Weekend Workshop with Kirigami and Tenshiko

We will be hosting Kirigami and Tenshiko for this deep dive into their style of kinbaku

Kirigami and Tenshiko are a couple both in ropes and in life.

They have been teaching and performing in different European cities since 2012. In 2016 they opened School of Rope Milano, where they teach traditional bondage three times a week to local students and foreign visitors.

Their rope is inspired by the most traditional Japanese style bondage, with an eclectic approach encompassing both private sessioning and photography.

Day 1: Floorwork

This class will focus on floorwork and partial suspensions. Participants should be familiar with uplines and know at least one sustainable chest harness.

We will approach traditional semenawa from a practical and theoretical point of view, understanding the iconic floorwork patterns of the style, and the philosophy behind them.

The Tk

We will analyse a stemless gote, understanding its structure and historical development. The differences with an original Japanese TK will be described both from a technical and philosophical point of view.

Basic patterns

Some iconic patterns will be taught and put in use. Both floorwork and partial suspensions will be part of the schedule.

Each basic pattern will be used to teach a skill that can be carried over and used in several other ties.

Suspension lines

We will use several partial suspensions to teach the fundamentals of line management. A solid gote and effortless line management are prerequisites to keep studying the discipline with suspensions. While partial suspensions mitigate some risks of a full suspension, please consider this ties are semenawa oriented. They can easily be as challenging as full suspensions or even more.

Variations

Depending on the level of participants, some basic ties will be variated and transformed into new shapes. Variations are didactically skill-oriented, and participants will improve rope and body handling while experimenting with new ties.

Day 2: Semenawa

Workshop

We will approach traditional semenawa from a practical and theoretical point of view, understanding the iconic patterns of the style, and the philosophy behind them.

Basic patterns

Some iconic patterns will be taught and put in use. Both floorwork and simple suspensions will be part of the schedule.

Each basic pattern will be used to teach a skill that can be carried over and used in several other ties.

Variations

Depending on the level of participants, some basic ties will be variated and transformed into new shapes. Variations are didactically skill-oriented, and participants will improve rope and body handling while experimenting with new ties.

Prerequisites:

Please assess your skill level carefully as we will not be testing people. If the class is beyond your level you may wish to observe instead.

Tops:

• Solid tk any style 

• Safe and efficient upline management 

• Some experience with easy suspensions

Bottoms:

• Feeling comfortable in a gote

• Understanding the difference between comfortable and sustainable, and being willing to explore both

• Nerve and circulation risk awareness and ability to self control