Shibari Academy

The origin of the two half-hitches is ancient. This is knowledge that has been part of humanity for millennium. It is as much part of your inheritance for being human as is the wheel or the ability to control fire. 

The two half-hitches are often used in sailing. They can also be used to attach a clothes line or a banner to a post. If you are into horseback riding, this is the technique used to attach the reins to a post to keep the horse from wandering away. In short, it's one of those knots that all boy scouts know how to do and to be honest, it's something that we should all be familiar with as well. 

A hitch is a technique that allows you to attach one rope to a fixed anchor or post. In the case of the two half-hitches, we are going to grab the rope, go around the anchor, and tie a simple over hand knot. Then, we will tie a second overhand knot in the same direction as the first one. When tension is applied to the rest of the rope, this hitch will hold. 

As simple as it sounds, this hitch can become very difficult to untie. So quick tip for our students: When using the two half-hitches, tie the second overhand knot in such a way as to leave a loop or a bight instead of going all the way through, like when you are tying your shoelaces (see the above picture). This technique will save you lots of time when you're untying this knot.

Have fun tying!

Eve