Bob Roos · RopeMarks
Kinbaku & Shibari in Amsterdam
Kinbaku artist, teacher and performer, based in Amsterdam and working internationally since 1999.
What I do
Learn. Experience. Create.
RopeMarks brings together teaching, live performance and creative work. Three different settings, one practice built around technique, intention and interaction.
Learn
Workshops
Learn Japanese rope bondage through RopeMarks Ryū, masterclasses and private tuition, with technique and understanding as the foundation.
Experience
Live
Kinbaku shaped for the stage, from intimate rooms to festivals, clubs and theatres, created around the space, audience and moment.
Create
Shoots & Collaborations
Rope for photography, film and creative projects, from focused shoots to wider artistic collaborations.
Bob Roos / RopeMarks
Kinbaku as practice, interaction and expression
RopeMarks is the name under which I have worked with Japanese rope bondage since 1999. Based in Amsterdam, I work as a kinbaku artist, teacher and performer, exploring rope through technique, aesthetics, eroticism and interaction.
My work is rooted in long-term study, including study in Japan and Europe and influences from Akechi Denki and Naka Akira. Technique is the foundation, but the aim is not to become an echo of what came before. It is to understand it well enough to develop your own voice.
RopeMarks · Since 1999
RopeMarks Ryū
Learn how to tie, not just what to tie
RopeMarks Ryū combines a strong technical foundation with an emphasis on understanding what you do and why, giving you the tools to develop your own way of tying.
Workshops, private tuition and masterclasses are built around technique, understanding and expression, from first contact with rope through to suspended transitions.
Kinbaku. Live.
Japanese rope performance shaped for the stage
Fast and powerful or slow and intimate, RopeMarks brings kinbaku out of the private exchange and onto the stage.
Performances are created around the room, audience and atmosphere, with more than 25 years of live work behind the timing, technique and improvisation.
Shoots & Collaborations
Make something together
Rope can be the subject, a visual language, a technical contribution or simply one part of a larger idea.
I work with photographers, filmmakers, models and other creatives on photo, video and artistic projects. That can mean rope direction and rigging for an existing concept, developing images together, or building something specifically around the people and medium involved.
Writing & Knowledge
Technique, history and ideas around kinbaku
Articles built from practice, study and the questions that keep returning in workshops, conversations and rope itself.
Jute Rope Strength: What Riggers Need to Know
Don’t Trust Jute to Be Strong. Trust Yourself to Use It Well People often ask me how strong jute rope is. I [...]
Kinbaku: Finding each other in rope
The Shift: Underground to More Public Spaces Kinbaku today isn’t underground like it used to be. It’s not mainstream either, but it’s [...]
Semenawa: what it is, and what it is not (part 1/3)
Tying or being tied semenawa-style is quite popular in today’s Japanese inspired rope scene. Semenawa is often understood as ‘torturous rope’, but is a [...]
Rope & Gear
Things I use, trust or select for a reason
The RopeMarks shop is deliberately small: Japanese jute rope, rope care, accessories and specialist gear chosen because they serve a clear purpose in my own kinbaku practice.
I would rather offer a few things I know well than fill a catalogue simply because I can.
In their words
What people say about RopeMarks
Luna, Sep. 2025
It was the first time i saw RopeMarks and it was pure eye-gasm. The way he handled the ropes like it’s the extension of his body. There’s just something so irresistible about that.
„Why are you doing that?“
Lena Penumbra
Not too long ago (red: March 2024), we had visitors from the Netherlands, RopeMarks and the Shady Lady. I immensely enjoyed their (red: bamboo) weekend workshop and Kinbaku Talks 🥰.
Since I attended the workshop as a model, I decided to go for some private lessons to up my rigging game as well. Before we started, I was terribly nervous. I think it’s very VERY hard to judge your own skill level, but I was somewhat confident I could have done the workshop exercises as a rigger as well. Still, there was the chance Bob would see that differently 🫣
However, after getting over the first nervous tremors, I had a wonderful time. Bob’s instructions were very clear and still left so much room to explore „my thing“ – whatever that is XD. Sora was a fantastic, patient model, and I had a lot of fun.
What really made me think, and I still have Bob’s voice in my head now, are two things:
„Why did you tie that way?“
I have to admit, I was very proud that I could give an answer to that every time he asked. Most times, it was not even a technical answer, just my reason for choosing one option over another.
„What would you do if you wanted to make it pretty?“
I’m very guilty of (safe) lazy decisions. Like not tucking away rope ends prettily. Bob made me aware – several times – that it only takes a few seconds more to do that. And now, I can’t un-hear him when I want to take the lazy path again 🙉
Overall, the private lessons gave me more confidence in my skills and new input to think about. Plus, a little Mr. RopeMarks in my head that scolds me for not tidying up a tie 😜
If you ever get the chance, taking a lesson with RopeMarks and The Shady Lady is for sure a good investment of time and money ☺️
cilie, 2015
Bob is a fantastic teacher […] every time we meet him he takes it up another notch […] the participants not only gained technical knowledge, but also a deeper understanding of the concept of kinbaku […]
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Workshops, performances & new work
Occasional RopeMarks updates about upcoming workshops, live performances, new projects and writing.
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