Pompoir is a sexual technique in which the woman uses her

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

l muscles to stimulate the man's

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...

.Suzie Heumann, Susan M. Campbell, ''The Everything Great Sex Book: From Sensuous to Sizzling, the Hottest Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Spicing Up Your Sex Life'', Everything Books, 2004, , p. 63Bobby Dempsey, ''Tantric Sex'',

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

, 2007, , pp. 229-230 Both partners remain still, while the woman strokes the man's erection using rhythmic, rippling pulses of the

pubococcygeus muscle The levator ani is a broad, thin muscle group, situated on either side of the pelvis. It is formed from three muscle components: the pubococcygeus, the iliococcygeus, and the puborectalis. It is attached to the inner surface of each side of the ...

s, so this practice is best performed in a

woman on top Woman on top is any sex position in which the woman is on top of her sexual partner during sexual activity. The position most commonly associated with the woman on top is often called the cowgirl or riding position, which derives its name from ...

position. Performing Kegel or

pelvic floor The pelvic floor or pelvic diaphragm is composed of muscle fibers of the levator ani, the coccygeus muscle, and associated connective tissue which span the area underneath the pelvis. The pelvic diaphragm is a muscular partition formed by the lev ...

exercises can increase a woman's skill in pompoir by strengthening the relevant muscles, and allow her to identify, and isolate, individual muscles, to contract them in turn to provide the rippling sensation. Other names for this technique include the Singapore grip. The title of ''

The Singapore Grip ''The Singapore Grip'' is a novel by J. G. Farrell. It was published in 1978, a year before his death. In 2015, ''The Straits Times Akshita Nanda selected ''The Singapore Grip'' as one of ten classic Singapore novels. She wrote, "Neatly weaving ...

'', a novel by

J. G. Farrell James Gordon Farrell (25 January 1935 – 11 August 1979) was an English-born novelist of Irish descent. He gained prominence for a series of novels known as "the Empire Trilogy" (''Troubles'', ''The Siege of Krishnapur'' and ''The Singapore Gri ...

, as well as its 2020 television adaptation, refers to this phrase.

Kabzah

"Kabzah" or "Kabza" ( hi, कब्ज़ा, ur, ) is a variant technique that originates from

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

, where the female additionally uses her

abdominal The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

contractions to stimulate the

of the male partner, who must remain totally passive. The word translates as 'holder', and the sensation can be likened to that of 'milking'. Women are reported to have spent many years in training before becoming proficient in this technique, and as such this technique is considered highly difficult to perform. The act itself is a variety of

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

, its purpose being to enhance and increase the duration and intensity of intercourse.

History

It is a millenary technique of the East. It originated in India and was perfected in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The first exercises came with a transformation of the extensive preparatory tantric exercises for the

Maithuna Maithuna (Devanagari: मैथुन) is a Sanskrit term for sexual intercourse within Tantric sex, or alternatively to the specific lack of sexual fluids generated, while mithuna is a couple participating in such a ritual. It is the most import ...

. This transformation was initially developed by the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

esses of the Great Mother temples to be used in

fertility ritual Fertility rites or fertility cult are religious rituals that are intended to stimulate reproduction in humans or in the natural world. Such rites may involve the sacrifice of "a primal animal, which must be sacrificed in the cause of fertility or e ...

s. With time the technique expanded and became increasingly popular. A similar exercise was developed in the 1950s by gynecologist

Arnold Kegel Arnold Henry Kegel (February 21, 1894 – March 1, 1972) was an American gynecologist who invented the Kegel perineometer (an instrument for measuring the strength of voluntary contractions of the pelvic floor muscles) and Kegel exercises (sq ...

, who in 1952 developed some exercises for women who had a problem with

urinary incontinence Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any uncontrolled leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a large impact on quality of life. It has been identified as an important issue in geria ...

. With the research he discovered that the

was out of shape and not working properly. By exercising these muscles, the medical problem was solved and the potential for genital sensations and orgasm increased. In part this was due to blood flow increasing in exercised muscles, and the increase in blood flow is related to the ease of arousal and orgasm. When the strength of a muscle increases, the blood supply increases, with the side effect being an increase of blood flow to the pelvis resulting in higher levels of arousal and more intense orgasms.

Kabzah

History

References

Further reading