I am delighted to be hosting Osada Steve for his London shibari workshops, which form part of his extensive summer tour. Once again, these classes will be held at our favourite local venue, The Flying Dutchman, on 10-11 and 17-18 August.
Who is Osada Steve?
Steve began his career 30 years ago under the instruction of Osada Eikechi, the pioneer of stage shibari. Since then, he has become a full-time bakushi who has taught hundreds of students, produced countless videos and performed over 600 times. He studied under the grand master of newaza (floor-work), Yukimura Haruki, up until his death.
I was lucky enough to meet Steve well over 10 years ago and have tuition from him. Since then, he has been the main influence on what has become my own pick’n’mix style, which also draws from a number of other Japanese masters.
The big advantage of his teaching
He is undoubtedly the premier ambassador of shibari in the west as he has long provided tuition in his native tongue, German, and also in excellent English. He provided the first extensive teaching of authentic kinbaku and provided a gateway to the otherwise almost impenetrable underground scene of Japan.
Even now, if you are not a Japanese speaker, with all the other masters of Japan, there is a language barrier. Sure, you can use a translator but it will, at best, only be an interpretation, not least because Japanese and English are so different, or, at worst, just plain wrong or severely truncated. His language skills mean that you have the unique ability to hear everything ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’, as we say. In other words, nothing is lost in translation.
What will he be covering in group classes?
We are still firming up the exact format and content for the weekend classes but here are the topics which he has suggested:
Suspensions (Osada-ryu)
- Yokozuri (side) / 横吊り
- Aomuke-zuri (face up) / 仰向け吊り
- Sakasa-zuri (inverted) / 逆さ吊り
- Ebizuri (shrimp) / 海老吊り
- Hashira-zuri (pole) / 柱吊り
- Teppozuri (rifle) / 鉄砲吊り
with variations and transitions
Floor work (Yukimura-ryu)
- Kemono shibari / 獣縛り
- Kata-ashi kaikyaku / 片足開脚
- Body control / 體術
- Ki application (ki hairimasu / 気入ります)
- Nawajiri / 縄尻 control
We will publish the final agenda shortly with a link for bookings. Make a note of the dates in your diary.
Private tuition
In addition to the group classes, he will be offering private tuition in my south London studio from 8-21 August. However, depending on our departure date for Burning Man, bookings towards the end of his stay might be elsewhere. Please contact Steve direct via his Fetlife profile to book.