It can be a huge problem choosing an online shibari school with all the various tutorial sites online these days. Beginners will find it more baffling than most because they probably haven’t figured out that there are a multitude styles of Japanese bondage. These are not just small variations, they can be vast differences.
Just as yesterday, everyone started offering lessons, even if they were only one-page ahead in the book; now, it’s online shibari schools. Since we started Shibariclasses over 5 years ago as probably the first dedicated school, there are more and more. These vary from a few amateur videos to highly polished professional sites. Like any other teaching resource, be it real life classes, videos or books, each has something different to offer. Whether that is right for you is the most important consideration in choosing the right online shibari school.
Criteria for choosing a school
The first thing to decide is whether the school reflects your vision of shibari, e.g. Two Knotty Boys style or more Japanese, both in terms of aesthetics and philosophy. Only then can you narrow your search. Then you need to look at the credentials of the teacher. Who taught them? Can they teach? To all the questions proof is easily available. Most teachers should be happy to produce their CV. It shouldn’t be hard to find students to ask if they can teach, what they teach and the depth of their teaching.
There is no best school or teacher, only the right one for you. Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice 😉
Deeper and richer shibari tuition
I hope that after 20 years, and tuition by some of the shibari gods of Japan, and with Nina’s invaluable contribution, we can offer something deeper and richer than most. I produced the first English language DVD’s, drawing attention to the idea of ‘tying people, not parcels‘, when the world was still claiming “You can’t learn shibari from videos” 😀
I received this a few days ago which might help you decide if what Shibariclasses offers is for you.
Bruce and Nina,
I am writing to let you know just how wonderful your instructional site ESINEM – Shibariclasses is. In an unassuming style both you and Nina present simple and complex processes broken down to their component parts so they can be internalized by the student and used in a myriad of ways as we progress. You take a single theme or tie and show it , stopping throughout to show where alternative components could be used and why each is either important or unimportant. Then you’ll perform the same tie in various ways to show how all these component parts can be put together . There is no other instructional website that does this in the same detail or style that you both display. Again there are a number of wonderful wonderful sites which I support but none that dive into the detail and emotion that is yours. It is the next best thing to in person tuition learning that there is bar none! Especially in these COVID-19 days. I am lucky to have a nationally known instructor in Houston and look forward to in person instruction again but you have significantly improved my understanding and style as my instructor can attest.
Additionally your sister site The Art and Practice of Shibari displays what is possible, albeit in a theatrical setting, when the technique and emotion are combined for display. I find it an excellent companion site!
Yours,
Mark G
You can find more testimonials here
Shibariclasses are innovators, we pioneered an ingredients-based/kits of parts approach to teaching shibari about 7 years ago. Recently, I see a number of teachers seem to have adopted that, instead of the usual ‘monkey see, monkey do’ method, albeit using different analogies. We lead, others follow 😉