Extended Lark’s Head Double Column
A.K.A. Hobble | Simple Elbow Tie
The idea of this one is to bind two things that either cannot be place closely together–like a person’s elbows (most people cannot touch their elbows)–or that you purposefully want to have a little farther apart but still bound (like ankles in a hobble so they can walk, but not run)
This is basically, just a Lark’s Head Double Column, but with an extra twist at the end (pun intended). You’ll see what I mean…
Important Safety Note: There are nerves that run on the outside of the arms just above the elbows. Putting too much pressure on these bundles can cause a person’s fingers to go numb or otherwise feel “strange”. Be sure to instruct your partner to inform you if they feel anything unusual: numb, cold, tingling, just anything out of the ordinary. If they report an issue, first move the cuff up or down on their arm a few centimeters. If the sensation goes away in 15 seconds, you can continue with the tie. If the sensation remains, untie this tie. Perhaps the tie is too tight, or perhaps their nerves run close to the skin and/or are easy to compress, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Don’t leave them in a condition where their fingers are tingling. That can lead to nerve damage.
For this tutorial, I used one 30′ (~9m) piece of Natural 6mm provided by my affiliate Twisted Monk.
Check them out for some amazing hemp rope!
In order to do this, you will need to know the following ties:
Video
Video Contents:
- Background and Uses (0:00)
- Core Technique (0:33)
- Safety (5:33)
Pictures & Text
1. Despite what you may have seen, most people cannot touch their elbows behind their back. Athena here is exceptional, the ability to do this is extremely rare.
2. In fact, most people can barely get them behind their back at all. This is a much more common limit. But, even so, you CAN tie their elbows together.
3. Begin just as you would a Lark’s Head Double Column. Place the bight near, but not touching one elbow.
4. Wrap the tails around the arm. You can wrap up or down.
I personally like wrapping up because of where the lock knot ends up at the end of the tie, but it truly makes little difference.
5. You need to have at least 2 wraps total, but…
6. I like to do 3 total wraps (6 total strands of rope) because it makes a wider cuff that distributes pressure over a wider area. This is important when working near the outside of the elbows because too much pressure can impact the radial or medial nerves and cause fingers to go numb and, that numbness, if left unresolved, can lead to nerve damage, which can take a long time to heal.
7. Reach through the secondary bight you formed in step 3.
8. Hook the tail and pull it all the way through.
9. Reach behind *all* the ropes from above (the back of your fingers should be touching your partner’s body)…
10. …and hook the tail.
11. Pull the tail through.
12. Hold the horizontal cords in a nice order, and…
13. …begin wrapping the tail around all the ropes once.
14. Once you have two wraps, you can adjust the tightness of the first cuff. To do this, grab the horizontal cords that are closest to the body.
15. Hold the wraps you just made and then pull the horizontal lines to tighten the cuff.
16. Test for tightness. You should be able to comfortably get 2 or 3 fingers between the ropes and their arm.
17. Dress the cords on the other side too. Confirm they are parallel and have the same tension.
18. Continue wrapping the tail around the cuff cords…
19. …like this.
20. When you get close to the other elbow, split the ends to tie them off.
21. This means: (1) take the cord farther from the elbow and…
22. Run it up behind the wraps as you have been doing,
23. And then, (2) Running the other line up through this channel. To do this:
24. Put your finger inside the cuff…
25. …hook the tail…
26. …and pull up and through the cuff like this.
27. Now you have one line inside the cuff and one outside.
28. Let’s see that from another angle:
29. Tie it off with a square knot
30. Like this.
31. Dress the cords. That is: Run your fingers under the rope cuffs to ensure (1) that they are not too tight and (2) that the cords are laying flat and parallel
32. This tie can also be used as a Hobble!
