bringing a sheet or towel from your room. Or a blanket, scarf, furoshiki, yoga mat, etc. for your own comfort.
You may not be allowed to have your phone out in the con space itself. Bring a watch!
No phones also means no video or pictures of what is being taught. Develop a way to document what you’re learning: bring a notebook! Sketch, write, do what you need to do to remember.
Accept that you will be presented with a lot of information in a small amount of time. You are very likely to only remember 20% of it at most. Try to break things down into small pieces (chunks). Focus on what is different from what you already know and how you can contextualize it based on your previous understanding. Ask questions to engage with the material more fully.
Practice what you’re learning. Take advantage of your instructors while they’re on hand! Go to the practice room(s) as available to reinforce what you learned.
Plan on a few practice sessions in the weeks immediately following the con to review what you have learned. Spaced repetition is key.
Be mindful of your body. Both tops and bottoms get physically beat up tying this much over a 2-3 day event.
Tops: if it’s day 1 and you’re getting ready to do a suspension with a hands-behind chest harness and a hip harness, remember that the person you’re tying is likely going be in box ties all weekend. Maybe give their shoulders a break and tie the hip harness first.
Bottoms: if you’re getting tired of being in box ties, maybe ask for a different arm position, suggest being tied with the box tie reversed (built with arms crossed in front), or remind the top to please tie the hip harness first to prep for that suspension.
Both: do active warm-ups to start the day and stretches throughout.
Rest. Take breaks when you need them, whether that’s away from class, away from people, or outside of the con completely. (Ojipan and I make a point of leaving the hotel at least once a day.)
Sleep. It is very tempting to burn the candle at both ends, staying in the play party until it closes at 3 AM. This will deprive your brain of the vital rest it needs to absorb the class material fully. Play as much as you want, but recognize how it will affect your cognition the next day.
Make new friends! It’s easy and comfortable to stick close to the people you already know. But cons are a great way to expand your national and international network of rope acquaintances and build your understanding of how rope can look.
If your personal dynamic allows for it,tie with new people. Have in-depth conversations about how rope learning works elsewhere. Peer-share. These relationships last well after the con is over and are always the highlight of the event for me.
Get friends to introduce you to their friends. We’re all there because we have at least one thing in common. Revel in that! Don’t be shy to go talk to that person you have seen on the internet or who did the cool tie you saw in class!
Corollary: don’t go to the classes being taught by people from your local area (unless you’re TAing). You can learn from them when you’re at home. Take advantage of all the top talent that is now at your fingertips.
Have fun! Remember that it can be hard to learn new things, overwhelming to meet so many new people, or may be challenging to be in a new city away from home and you’re there to push yourself. But enjoy the novelty of your situation and just how lucky you are to be in that space at that time with those people who love this thing that you love.
And here’s my list of things I typically pack (specifically generated for Bondage Expo Dallas but this list is pretty solid for any con). Feel free to adapt it to your needs.
Listen as Gray, goodmosttimes, and MisterBacon (now HorribleBearBear) discuss this list and additional tips for how to prep and what to expect.
Additional tips from MisterBacon
When you’ve looked at the schedule and thought of how many classes you want to take, subtract at least one or two from that list. You will need more recovery time than you think you need, so please give yourself a break once in a while. Go grab food, take a nap, maybe even just hang out in the practice rope room. The second you walk out of the con space, you’ll realize it was a good idea. If you’re just taking a class to fill time, that might be a good spot for a break.
As goodmosttimes said, there are no phones allowed in the con space. This can make planning meet ups hard, especially for scenes. Using landmarks (“rope room”, “by the sign-in table”, etc) can be very helpful rather than “I’ll just see you at the party.” There are a lot of people at the parties, and the space is dark and loud.
Go in with the attitude that if something doesn’t happen, that’s okay. If you don’t play with a particular person now, hopefully, you can do it in the future. If you don’t get to go to a particular class, you can either reach out to another person who went or take that class at a convention in the future. It can be an overwhelming weekend, so just try to stay relaxed and enjoy whatever it is you end up doing.
